The Man Made of Words

The Man Made of Words presents nearly 40 essays, allegorical stories, and autobiographical reminiscences, all of which reveal how Momaday became one of the first widely recognized Native American writers of the 20th century. Exploring such vital themes as land, language, and self-identity, this collection both expands and enhances our understanding of contemporary American literature.

Praise

"The dean of American Indian writers . . . Mr. Momaday constructs beautifully cadenced sentences and summons a colorful assortment of stories and states of mind from a lively imagination."—The New York Times Book Review

"Momaday is a kind of arrowmaker himself—savvy, agile with language, and ready to slay, in a heartbeat, the predator outside."—The Nation

"There is . . . an unmistakable greatness here . . . Momaday's qualification to speak on the restorative power of words follows from his position as an outsider who uses language to negotiate a way between two worlds . . . Momaday may write for himself and his people . . . but he speaks to us all."—Atlanta Journal Constitution

"The Man Made of Words is Momaday in a nutshell, essential Momaday . . . Throughout [he] sounds his grand theme: the sacred—an Indian sacred—and what it is."—Buffalo News

"A preeminent voice of Native American literature . . . Few authors write as gracefully or majestically as Momaday."—Publishers Weekly

About the Author(s)

N. Scott Momaday

N. Scott Momaday has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the Academy of American Poets Prize, and the Premio Letterario Internazionale "Mondello," Italy's highest literary award. Momaday is a writer, poet, and playwright whose books include House Made of Dawn, The Man Made of Words, and In the Presence of the Sun.