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A reader wrote to ask me about
Pocahontas by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire. It came out in 1946, which might seem like it is so old that you can't get it... but you can. It is still in print. It is one of those books (there are many!) that gets printed again and again. It is one of those books that I look at and turn away from. It is one of those subjects (Pocahontas) that wears me out.
So, this is a quick reply about the D'Aulaire's
Pocahontas. I do not recommend it. It has the word "squaw" in it. It shows men, sitting with their arms crossed up high and away from their chest, which is a stereotypical way of showing Native men. It uses "princess" to describe her. There's problems with the accuracy, too. If you are interested in an essay about how she is depicted in children's books and the Disney film, too, see Cornel Pewewardy's
The Pocahontas Paradox: A Cautionary Tale for Educators.
Hey all... you know that Pocahontas did not marry John Smith, right? Check this out:
Here's the synopsis:
In this book, children learn the story of Pocahontas. Famous for helping maintain peace between the English colonists and Native Americans, this brave Indian woman befriended the settlers at Jamestown, saving the life of their leader, Captain John Smith, whom she later married.
I wonder if the synopsis is wrong? Does the book actually have that error in it?
Yesterday (June 23, 2015), I read Sophie Gilbert's article in The Atlantic, "In Defense of Pocahontas: Disney's Most Radical Heroine."
My first reaction to Gilbert's article was anger. I was incensed at her because she said this:
The main problem with Pocahontas--as expressed by several Native American groups, including the Powhatan Nation, which traces its origins back to Pocahontas herself--is that over time, she's come to embody the trope of the "Good Indian," or one who offers her own life to help save a white settler.
In short, Gilbert dismissed Native views. In her article, she quotes from the
Powhatan Nation's statement on the film. I trust that she read the second paragraph, which says:
Our efforts to assist Disney with cultural and historical accuracy were rejected. Our efforts urging him to reconsider his misguided mission were spurred.
She's done the same thing Disney did. The thrust of her article is "in defense" of the film. To her, it doesn't matter what the Powhatan Nation said. She doesn't say who the other "Native American groups" she referenced are, or what they said about the film. But again, whatever they said doesn't matter, because she sees fit to write "in defense" of Disney.
I tweeted at her about that dismissal. She replied. Here's a screen capture of that exchange:
And then she followed up with "I was talking about the narrative of the movie, just to clarify." I don't understand her clarification, because the narrative in the movie is what the Powhatan Nation was talking about, too. At the end of their statement is this:
It is unfortunate that this sad story, which Euro-Americans should find embarrassing, Disney makes "entertainment" and perpetuates a dishonest and self-serving myth at the expense of the Powhatan Nation.
Gilbert is doing the same thing Disney did. She is promoting this dishonest and self-serving myth at the expense of the Powhatan Nation and all the people who are led astray by the narrative of that film.
By focusing on "female agency" and an "environmentalist message," Gilbert is throwing millions of people under the bus. She's not alone in doing that, though. It happens a lot in literature, with people defending books like
Touching Spirit Bear. It has inaccuracies, too, but people think its message about bullying is more important that those inaccuracies. Or,
Brother Eagle Sister Sky, which has problems, too, but people think its environmentalist message is more important than its inaccuracies.
Something else is always more important than getting the facts right when Native people are being misrepresented. That's where Gilbert stands. She's getting called out by people for the article. Take a look at her Twitter account:
Sophie Gilbert.
One thing she was criticized for was her use of 'tundra' to describe the setting for
The Lion King. In response, she changed it to 'savanna' and said "sorry for the embarrassing lack of geographical knowledge."
Based on her response to others who criticized her defense of the movie, I doubt that we're going to see a tweet from her that says "sorry for the embarrassing lack of respect for Native voices."
Gilbert objected to one person's tweet that suggested she was speaking from within a white privilege space. She called that a personal attack. What, I wonder, shall we call her dismissal of Native voices?
_______________
For further reading:
The Pocahontas Paradox: A Cautionary Tale for Educators, by Cornel Pewewardy.
Who Was Pocahontas: Frightened Child or Exotic Sexual Fantasy?, by Steve Russell.
Pocahontas' First Marriage: The Powhatan Side of the Story, by Phoebe Farris
By: Jerry Beck,
on 3/13/2015
Blog:
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Historian and filmmaker John Canemaker will host the conversation with the master character animator.
Thaddeus Andracki is one of the most outstanding people I came to know at the University of Illinois when I taught there. As an undergrad, he took my Politics of Children's Literature course and is now in Library School there.
Thaddeus publishes a blog called
I'll get there. It'll be worth the trip. I like looking at the bookshelf that is the background for his blog. I especially like seeing Joseph Bruchac's
Hidden Roots there. I think it is
one of the most important books around.
Yesterday, Thaddeus posted "
E99.P85, Or: The Case of Pocahontas in the Library." Read this excerpt, and then go read his entire post. And, then, bookmark or follow his blog. He is a librarian-in-training, but he's already someone we can all learn from.
Disney’s Pocahontas was assigned a main entry of E99.P85. For those who don’t have LoC call numbers memorized (which I’m assuming is most people), E is the broad heading for American History. Numbers in the range around E90 are specifically American Indian History, and E99 is for Biography of American Indians. The P85 specifies further the person the biography is about.
Pocahontas was being classified as a historically accurate documentary.
I’d like to think this was some sort of mistake. But according to OCLC Classify, there are 1242 holdings of this film classified under this call number in libraries that submit data to OCLC. Pocahontas was deliberately assigned a call number such that it could pose as Native history.
I doubt I need to convince you that this film does not accurately represent the history of the woman who was Matoaka, but just in case, here’s a statement from the Powhatan Renape Nation, as well as information from multiple other sources. What I’m concerned about is the carelessness that librarians have taken in curating information about people.
November is Native American Heritage Month. This year’s theme is “Pride in Our Heritage. Honor to Our Ancestors.”
Although the first “American Indian Day” was celebrated in May 1916 in New York, a month-long recognition of Native Americans did not happen until 1990. That year, President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month, to celebrate the heritage, history, art and traditions of our ancestors.
Use the opportunity to recognize the significant contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the U.S. Celebrate our heritage and our ancestors by:
Pocahontas: Princess of the New World
By Kathleen Krull and David Diaz
Sports Heroes and Legends: Jim Thorpe
By Carrie Golus
By:
Bill Kirk,
on 4/6/2010
Blog:
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April 5: The prompt on day five of the Poem A Day Challenge was to “… write a TMI poem (or too much information poem).” This one gave me a bit of a creative challenge—not so much the poetry part but how to limit the limitless view of the subject, yet capture its essence without writing "too much." Here goes....
Too Much Information—May I Have Some More, Please
By Bill Kirk
I woke up this morning
And what did I see?
Too much information
Surrounding me.
A common lament, wouldn’t you say?
What is it about information
That makes it a problem to solve instead of a gift?
Are we any better off after being assaulted
By TV, radio, print media and other sensory messages
For most of every twenty-four hours?
How many words, images, sounds and tactile tidbits—
Often classified as news—
Are insufficient,
Sufficient,
Or too much to process?
Is information simply a stimulant
Which some need more than others?
Are some never sated and others overwhelmed?
Has evolution cyber-adapted the few with filters
To disregard all but the most essential?
Or are we turning off even important stuff
Just to escape information overload?
Alas, perhaps it is only the
Useless or unwanted information we rail against.
Do we really want to hear it announced
On our favorite talk show,
That a trans-gender someone
Is having sex and lots of it?
Or perhaps, instead, we secretly want to know how.
Should we be giddy or feel guilty
Having the knowledge that someone previously anonymous
Has become more comfortable
With their newly recognized
Multi-morphed identity?
In an instant forty million people
Are now routinely exposed
To what was previously private.
Should it still be?
Where is Paul Simon in our moment of cultural need?
Who will be the one to pen "Bluetooth Conversations"?
Who will immortalize the public musings of our
Unknown neighbor on the metro train,
As he shares the results of his colonoscopy?
And what about those pesky genital warts?
“Yeah, the doctor told me they aren’t contagious.
(Now Yelling) No, I said contagious.
Reception in this tunnel is really the pits.
I said pits.”
Pardon me, but that’s more than I bargained for
On my commute to work.
And yet we want more….
April 6: “…For this prompt, write an ekphrastic poem. According to John Drury's The Poetry Dictionary, ekphrastic poetry is "Poetry that imitates, describes, critiques, dramatizes, reflects upon, or otherwise responds to a work of nonliterary art, especially the visual." So, I've provided links to two pieces of art, and I want you to pick one (or both) to write an ekphrastic poem. (It would be helpful for you to mention which art you picked.)
1. Pocahontas, by Annie Leibovitz
2. Flight of the Witches, by Francisco de Goya”
EKPHRASTIC? Who could have guessed? Setting aside the odd name of this poetic form, for me these kinds of prompts (using images as a foil for the written word)trigger a quick creative response. In a way, maybe it’s a bit of the same process (although from opposite sides) an artist goes through when handed a story to illustrate. Artists react to the words. In this prompt, writers are asked to react to a visual image. I chose the image of Pocahontas.
Run, Pocahontas! Run!
By Bill Kirk
Run, Pocahontas! Run! The British are coming!
Your carefree days as a 12-year old princess
Will soon be a distant memory.
Run, Pocahonta! Run! The warmth of
Indian Summer days will soon enough
Be replaced with Northern Virginia snow.
Run, Pocahontas! Run! Two years after
Meeting John Smith, he will be injured and
Return to England in 1609.
Run, Pocahonta
By:
Jennifer Porter,
on 4/27/2009
Blog:
Post-Its from a Parallel Universe
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Pocahontas is an excellent historical fiction read for ages ten and up. Bruchac did his work in researching and writing this 147 page book that dispels many of the Disneyfied myths of Pocahontas and John Smith.
Pocahontas is told by both the eleven-year-old Powhatan girl, daughter of the Great Chief or Mamanatowic, of the Powhatan people and Captain John Smith of England. The story covers the time from the voyage to the scene in Mamanatowic’s village, in which John Smith misinterpreted what had happened and thinks he was saved by Pocahontas.
Pocahontas is her everyday name. Mataoka is the name only her closest friends and family use. And Amonute is her formal name, a name meaning favored one and a name she will no longer be known by when her father passes on. She lives in the village Werowocomoco with her father. Her mother died but her father’s sisters care for her. Her mother would not have lived in the same town as her daughter, but rather with her own family.
The Tassantassuk, or Outsiders, have arrived on the shores of Chesepiock, the great salt bay, in their big swan canoes and are building a camp in one of the worst and most foolish places to try and live. John Smith has been on board the Susan Constant as a prisoner but is released when his name is read as one of the leaders on the council.
The story then follows the two cultures as they clash against each other and learn about each other. The Powhatans keep the English alive despite the English being offensive, rude and hostile (not to mention aggressive and violent).
Mamanatowick destroyed the Chesepiock people because of a prophecy that foretold that a great nation would rise from the Great Salt Water Bay and bring an end to Mamanatowic’s kingdom. So, he made war on them and the Piankatanks and then attacked and removed the Kecough people from their land. Now, a new threat, a more dangerous threat with their powerful thunder sticks, has cropped up.
Pocahontas never meets John Smith until his capture by her Uncle and the ceremony in which her father adopts him as one of his own sons. She never goes to the white man’s camp without her father’s permission and with escorts. Mamanatowic thinks the ceremony has obligated John Smith to honor the Powhatan leader.
Captain Smith has his hands full getting the lazy men to work and to protect themselves and recover from assundry illnesses. He also engages in some political take overs and expeditions into the surrounding country. He is not captured until Dec. 1607 (they landed in April 1607). The Powhatan call him Little Red-Haired Warrior and he earns their respect with his courage and fighting skills.
We learn what it must have been like for both of them to be who they were and to live when they did. We learn that the Powhatan recognized five seasons: Cattapeuk (spring), Cohattayough (early summer), Nepinough (late summer), Taquitock (fall) and Cohonk (winter). “Everyone knows the earth prefers the touch of a woman’s hands,” Pcoahontas is told while she helps the resting women during their time in the Moon House.
When Smith is captured, Pocahontas hopes that he will join her people and help them get rid of the worthless and rude Tassantassuk. Smith lies to Mamanatowic about why the English are there and how they even ended up there. Pocahontas impulsively rushes forth when Smith’s head is lain upon the rocks in order to be the first to touch him so that she’ll always be the first of his relatives among her people.
When Smith returns to Jamestown, he is arrested and charged (but acquitted) for the deaths of the other men on the expedition up the Chickahominy River, in which he was captured. In September 1609, he is badly injured (possibly intentionally) and then someone attempts to assasinate him while he recovers. Pocahontas has become a frequent visitor and when he returns to England in October, she is told that he died.
Brucac includes in the end both a section on Early 17th Century English and the Powhatan Language. The author used all of Smith’s accounts in his research and also accounts of others. He gives us selected words and phrases in Powhatan, place names and Native names.
How to count to ten in Powhatan:
- necut
- ningh
- nuss
- yowgh
- paranske
- comotinch
- toppawass
- nusswash
- kekatawgh
- kaskeke
Bruchac primarily based his Native stories (of which preface Pocahontas’s chapters) on Powhatan and eastern Algonquin traditions and the works of Helen C. Rountree, in particular her 1989 book The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture. He also had the help of Native Americans and the Powhatan’s and his own familiarity with the Abenaki language.
All of us have two ears; our Creator wishes us to remember there are two sides to every story, says Bruchac.
If you get the chance, visit the historic site of Jamestown. It is a fascinating trip. The fort was actually very small and built in a triangle and right on the river’s shore. It is definitely in the midst of a swamp.
On the website of the Powhatan Renape Nation is a statement I want to direct your attention to... It is called "The Pocahontas Myth." Here's the first two paragraphs:
In 1995, Roy Disney decided to release an animated movie about a Powhatan woman known as "Pocahontas". In answer to a complaint by the Powhatan Nation, he claims the film is "responsible, accurate, and respectful."
We of the Powhatan Nation disagree. The film distorts history beyond recognition. Our offers to assist Disney with cultural and historical accuracy were rejected. Our efforts urging him to reconsider his misguided mission were spurred."
If you teach about Pocahontas, or are selecting books about her for your library or classroom, you might want to
read the entire statement. In fact, you might want to have your students read it!
.
Great questions on my post on whether the publishing business is personal. You definitely know how to keep me writing.
Kris Fletcher, who always keeps me on my toes, asked which is harder to turn down, a book that I love but know isn’t marketable, or one that’s totally marketable but doesn’t sing for me. Until I wrote this post I wasn’t sure and thought it depended on the book; after finishing, though, I came up with my answer. . . .
This summer has been very, very busy for me. I’ve finally caught up on my submission reading (thanks in part to the interns) and read at least 10 full manuscript requests over the course of three months. Of those 10 I only offered on one. Some just really fell apart after the first few chapters, but two in particular stuck with me.
One was a mystery with a great hook and really fun characters. The writing was good, but not mind-blowing (which is fine). In the end, though, I had to pass since I didn’t think the mystery itself was strong enough. I was disappointed. I really feel that I could sell this book without much trouble at all, if she’s able to fix the mystery.
The second was a historical that was beautifully written. The characters were so well drawn you believed in them, the plot was interesting, and the writing, again, amazing. In the end, though, I wasn’t sure what the book was. The characters had some real flaws, things that made some of them too unlikable (characters you should have liked) and the plot never took off for me. Throughout most of the book I was left waiting for something to happen. And in the end I’m not sure where this book would have sold or who the audience would have been.
Which was the greater disappointment? The historical. I think that you can learn to plot and create characters, but voice is something that comes from within. I’m not convinced you can learn to become a beautiful writer. How do I say this? I think that beautiful people are born. We can all learn to make ourselves look really attractive, but true beauty is something you’re born with. Beauty, therefore, is a rare commodity, and when you read something that’s really written beautifully you want nothing more than the rest of the book to flow. When it doesn’t you’re naturally disappointed.
In both cases I finished the entire manuscript, even though I knew halfway through that it wasn’t going to work out, and in both cases I wrote letters explaining my decision to pass and giving suggestions on what I thought could be done to correct them. And of course I invited both authors to resubmit.
Now I’m going to turn this around to you. Which is harder to read, a book that’s amazingly written but weak on plot, or a book that has an amazing plot but the writing is weak?
Jessica
After reading my recent post on whether the publishing business is personal, I was asked to tell a little about my own personal tastes, likes, and dislikes. Primarily, though, I was asked whether or not there are subject matters I won’t represent and what I would like to get my hands on.
The last question is the easiest to answer. I would love to get my hands on some really great romantic suspense or thriller. I don’t have much on my list now and it’s the one thing I’ve always looked for, but also one of the toughest to find. I get a lot, but not much of it is really new or different, or suspenseful enough. I think good romantic suspense needs to read like a mystery. It needs to have a lot of red herrings and a complex plot. Without that it’s just not enough.
The really tough question is what don’t I like (I think you have a good idea by now of what I like) or what subject matters I don’t represent. I honestly don’t think there’s a really easy answer to that. At this moment I can’t think of anything I will reject immediately because of the subject matter. I know some agents won’t handle books with child abduction and others have a fear of small spaces and can’t read anything in which a character might be trapped in a coffin-like area. I don’t have such issues. In fact, both of those work quite well for me because they bring the fear factor up that much more. I have a very, very difficult time reading about child abuse (as I suspect most of us do), but I think if the subject matter is handled well, and I don’t actually have to witness the abuse, I won’t object to it. Rape also makes me cringe, but again, if handled well, and primarily off-stage, I won’t object. And of course victims of any of these crimes are different than witnessing the crime itself.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that there isn’t a subject matter I immediately reject. I’m open to reading anything as long as it’s done tastefully, it’s done well, and it’s done within the context of the story.
Now, there are some things that I don’t like when it comes to style and types of voices I don’t like reading, but I’m not sure I can tell you through a blog what those are. I can say that typically I do not like it when the character introduces herself to the reader. “My name is . . .” Of course, again, if done in the right way this could easily work. More often than not, though, I think it’s a cop-out on the writer’s part.
I really try not to say that there are subject matters I refuse to look at because the minute it’s out of my mouth an amazing book on just that subject will cross my desk. I think that almost any subject matter can be done if done well, and that’s really the key. Often when agents say that they won’t read a certain subject it’s because they’ve seen few things on that subject that have been done really well.
But what about you? Readers have personal tastes too and I imagine there’s a subject matter or two out there that you’re reluctant to pick up.
Jessica
In my blog post on Getting Your Work in the Right Hands, a commenter asked the following:
Aren't agents in the business of finding books that will make them money; sussing out what will appeal to the end user? Are editors like agents, i.e. do they choose books based on their personal likes, dislikes and phobias? Seems to me, that would constitute a very bad business model. Since agents are the conduit for getting a product to market, one would hope they would choose the products they feel are most likely to sell, setting aside their personal foibles as much as possible.
And I didn’t think you were being argumentative at all, but asking reasonable questions that any writer should want to know the answers to. You are just asking me how the heck this business makes any sense. Let me start by saying that it doesn’t.
And that’s the real trick of publishing, or any entertainment business. Choosing what should be published is a little bit about finding books that are most likely to sell and a little bit about personal preferences. Agents and editors are in the business to make money for themselves and their companies, and yes, making money means finding those projects that will sell. But the biggest thing agents and editors have learned to rely on, and what makes an agent or editor successful, is her own instincts, which is why we specialize. But I understand what you’re getting at. You’re looking at the narrower picture here. It’s not about why an agent represents romance and not science fiction. The question is how an agent can reject a work simply because she has a phobia of cats and the characters in the book she’s considering are shape-shifting cats? Easy. I receive hundreds of submissions every week, as do most agents, and part of my job is to weed through those and find the books that I not only think I can sell but those books I’m excited to sell. Almost every week I reject something that I know will sell but that I do not feel I have the passion to sell. Does that mean the book will never be published or that down the line I’ll regret not offering representation? No, not at all. It means that I’m not the right advocate for that book. Ask any agent or editor and they will all say that at one time or another they rejected a book that later became a success. Keep in mind, though, that part of becoming a success is having the right team and perfect timing. Just because a book is successful with one agent or one house doesn’t mean another house or agent could have done as well with it. Of course, it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have either.
There are a lot of really great books being written every single day, and by turning down one because of a fear, phobia, or dislike is not going to hurt my business, or any other agent’s business. It’s also not going to hurt that writer’s career. If a book is publishable, marketable, and has all of those things the public wants to see, it will be published. It doesn’t mean, however, that every agent would have wanted to take the plunge, or every editor would have made an offer. We all have limited resources. I can only successfully represent so many clients, and editors and publishers can only publish so many books a year, and if I'm choosing between two titles that are equally good and will probably be equally successful I will probably bow to my personal preferences and choose the book I like personally.
Keep in mind that personal preferences play into every aspect of this business. Good writing, a great plot, and strong characterization are all somewhat subjective. We’ve all read books that friends, family, and even reviewers have adored, books that publishers spent thousands to market and sell because they saw the book and author as the next big thing but that we couldn’t even get past page 50 on.
So yes, personal preferences can play a role in why an agent or editor makes a decision. However, those preferences are usually a bit stronger than the examples I used. I really can’t imagine anyone rejecting a book that has a dog in it just because they hate or are afraid of dogs (of course, I can’t imagine anyone hating dogs). And usually those preferences are somewhat subconscious. Rather than an agent reading the query and thinking, “I dislike that, I won’t read it,” the dislike comes through while reading and the agent simply loses her enthusiasm or enjoyment for the book.
Agents and editors are successful partly because they have good instincts as to what works and what doesn’t, and for all of us, personal preferences do play into those instincts.
Jessica
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Just talked with a professional cataloger I know, he has changed the OCLC record. Sounds like then it is up to each library to make their own choices and adjustments for what they already have. Libraries with new holdings can use the updated OCLC.
Thanks, Sarah!
Thanks for reposting some of my thoughts, Debbie. It's good to know that people take my rants seriously.
And, truly, it is because of what I learned from you that I am able to think about this issue in this kind of depth. I thank you for that as well.