A Coyote Reader by William Bright - Paper - University of California Press

About the Book

Wily, raunchy, and heroic. A trickster, lecher, and supreme survivor. Such is the magical Coyote, that mythic Native American figure whose various roles are recounted here in a wonderful selection of poetry and stories.

Anthropological linguist William Bright brings together diverse portraits of Coyote from American Indian texts and modern American writing. Because Native American myths have been recited and transmitted orally, Bright addresses the special problem of converting them into written stories. His familiarity with the native languages gives his retranslations a liveliness that conveys their original vitality.

The collection also includes poetic translations and original works by important contemporary writers Leslie Silko, Gary Snyder, Wendy Rose, Peter Blue Cloud, and Simon Ortiz, along with the voice of an earlier American author—Mark Twain.

We see how the figure of Coyote serves both to entertain and to instruct and, by his similarities to the actual biological coyote, provides a link between culture and nature. At the same time, since he embodies distinctive characteristics of Homo sapiens, Coyote also reflects many aspects of human nature.

Bright places each tale in relation to the larger Native American context and shows Coyote's affinities with classic mythological figures and popular cultural images such as Bugs Bunny. Filled with humor and at times disturbing, Coyote's tales mirror the human condition across time and cultures.

About the Author

William Bright, Emeritus Professor of Linguistics and Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, is now Professor Adjoint in Linguistics at the University of Colorado. He recently edited the four-volume Oxford International Encyclopedia of Linguistics (1991).

Preface
Acknowledgments

I. INTRODUCTION

2. COYOTE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE
-The Coyote, by Mark Twain
-A Berry Feast, by Gary Snyder

3. THE MYTHIC BACKGROUND

4. COYOTE THE WANDERER
-Coyote Goes to a Dance,
by Mamie Offield and William Bright,
-Coyote's Homecoming,
by Chester Pepper and William Bright,
-Telling about Coyote, by Simon Ortiz,

5. COYOTE THE BRICOLEUR
-Coyote and Friends, by Jarold Ramsey,
-How Her Teeth Were Pulled, by Jarold Ramsey,
-Coyote Establishes Fishing Taboos, by Charles Cultee
and Franz Boas, adapted by William Bright,
- Coyote Lays Down the Law,
by Nettie Reuben and William Bright,
- Coyote Gives Birth, by Tony Tillohash and Edward Sapir,
adapted by William Bright,
- Coyote Places the Stars, by Hamilton Tyler,
-Fivefold Fanfare for Coyote, by Dell Hymes,

6. COYOTE THE GLUTTON
- Coyote Steals a Drink,
by Julia Starritt and William Bright,
- Coyote Eats Grasshoppers,
by Chester Pepper and William Bright,
- Coyote Cooks His Daughter, by Rosinda Nolasquez and
Jane H. llill, adapted by William Bright,

7. COYOTE THE LECHER
-Coyote Turns into Driftwood,
by Nettie Reuben and William Bright,
-Coyote and Beaver Exchange Wives,
by William Brandon,
- Coyote Sucks Himself,
by Victoria Howard and Melville jacobs,
adapted by Dell Hymes,
-Coyote in Love, by Bruce Bennett,
- Coyote Man and Saucy Duckfeather,
by Peter Blue Cloud,

8. COYOTE THE THIEF
-Coyote Steals Fire, by Julia Starritt and William Bright,
-"What Stinks?" by Leslie Silko,
-Trickster, by Wendy Rose,

9. COYOTE THE CHEAT
- Coyote Baptizes the Chickens, by Alejandrina Murillo
Melendres, Maria Aldama, and Leanne Hinton,
adapted by William Bright,

10. COYOTE THE OUTLAW
- Coyote and the Prairie Dogs, by Yellowman,
with Barre Toelken and Tacheeni Scott,
-Muddy Prints on Mohair, by Peter Coyote,

11. COYOTE THE SPOILER
-Sex, Fingers, and Death, by Sam Batwi and Edward Sapir,
adapted by William Bright,
-First Woman Invents Compassion, by Jarold Ramsey,

12. COYOTE THE LOSER
-Coyote Starts Upriver,
by Nettie Reuben and William Bright,
-Coyote Continues Upriver,
by Julia Starritt and William Bright,
- Coyote and Badger, by Charles Cultee and Franz Boas,
adapted by William Bright,

13. COYOTE THE CLOWN
-Coyote Tricks Grey Fox, by Rudolph Kane,
Katherine Davenport, and Larry Evers,
-Two Coyotes, by Harry Wheeler and Haruo Aoki,
adapted by William Bright,
-Coyote and the Gypsies, by Bruce Bennett,

14. COYOTE THE PRAGMATIST
-Coyote's Metaphysics, by Bruce Bennett,
- Frybread Story, by Peter Blue Cloud,
-Coyote, Coyote, Please Tell Me, by Peter Blue Cloud,
-Coyote Roshi Goroku, by Robert Aitken,

IS. COYOTE THE (HORNY) OLD MAN
-Coyote Marries His Own Daughter,
by Julia Starritt and William Bright,

16. COYOTE THE SURVIVOR
-Coyote on the Beach,
by Nettie Reuben and William Bright,
-Coyote, by Will Staple,
-The Incredible Survival of Coyote, by Gary Snyder,

17. THE ONCE AND FUTURE COYOTE
-Coyote's Epilogue to the Telling, by Jarold Ramsey,
-Spearfish Sequence, by Dell Hymes,
-Song for the First People, by David Wagoner,

18. SUMMARY

Notes
References
Index

About the Book

About the Author

Table of Contents