N. Scott Momaday (1934-2024)

[tiganeasca]

From the New York Times:

"N. Scott Momaday, whose portrayal of a disaffected World War II veteran’s journey to spiritual renewal in his novel “House Made of Dawn” won a Pulitzer Prize, the first for a Native American author, heralding a more prominent place in contemporary literature for Native writers, died on Wednesday at his home in Santa Fe, N.M. He was 89....
Mr. Momaday also wrote critically acclaimed poetry, memoirs and essays. His explorations of identity and self-definition, of the importance of the oral tradition in literature, and of his Kiowa heritage were interwoven with reverent evocations of landscape in passages of soaring lyrical prose."

 

[redhead]

RIP

I loved House Made of Dawn when I read it back in college, though his poetry never quite worked for me

 

[hayden]

I'm a little late, but this is my first time hearing about this. His recent works Earth Keeper and The Death of Sitting Bear are excellent companion pieces— both are rather brief and easy to find as well, so no excuse to not give them a shot. The Way to Rainy Mountain is also an important staple of indigenous American writing— I think he refined his writing later on in his career, but I still recommend picking it up if you get the chance (like the aforementioned, it isn't very lengthy). RIP.