Totem Poles

Patricia Morley is a professor of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University, an associate fellow of the Simone de Beauvoir
Institute, and author of Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Home.

Stewart’s intricate black-and-white drawings of Northwest Coast totem
poles constitute a work of art and a labor of love. On finely textured,
creamy paper, drawings and text make a unified statement. Archival
photographs of carvers at work, ceremonial dancers, and Native villages
supplement the drawings, which catch the spirit, as well as the details,
of each pole.

Interest in this distinctive art and culture continues to grow, and
Stewart writes for this expanding audience in clear, strong prose. Her
previous publications include Indian Fishing and Cedar. (A single,
old-growth cedar is the material from which a Native totem pole is
carved.)

In this book Stewart covers background information (the land and
people), types of poles, methods of carving, myths and legends, and
cultural art styles. She then discusses individual poles and carvers.

Totem Poles plays on the inner eye after it is closed.