A Dena'Ina Legacy K'Tl'Egh'I Sukdu: The Collected Writings of Peter Kalifornsky
A large bilingual collection of Dena'ina and English writings, bringing together stories, lessons, songs, poems, place names, and autobiographical pieces. It preserves Peter Kalifornsky's voice across nearly two decades of work.
Work Information
A bilingual record that passes Dena'ina language and memory to the next generation.
Containing 147 Dena'ina-English writings, the book ranges from stories of belief and animals to lessons, songs, neologisms, place names, and autobiographical material. It is both a literary collection and a documentary record of Dena'ina culture in Alaska.
Review Summaries
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Its value is often seen as both literary and archival, because it gathers stories, lessons, songs, and life history in one bilingual record.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Alaska Native Language Center
- Published
- 1991-08-01
- Pages
- 527 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 15.24 x 3.56 x 22.86 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781555000431
- ISBN-10
- 1555000436
- Price
- 26038 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Nonfiction/Education/Language Instruction/Instruction
A Dena'ina Legacy is a fascinating collection of 147 bilingual Dena'ina-English writings by the self-taught writer and scholar, Peter Kalifornsky of Kenai, Alaska.
Peter Kalifornsky is a self-taught writer and scholar, a resident of Kenai, Alaska. Born in 1911, he has been writing traditional sturies, poems, and language lessons in the Dena'ina Athabaskan language of Lower Cook Inlet.
Reviews
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I love this book, the lore, and that Professor Boraas took the time to essentially record Peter Kalifornsky's legacy as the last of his people, and the last to speak this dialect, otherwise, the history would of been lost forever. This is a work of art, a book for the ages to come, an encyclopedia of culture, tales and beliefs pertinent to Native Alaskan history. Professor Alan Boraas died this last November, and because of him, the heart of the Deni'ina Kenai will live on thru his books, lectures, and historical videos.
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The product came in on time and nice and new. There was a small dent outside on the spine but I think that was just from the delivery of it. I like how the stories are in both english and their local native language.
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This is a collection of stories, some true, some mythical, and some from that intriguing land between the two. Each is presented on opposite pages in Dena'ina and in English. Dena'ina grammar is quite incomprehensible for the English-only reader like me, but you can pick up a little of the rhythm in the Native-language stories and the translations alike. Many stories tell of defining moments in the history of the Dena'ina, including the first encounters with whites. Most of the stories have a moral point applicable to any culture and time. Respect for nature and for the spirits of animal and fish a hunter takes is a recurring theme. Apparently legendary creatures like the little Mountain People will make readers wonder if there's a historical source and what it might have been. The Dena'ina are a diminishing people in the modern world, but I hope this collection helps people realize that such wisdom should not perish. - Matt Bille, author, The Dolmen (Wolfsinger, 2014), [...]