The Folding Cliffs (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: W. S. Merwin
- First Published: 1998
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Principal Characters: Pi’ilani, Ko’olau
- Genres: Poetry
- Subjects: Culture, Tradition, Mythology or myths, Revolutions, Religion, Ethnic relations, Legends, East and West
W. S. Merwin’s new book-length story of the impact of Western civilization on the indigenous peoples of Hawaii is an epic narrative told simply but powerfully. While focusing on the extraordinary lives of two characters, the rebel outcast Ko’olau and his loyal, stoic widow Pi’ilani, Merwin’s three-hundred-pages-plus poem includes legend and history, legends of the past and legends in the making. The heroism of an oppressed, nonliterate people reacting against a culture that steals their land, suppresses their religion, and ultimately attempts to determine the lives of natives...
[The entire page is 1772 words long]
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