By: Jacobson, Anna
ISBN: 1-55500-037-1
Date: 1990
Elnguq is the first novel written in the Yup'ik language of Southwestern Alaska. Its author, Anna W. Jacobson, was born and spent her early years in Iqsalleq, a small, remote and now-abandoned settlement in the Kwethluk Mountains on a tributary of the Kuskokwim River. As a girl, the author imagined that the inhabitants of Iqsalleq--surrounded as they were seemingly endless wilderness--were the only people in the world. This book, though not autobiographical, draws on those early memories, reflecting a traditional Native Alaskan way of life.
"Elnguq," the name of the young girl who is the main character of the story, is the Yup'ik word for "birch tree," and it also means "strength through flexibility." Coincidentally, "Elnguq" has another meaning: "that which is."
Stock number:
CY07
Price:
$16.00