Inanna

Joanne Wotypka is a branch library assistant in the Cameron Library at
the University of Alberta.

Looking for stories to tell her own daughters, Kim Echlin decided to
bring together translations of some of the stories of the great Sumerian
Goddess Inanna, a multifaceted deity of epic proportions. This
collection of art and poetry provides a biography of sorts for Inanna
and gives the reader a wild ride through the earthy and sometimes
violent world of the Sumerians.

Echlin introduces her collection with a crib sheet of Sumerian
mythology for the uninitiated. The texts themselves give an overview of
the creation of the Earth, Inanna’s birth, her various adventures, and
(most importantly) her love for the shepherd Dumuzi. Recalling the later
Greek myth of Persephone and the underworld, Inanna’s journey to the
land of the dead and her rage at Dumuzi’s betrayal are described in
eloquent yet unadorned terms, making the text easily accessible.

Complementing Echlin’s text are wonderful illustrations by Linda
Wolfsgruber. Using an earthy palette, and incorporating elements of
Sumerian artistic traditions the artist creates drawings that are simple
yet evocative. Inanna is as pleasing to the eye as it is to the ear.

There is a very strong sexual element to this book. The illustrations
show full-frontal nudity, though male genitals are obscured by
strategically placed objects and limbs. The portion of the text
describing Inanna and Dumuzi’s physical relationship is poetic but
matter-of-fact. There is nothing inappropriate about either of these
elements, as the story of Inanna and Dumuzi is a celebration of love in
all its forms. However, some readers may object to the collection’s
sexual content. Highly recommended.