The Polar Eskimos
Erik Holtved
2011, 5.5 x 9.25"
228 pages
$29.95 cloth
ISBN 978-0-9829155-0-9
This collection of transcribed stories from the Thule region of northern Greenland, begun in 1935, represents stories told to the editor by 5 different Inuit. Holtved recorded these on long playing records along with songs and chants, providing a rich and accurate portrayal of the people and their culture. Multiple versions of the same story are included here, providing greater clarity into the individual storyteller and their own motives. With the help of linguists and in re-reading the transcribed texts back to the storytellers themselves, errors in meaning are corrected and clarified, leaving this most important early record of these tales.