274 pages
Review by Ryan Winn
Native literature is inherently political, often requiring an understanding of both national and tribally specific opining. This is not to say that all Native writing has a unified, or even a defined political agenda. In fact, as James H. Cox notes in his recent book,
The Political Arrays of American Indian Literary History, Native texts resist predictive classification.
Cox considers the assertions and observations made by and about Native texts as the “political arrays” of American Indian literature. Exploring letters, novels, reviews, articles, and paratexts collectively as “literature,” Cox recognizes that Native writing and ideas span the political spectrum, thereby defying umbrella classifications. In so doing, he challenges readers to reconsider any reductive textual comparisons in favor of recognizing the nuances within the complexities of Native authors and their literary output.