Louise Erdrich Criticism
The literary works of Louise Erdrich offer a profound exploration of cultural identity, heritage, and the intricacies of human relationships. Throughout her prolific career, Erdrich has delved into themes rooted in her Chippewa heritage, the North Dakota landscape, and her own life experiences. Her early education at Dartmouth played a significant role in shaping her understanding of these themes, which she began to explore in her first poetry collection, Jacklight, and her novel Love Medicine. In an interview with Louise Erdrich, she discusses how these elements have informed her storytelling.
Erdrich's debut poetry collection, Jacklight, received critical acclaim for its narrative depth and cultural insight, as noted in both Peter Stitt's review and McKenzie's review. Her ability to weave mythic themes from Native American folklore into her narratives marked her as a distinctive voice in literature. Erdrich's storytelling extends into her novels such as The Beet Queen and Tracks, where she crafts interconnected family stories set against the fictional landscape of North Dakota.
Her second poetry volume, Baptism of Desire, is noted for its exploration of spiritual complexities within a Catholic context, earning praise from critics like Helen Jaskoski for its rich language and imagery. In an interview with Joseph Bruchac, Erdrich discusses themes such as dual heritage and cultural unity, further highlighting the Native American experiences central to her work.
Despite some criticism regarding the complexity of her narratives and mythic elements, Erdrich's portrayal of resilient Native American life and influential women characters solidifies her position as a pivotal figure in contemporary literature. Russell Banks compares her to Charles Dickens for her socially conscious narratives, as seen in his review. Julie Tharp's analysis in Women's Community and Survival in the Novels of Louise Erdrich emphasizes her focus on community and survival.
Erdrich’s works are celebrated for providing a Native perspective that engages readers with the cultural and historical nuances of her characters, a point discussed by James Ruppert. Her contributions not only enrich the understanding of Native American narratives but also mark her as an influential voice in the broader literary landscape.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Erdrich, Louise (Contemporary Literary Criticism)
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Review of Jacklight
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Stitt examines the mythic patterns explored in Jacklight. In Jacklight, her first book, Louise Erdrich arrives at an understanding of the modern world by discovering patterns within the experience she studies—mythic patterns derived from her own Native American background. The poems are narrative in structure, benefiting from a strong sense of both place and character.
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Border Country
(summary)
In the following review, Banks asserts that The Beet Queen, in its best sections, rivals the novels of Charles Dickens in socially conscious storytelling. The Beet Queen is a Dickensian story, an angry comedy about abandonment and survival, pluck and luck (ambition and coincidence), common sense and pretension, and wise children and foolish adults. The book is structured in an almost classical manner, following the paths of the affected lives through three generations until it circles back to where it began, with everything the same only different.
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Whatever Is Really Yours
(summary)
In the following interview, Erdrich and Bruchac discuss Erdrich's writing process and storytelling, exploring how her mixed heritage and cultural identity influence her work, particularly in themes of duality and cultural resilience, as seen in her poetry and novels like "Love Medicine."
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Revenge of the Chippewa Witch
(summary)
In the following review, Vecsey dispels possible criticism of Tracks as stereotypical and improbable, instead positing that the novel's mythic elements bring American Indian history to life.
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Love Medicine: A Female Moby Dick
(summary)
In the following essay, Matchie outlines parallels between Love Medicine and Herman Melville's Moby Dick.
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Poets of Our Time
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Finch praises most of Baptism of Desire but expresses reservations about the final section of the book, objecting to the comparative 'ordinariness' of the poems there.
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Mediation and Multiple Narrative in Love Medicine
(summary)
In the following essay, Ruppert explains the ways in which Erdrich allows readers of Love Medicine, both Native and non-Native American, to experience the Native perspective in the text.
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The Comic Savior: The Dominance of the Trickster in Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine
(summary)
In the following essay, Slack contends that Love Medicine's loose structure as a novel is held tightly together by the recurring figure of the Trickster, represented by various characters.
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Louise Erdrich Revisits the Complex World of the Chippewa
(summary)
In the following review, Rubenstein praises Erdrich's up-dated edition of Love Medicine.
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The Fragmentation of a Tribal People in Louise Erdrich's Tracks
(summary)
In the following essay, Larson discusses Erdrich's depiction in Tracks of Native Americans' loss of land and cultural identity to white colonization.
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Women's Community and Survival in the Novels of Louise Erdrich
(summary)
In the following essay, Tharp discusses the destruction of Indian women's power and identity through Anglo colonization and demonstrates how Erdrich's explores this phenomenon in her fiction.
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Gambling with Their Heritage
(summary)
In the following review, Thornton offers a positive appraisal of The Bingo Palace but expresses reservations about the novel's elements of magical realism.
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Race and Gender in Louise Erdrich's The Beet Queen
(summary)
In the following essay, Meisenhelder argues that Erdrich addresses problems of race and gender in her portrayals of white women and men of color in The Beet Queen.
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History, Postmodernism, and Louise Erdrich's Tracks
(summary)
In the following essay, Peterson presents a poststructuralist interpretation of Tracks, noting in particular the novel's treatment of history as potentially fictive and relative.
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Mother's Day
(summary)
In the following review, Halpern praises The Blue Jay's Dance for its realistic portrayal of early motherhood.
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A Gathering of Widows
(summary)
In the following review, Childress praises Erdrich's storytelling and characterization in Tales of Burning Love.
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A Gulliver Shipwrecked on a Coast of Women
(summary)
In the following review, Klinkenborg praises Tales of Burning Love and conjectures that the book signals a fundamental change in Erdrich's writing.
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Blurs, Blends, Berdaches: Gender Mixing in the Novels of Louise Erdrich
(summary)
In the following essay, Barak discusses Erdrich's use of gender mixing in the Indian tradition of the figures of the berdache and the trickster.
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Louise Erdrich's 'Scarlet Letter': Literary Continuity in Tales of Burning Love
(summary)
In the following essay, Matchie discusses similarities between Tales of Burning Love and Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
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Women Aging into Power: Fictional Representations of Power and Authority in Louise Erdrich's Female Characters
(summary)
In the following essay, Castillo examines issues of women and power in Erdrich's novels.
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Review of Jacklight
(summary)
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Erdrich, Louise (Poetry Criticism)
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Interview with Louise Erdrich
(summary)
In the following interview, Louise Erdrich discusses the cultural and personal influences on her writing, emphasizing the significance of her Chippewa heritage, the North Dakota landscape, and her early education, while exploring themes of identity, endurance, and the human condition in her poetry and fiction.
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Review of Jacklight
(summary)
In the following review, McKenzie asserts that Erdrich's first volume of poetry successfully portrays North Dakota's varied population of “ordinary” people of both Native and European American heritage.
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Review of Jacklight
(summary)
In the following review, Shetley offers a brief criticism of Jacklight, noting that Louise Erdrich's rough-hewn poems view the American West under two contrary aspects: as wild, daemonic nature or as landscape of human loneliness. He discusses the quest for the deep image in her work and highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of her poetic style.
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Review of Jacklight
(summary)
In the following review of Jacklight, Waters comments on Erdrich's exploration of her mixed heritage through poetry.
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Review of Jacklight
(summary)
In the following review, Loudon offers favorable criticism of Jacklight, noting its narrative force, precise images, and complex characters, and asserting that the poems are first-rate, showcasing a committed language expressing courage tempered by fear.
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Review of Jacklight
(summary)
In the following review, Jahner offers a critical review of Erdrich's Jacklight, noting that the poems demonstrate an awareness of the revelatory power of words and are rooted in the culture of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe in North Dakota.
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PW Interviews: Louise Erdrich
(summary)
In the following interview, Erdrich and Berkley explore Louise Erdrich's journey as a writer, emphasizing her collaborative relationship with her husband Michael Dorris, their shared Native American heritage, and the unique, intertwined process of writing their acclaimed works, including "Love Medicine" and "The Beet Queen."
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Whatever Is Really Yours: An Interview with Louise Erdrich
(summary)
In the following interview, Erdrich and Bruchac explore the profound impact of cultural, familial, and geographical elements on Erdrich's writing, emphasizing themes such as dual heritage, the juxtaposition of past and present, and the natural unity in her work, particularly as they relate to Native American experiences and storytelling.
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Review of Baptism of Desire
(summary)
In the following review, Jaskoski discusses Erdrich's second volume of poetry, exploring the legacy of Catholic tradition and terminology, and how it serves as a jumping-off point rather than a core metaphor in the poems.
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Review of Baptism of Desire
(summary)
In the following review, Dunn offers a critical overview of the poems contained in Baptism of Desire.
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Sacramental Language: Ritual in the Poetry of Louise Erdrich
(summary)
In the following essay, Hafen offers a critical analysis of Erdrich's poetry, focusing on her portrayal of culture and ritual through literature.
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Resistant History: Revising the Captivity Narrative in ‘Captivity’ and Blackrobe: Isaac Jogues.
(summary)
In the following essay, Fast compares literary treatments of colonial Indian captivity stories, as represented in selected works of Erdrich and Maurice Kenny.
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Interview with Louise Erdrich
(summary)
- Further Reading