Compass of the Dying

by Lieberman, Laurence

• ISBN13: 9781557285102
• ISBN10: 1557285101
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-01-01
• Publisher: Univ of Arkansas Pr

Summary

When Laurence Lieberman writes of Guyana or islands in the Dutch West Indies, he excavates, explores, even exhumes the essence of the place. In the flora and fauna, in the rural cafes and ruins of churches and crypts, in the taste of iguana soup and the look of light through strained glass, Lieberman unfolds an exquisite atlas of the senses.
Folk tales, legends, and island myths play a great role in his newest work. In the eddies of a river in Guyana, Lieberman dares river demons. On the island of Aruba, he hears the chants and work songs of long-dead miners in an abandoned gold mine. He briefly loses himself when he stares into the mirror of a well once frequented by slaves on Bonaire.
Coupled with natural forces - floods, volcanic eruptions, constant rains - these folk tales and the stories of the islanders' lives create a "wedding of sun and rain," and a map to the troves of the Caribbean hidden beneath a rich and often violent history.

Table of Contents

Undying Loyalty	p. 3
A Gift of Tusks	p. 5
Massikuriman: The River Demons	p. 11
Dry River Crossing	p. 17
Embracing the Sisserou Parrot	p. 23
Wide Skull, Puffy Jowls	p. 37
Spine	p. 39
The Iguana Hunter's Floating Gait	p. 41
Shaggy Mane Lord	p. 44
The Chinese Gambling House	p. 49
Work Chants at an Abandoned Gold Mill	p. 52
Notes from the Synagogue Museum	p. 61
Ladyknife	p. 63
Lament for the Lady Felons	p. 66
The Marriage Furies	p. 70
Three Years after the Four Days' War	p. 73
Hosting an Idol	p. 75
The Morning Star, Extinguished	p. 78
Farewell to the Lost Music Scores	p. 82
Thirst	p. 91
Urn Burial	p. 94
The Legend of Rode Pan Well	p. 97
The Origin of Stars	p. 100
By the Light of One Star	p. 103
Ballad of the Star Hijackers	p. 108
Romp of the Cave Healer	p. 115
Compass of the Dying	p. 120
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.