The Serpents Tongue, edited by Nancy Wood is a wonderful book of prose, poetry and art of the New Mexico Pueblos.
Nancy Wood has done an incredible job of collecting from private and public collections to bring us this remarkable and lovingly put together book. This collection of stories, poems, paintings, photography, archival material, and landmark anthology chronicles more than five hundred years of one of North America's oldest and most enduring Native American cultures. This is all about life in the southwest United States of the Pueblo Peoples, past and present. It carries a powerful and emotional impact about the easy to embrace people of the Pueblo life - the grandfathers, grandmothers, parents and children of the Taos Pueblo and surrounding Pueblos of the Rio Grande Valley.
The Introduction is very well written with the history and struggles of the people, which sets the mood and takes the reader into the daily lives of the people.
Ms. Wood has collected writings from such prominent figures as N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, Frank Waters, Tony Hillerman, D. H. Lawrence, and Willa Cather, and many others. The tales and narrative derived from traditional and contemporary sources gives astonishingly vivid insight to the life of the Puebloans.
The photography of Edward S. Curtis, some photogravures never before published, and the unusual and brilliant artwork of Helen Hardin, Tonita Pena and even from young students of the 1920's, provides the reader with clear images of the men, women and children of the Pueblos, their daily life, ceremonial dances and storytelling.
This beautifully designed volume is a treasure and an excellent collector's item for the Native American aficionado, as well as for any reader interested in Native American spiritual and everyday life and culture, from ancient times to life in the present day.
This book is full of compelling thoughts, stories and deep emotions. The writings of some of the students and older people are profoundly honest and emotional. The heart rendering thoughts and memories of the children who were students at boarding schools is unforgettable.
Miss Wood, an award-winning poet, author and photographer, developed a close and lasting relationship with the Pueblo people in 1962 which has enabled her to provide us with a stunningly beautiful and memorable book of human emotions and history.
The Serpent's Tongue is just one of the four volumes of this type by Nancy Wood, which include Many Winters, Dancing Moons, and The Shaman's Circle. These books are a joy to read and to have in your personal library collection.
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