On the National Language
The Poetry of America's Endangered Tongues
by B.A. Van Sise with DeLanna Studi, Linda Hogan, Philip Metres, Lehua Taitano, Matthew Lippman, KT Herr and dg nanouk okpik
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Pub Date Sep 28 2024 | Archive Date Oct 15 2024
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Description
Through art photography and prose, this book addresses the fragility, beauty, and cultural value of preserving endangered languages, particularly Indigenous languages, at a time when Indigenous and diversity issues are at the forefront of our national conversations.
In a groundbreaking project turned into landmark 2024 exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center, endangered-language speaker, poet, and photojournalist B. A. Van Sise worked with endangered-language speakers, learners, and revitalizers across three years and an entire continent to showcase some of the natural beauties of their languages and lands, highlighting, in particular, American diversity and its many Indigenous communities.
Augmented by nine contributors from diverse cultural groups, On the National Language is a journey into both the challenges and opportunities faced by revitalization efforts, as well as a testament to the beauty and poetry of these many languages themselves.
A Note From the Publisher
Note: The book is best viewed set to view in two-page spreads.
Advance Praise
Praise for On the National Language:
Our verdict? Get it. A rich survey— author and
photographer Van Sise offers a rich profile of the
many languages found in the United States [and]
does a great job of contextualizing the common
tragedy of language loss. - Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Van Sise's previous books:
Among remarkable books of the year, none is likely to be more startlingly original than B. A. Van Sise’s. —Joyce Carol Oates, The Times of London
“Why do we desperately need books like this? At least for me, it’s because we occasionally need to be reminded that there are still mysteries out there, questions that have no answers. It is nice to be re-introduced to wonder.” —Arun Venugopal, NPR
"Sometimes dark, sometimes witty, always surprising, and always spot-on.... there is always more to B.A.'s work than at first it seems." —Roger Leege, Dek Unu
"A truly powerful collection of images, stories, allegories and lives...Van Sise is writing with light, as if drawn by Picasso himself. It is extremely difficult to make this look simple. The light transforms from a simple instrument and becomes representative of amusement and laughter, it is hope in the darkness, it is sunlight from an invisible window that warms and comforts. This is the stuff that moves mountains, the small action that ripples across millennia." —Cary Benbow, F-Stop Magazine
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9780764368141 |
| PRICE | $50.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 176 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Lisa D, Reviewer
This book has so many potential audiences. As someone fascinated by languages and their evolution, this book is an important record of different rare languages. There are gorgeous photos of individuals who speak these rare languages, making this a great gift and/or coffee table book. It was so interesting reading about all these rare languages, most of which I'd never heard of before. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this
Reviewer 1006485
This is an important book that is long overdue, but also just a beautiful book that anyone can enjoy leafing through and learning along the way. It is shocking how many languages used to exist that have already gone extinct. So many more are incredibly endangered, with only a handful of native speakers still alive. We forget that language has not always been monolithic the way it is for many people today. This book documents many of the endangered indigenous languages in a format that is engaging and emotional.
For each language, we are given the area(s), a brief explanation of the language and what is being done to preserve it (particularly if there are any education programs or efforts being made in the local community to resuscitate use of the language), and a single word in the language with the translation in English. On the opposite page we're treated to a photo of someone (or in a few cases, multiple people) who represent that language in some way. What's really beautiful is how the images not only capture the essence of that person and the language, but especially how the word is intentionally chosen to draw a deeper connection with the story being told in the photo. There's a lot going on in each spread, and it invites you to sit with each individual word and experience how it exists in that photo and in the world around us.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review. This review will be cross-posted to my social media accounts closer to the book release date.
