Language Arts & Disciplines General
A Tale of Monstrous Extravagance
Imagining Multilingualism
- Publisher
- The University of Alberta Press
- Initial publish date
- Jun 2015
- Category
- General, Essays
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781772120691
- Publish Date
- Jun 2015
- List Price
- $12.99
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781772120417
- Publish Date
- Feb 2015
- List Price
- $12.99
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Description
“Speaking one language, I submit, is like living in a house with one window only...”
From his legendary birth in a snow bank in northwestern Manitoba, through his metamorphosis to citizen-artist of the world, playwright, pianist, polyglot, storyteller, and irreverent disciple of the Trickster, Tomson Highway rides roughshod through the languages and communities that have shaped him. Cree, Dene, Latin, French, English, Spanish, and the universal language of music have opened windows and widened horizons in Highway’s life. Readers who can hang on tight—Highway fans, culture mavens, cunning linguists, and fellow tricksters—will experience the profundity of Highway’s humour, for as he says, “In Cree, you will laugh until you weep.”
About the authors
Tomson Highway
Tomson Highway was born near Maria Lake, Manitoba in 1951. Living a nomadic lifestyle with no access to books, television or radio, Highway’s parents would tell their children stories, kindling Highway’s life-long interest in the oral tradition of storytelling.
Tomson Highway is widely recognized for his tremendous contribution to the development of Aboriginal theatre in both Canada and around the world.
In 1994, he was inducted into the Order of Canada, the first Aboriginal writer to be so honoured.
Editorial Reviews
"...a humourous tour through the languages and communities that have shaped the playwright, novelist, and musician as a person." January/February 2015
Quill & Quire
"An incomparable storyteller with a knack for exaggeration so deft you'll think he's telling the truth, Highway elaborates on how he added Dene, Inuktitut, Latin, English, French and some Spanish to his lexicon.... Learning new languages later in life is difficult, but let the power of language broaden your world, Highway encourages. Appreciate that multilingualism can hold this stunning country together--and give your children this gift, too."
Alberta Views
"Tomson Highway‘s 2014 Kreisel talk...is a brief life story with a point to make: learn languages. He himself began life with Dene and Cree, picked up some Inuktituk, went on to learn Latin and French at boarding school, then English at highschool in Winnipeg, then more French and some Spanish while living in France with his partner for 13 years. And music. With words that range from professorial ('entailed') to mundane ('butt-freezing'), he sets a lively tone to make his case." [F https://canadianwritersabroad.com/2018/10/31/tell-us-a-story]
Debra Martens
Other titles by Tomson Highway
Laughing with the Trickster
On Sex, Death, and Accordions
Permanent Astonishment
Growing Up Cree in the Land of Snow and Sky
My Name Is Seepeetza
30th Anniversary Edition
Permanent Astonishment (Signed Edition)
A Memoir
Kiss of the Fur Queen
Penguin Modern Classics Edition
Masculindians
Conversations about Indigenous Manhood
Dragonfly Kites
The Incredible Adventures of Mary Jane Mosquito
Caribou Song
Las Comadres de la Rez
The Rez Sisters in Spanish