Canadian literature -- Inuit authors, Inuit literature -- Canada, Inuit literature, Canadian literature, Inuit authors 

"By ear we forget, but the paper stays put" — this was how one Inuk, the heir of an oral cultural tradition, summed up the importance of a written literature.

Over the past few decades, Inuit writers have responded with enthusiasm to the challenges and opportunities provided by a written language. This anthology fills a significant gap in bringing together, for the first time, a selection of Inuit writings that are often not easily available to readers in the South. The stories, poems, essays, plays, memoirs, and songs included in this book draw the reader irresistibly into the world of the Inuit, to share their memories and their hopes, their joy and their grief, their anger and their laughter.

From, at first, merely recording and transcribing oral literature, Inuit have begun more and more to write about their experiences, feelings, dreams and problems as they seek to come to terms with their changing way of life. Paper Stays Put does full justice to the remarkable range of Inuit literature. In this book, versions of old Inuit legends appear alongside more recent stories based on folk tale themes. Readers will be fascinated and touched by the reminiscences of life "on the land" — memories of people, of events, of customs, of a way of life. Modern-day life in the settlements, and the culture shock suffered by Inuit in the cities of the South, are vividly evoked in mood poems, personal biographies, descriptions of everyday activities, and reflections on past experiences. And provocative thoughts on the future of the Inuit and of the North are presented in a variety of essays, allegorical stories, and political satire.

Robin Gedalof has performed a valuable service in compiling a truly representative selection of Inuit writings. Together with Alootook Ipellie, whose illustrations for this book were specially commissioned, she has produced a collection which captures the vitality of the Inuit culture as it reconciles itself with that of the South. Paper Stays Put is an important contribution to the Canadian cultural mosaic, and at the same time an immensely enjoyable book which will intrigue and delight all who read it."--Book jacket. 

172 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.