Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Ten Types Of Ambiguity In Nahuatl Poetry, Or William Empson Among The Aztecs, Willard Gingerich

Department of English Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Though the oldest poetry of the Americas may have been composed before Caedmon's "Hymn" (ca. 680), the earliest known English poem, the languages and literatures of Native American peoples have only recently begun to receive the critical attention they demand.

In this book, twenty-three scholars in linguistics, folklore, English, and anthropology--among them Dennis Tedlock, John Bierhorst, Dell Hymes, Judith Berman, Miguel Leon-Portilla, and Louise M. Burkhart--provide a working introduction to the history, methods, and problems of translating Native American literatures. Reviewing early translations, the contributors discuss the difficulties in working with oral literature and a vast diversity of languages. Other …