by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
|
by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
|
|
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Synopsis
A magical Navajo woman known as "Grandma" watches protectively over Cindy Ellis, on her way to Tuba City to train a horse for a friend, as she walks through a land of poverty and sorrow, spinning her a web of love and guiding her through the darkness.
From the Author
A New Godmother Spins Her Magic in The Hopi Partitioned Land
When I conceived the Godmother, it was with the idea of Godmothers as a universal force for good. Not only Felicity Fortune, and not only Europeans could be godmothers, but all of the caretaking entities in the fairytales and folktales of different peoples and places. Twenty-five years ago I worked at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, as it was known then, in Gallup New Mexico, as a nurse. Working among and for them, I fell in love with the Navajo and Pueblo peoples and their cultures and always wanted to write about them. The Godmother stories gave me the opportunity. I wasn't sure at first how it would come together. I thought that the problems people had 25 years ago would be different now, and some of them are. I nearly went into culture shock going back to a vastly larger, but also far friendlier and less bigoted and racist Gallup. Window Rock, instead of being merely a collection of mobile homes set against the historic rock, was now a big modern town too, and the beautiful Navajo Nation headquarters building now serves the functions of many of the former, humbler dwellings. I had lost track of my former friends, but a friend of Anne McCaffrey's niece Valerie and a colleague of my friend the Vietnam Veteran's counselor in Fairbanks shared their experiences and those of their friends and acquaintances with me, providing me with insights into problems faced by both Navajos and Hopis today. My new Navajo friend invited me to stay with her family, which I did for ten days, and took me out to visit her aunt and grandmother in their traditional homes down a backroad on the rez. My Hopi friend gave me a lot of background from the viewpoint of a Hopi who is traditional in his religious adherrance but progressive in his wish for his people to enjoy the practical advantages of modern life. Their views were very different on some issues, quite similar on others. In addition, I read the newspapers from the area when I returned home, and also many books full of background on Navajo and Hopi lore. From these, I found the figure who was most similar to my fairy godmothers and created for her a mysterious modern persona. I don't believe I have ever enjoyed researching and writing a book as much as I did this one. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
When I conceived the Godmother, it was with the idea of Godmothers as a universal force for good. Not only Felicity Fortune, and not only Europeans could be godmothers, but all of the caretaking entities in the fairytales and folktales of different peoples and places. Twenty-five years ago I worked at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, as it was known then, in Gallup New Mexico, as a nurse. Working among and for them, I fell in love with the Navajo and Pueblo peoples and their cultures and always wanted to write about them. The Godmother stories gave me the opportunity. I wasn't sure at first how it would come together. I thought that the problems people had 25 years ago would be different now, and some of them are. I nearly went into culture shock going back to a vastly larger, but also far friendlier and less bigoted and racist Gallup. Window Rock, instead of being merely a collection of mobile homes set against the historic rock, was now a big modern town too, and the beautiful Navajo Nation headquarters building now serves the functions of many of the former, humbler dwellings. I had lost track of my former friends, but a friend of Anne McCaffrey's niece Valerie and a colleague of my friend the Vietnam Veteran's counselor in Fairbanks shared their experiences and those of their friends and acquaintances with me, providing me with insights into problems faced by both Navajos and Hopis today. My new Navajo friend invited me to stay with her family, which I did for ten days, and took me out to visit her aunt and grandmother in their traditional homes down a backroad on the rez. My Hopi friend gave me a lot of background from the viewpoint of a Hopi who is traditional in his religious adherrance but progressive in his wish for his people to enjoy the practical advantages of modern life. Their views were very different on some issues, quite similar on others. In addition, I read the newspapers from the area when I returned home, and also many books full of background on Navajo and Hopi lore. From these, I found the figure who was most similar to my fairy godmothers and created for her a mysterious modern persona. I don't believe I have ever enjoyed researching and writing a book as much as I did this one. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
 |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. |
