Preface and Acknowledgments

Summary

E. B. WHITE ONCE CAUTIONED: “Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind” (1989, 173). John Lowe further observes that humor “is absolutely central to our conception of the world. Despite this fact, we tend to become suddenly solemn when we begin to write, particularly for scholarly purposes. To be funny indicates a lack of seriousness” (1986, 439). With this book I attempt the seemingly impossible: to analyze, yet also convey, some of the comic spirit that fascinates me in contemporary Native writing. Like traditional trickster tales that teach by mirth, this study thus hopefully both offers academic insight and evokes laughter. Despite necessitating my very personal survival humor at times, to work on this project has been a wonderful chance for which I am very grateful. I thank Prof. Dr. Reingard M. Nischik for her unceasing support and encouragement in every respect. I am grateful to Prof. Dr. Helen Hoy (University of Guelph, Canada) and Prof. Dr. Luci Tapahonso (University of Arizona, Tucson) for helpful suggestions. I express my gratitude for generous financial assistance received from the State of Baden-Württemberg, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Equal Opportunity Council of the University of Constance in order to conduct my research; and for the publication subsidy granted by the Association for Canadian Studies. The Research Colloquium in American Studies at the University of Constance accompanied my project throughout with interest and constructive criticism.