Michael B. (Ichabod) reviewed Dream Drawings: Configurations of a Timeless Kind on + 110 more book reviews
There is powerful magic in "Dream Drawings: Configurations of a Timeless Kind,â a sphere where author N. Scott Momaday weaves dreams, imagination and language to conjure up a potent vision of life. Here are written sketches of dreams and the significance they hold for us. The poetic essays draw from the author's Native American perspective, but run the gamut from our kindred bear spirits to King Philip of Macedonia and his son Alexander. Georgia O'Keefe and Tolstoy make cameos... but those bears seem to shine best. There are moving meditations on mortality, on the nature of time, and of man's role in the world. We have parables and myths and the supernatural all eliminating the distinction between the imagined and the real.
Despite never having developed an adequate appreciation for poetry I was still immediately immersed and felt connected in this world. Passages became underlined, sections to be visited again-- until it was evident there were more lines highlighted than not. I can envision having a beat up copy of this book on me to pull out and reflect on. One favorite is "Ownership." Two men discuss the breathtaking beauty of the canyon they are in and one remarks, "It belongs to me, I don't own it, but it's mine.â The other man understands. "True ownership does not consist in titles and deeds. It is assumed by a claim made in the heart, and it is purchased with love and respect. The cliff is his, as it is mine."
Again, I am so impressed by this work that I could just copy out selection after selection. N. Scott Momaday has a true power to spill these ideas onto the page. His intention, quoted in the Preface: "Language and the imagination work hand in hand, and together they enable us to reveal us to ourselves in story. That is indeed a magical process, and it is the foundation of art and literature. We imagine and we dream, and we translate our dreams into language. This book is an enactment of that creative process. It is a celebration of words for their own sake."
Momaday won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for his novel "House Made of Dawn," a book often credited with starting the Native American Renaissance. I have ordered a copy and am excited to further explore this man's vision. There are rare times to celebrate the personal discovery of an artist who has been out there all along and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to add this man's gifts to my awareness.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
"IN THE TELLING The story does not end. Rather it revolves on a wheel of telling. It begins again. That is the way of story and storytelling; it is an endless way. In like manner, dreams do not end. They dissolve into infinite possibility. The story and the dream cannot be told apart." -- N. Scott Momaday
Despite never having developed an adequate appreciation for poetry I was still immediately immersed and felt connected in this world. Passages became underlined, sections to be visited again-- until it was evident there were more lines highlighted than not. I can envision having a beat up copy of this book on me to pull out and reflect on. One favorite is "Ownership." Two men discuss the breathtaking beauty of the canyon they are in and one remarks, "It belongs to me, I don't own it, but it's mine.â The other man understands. "True ownership does not consist in titles and deeds. It is assumed by a claim made in the heart, and it is purchased with love and respect. The cliff is his, as it is mine."
Again, I am so impressed by this work that I could just copy out selection after selection. N. Scott Momaday has a true power to spill these ideas onto the page. His intention, quoted in the Preface: "Language and the imagination work hand in hand, and together they enable us to reveal us to ourselves in story. That is indeed a magical process, and it is the foundation of art and literature. We imagine and we dream, and we translate our dreams into language. This book is an enactment of that creative process. It is a celebration of words for their own sake."
Momaday won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for his novel "House Made of Dawn," a book often credited with starting the Native American Renaissance. I have ordered a copy and am excited to further explore this man's vision. There are rare times to celebrate the personal discovery of an artist who has been out there all along and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to add this man's gifts to my awareness.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
"IN THE TELLING The story does not end. Rather it revolves on a wheel of telling. It begins again. That is the way of story and storytelling; it is an endless way. In like manner, dreams do not end. They dissolve into infinite possibility. The story and the dream cannot be told apart." -- N. Scott Momaday
