Joseph Bruchac
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Joseph Bruchac | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1942 |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Spouse | Carol |
Joseph Bruchac (born 1942) is a writer of books relating to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a particular focus on northeastern Native American and Anglo-American lives and folklore. He has published works of poetry, novels, and short stories. He is from Saratoga Springs, New York, and is of Abenaki, English, and Slovak ethnicity. Among his works are the novel Dawn Land (1993) and its sequel, Long River (1995), which are about a young Abenaki man in pre-European contact times.
With more than 120 books and numerous awards to his credit, Joseph Bruchac is best known for his work as a Native writer and storyteller. Bruchac is also known for his generous efforts in encouraging other Native writers and performing artists. As one of the founders of the Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers, he has helped numerous Native authors get their work published. He began publishing in 1971 and has collaborated on eight books with his son Jim. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas.[1]
Bruchac was a varsity heavyweight wrestler at Cornell University and is a former high school "'and junior high wrestling'" For more than three decades, he has also been a devoted student of the martial arts. He holds the ranks of pengawal and pendekar in Pencak Silat, the martial art of Indonesia, and has studied various forms of Tai Chi, capoeira, kung fu wu su, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with numerous teachers. He does not regard himself as a master. His two sons, Jim and Jesse, are also martial arts teachers. Jim is a sensei and fourth degree black belt in karate, and Jesse is co-owner of a mixed martial arts academy. (see www.wnymma.com)
Bruchac lives in Greenfield Center, New York, with Carol, his wife of 42 years and his partner in running the Greenfield Review Press, Bowman Books, and the Native American Authors Catalogue. Mr. Bruchac is also a well-loved performer, known for outstanding ability in storytelling, and for the playing of Native instruments, including the hand drum, wooden flute, and the double wooden flute, which produces 2 notes at the same time. He performs with his sister, Marge Bruchac, and his sons, Jim and Jesse, as part of The Dawnland Singers.
His most recent novel, March Toward the Thunder, features Native men who enlisted in the American Civil War; it is based on the experiences of his great-grandfather, Louis Bowman. Joseph Bruchac has also written Code talker: A book about the Navajo Marines[2]. Code talkers were used in World War II.
Short Author Biography: Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed Abenaki children's book author, poet, novelist and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. Coauthor with Michael J. Caduto of the best-selling Keepers of the Earth series[3], Bruchac's poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from Akwesasne Notes and The American Poetry Review to National Geographic Magazine and Parabola.
Joseph Bruchac and Michael J. Caduto co-authored Keepers of the Animals[4]. This is a book in the Keeper of the Earth series. In this book, there are several lessons that deal with animals. Each lesson contains a Native North American story about animals. Following the story, there is a discussion and questions that can be asked. These questions can be used to discuss the comprehension of the story. Then there are activities that can be used to allow the students more hands-on activities. For example, there is a story about the mark of the spider (the web). The students make a web using hula hoops and velcro strips. This allows the students to see how sticky the web is and how spiders can catch their food.
Notes
- ^ List of NWCA Lifetime Achievement Awards, accessed 6 Aug 2010.
- ^ Bruchac, Joseph (2006). Code Talker. New York: Speak. ISBN 0142405965.
- ^ Google Books search for "Keepers of the Earth". Retrieved 21 November 2009.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ "Keepers of the Animals: Native American Stories And Wildlife Activities for Children by Joseph Bruchac". FantasticFiction. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
Books
- Bruchac, Joseph (1979). The Good Message of Handsome Lake. Unicorn keepsake series. Vol. 9. Woodblock illustration by Rita Corbin. Greensboro, N. C.: Unicorn Press. ISBN 9780877751137. OCLC 5135306.
- The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story, pictures by Anna Vojtech, Dial Books, 1993 ISBN 0803713312
- A Boy called Slow, illustrated by Rocco Baviera, Philomel Books, 1994
- The Earth Under Sky Bear's Foot, illustrated by Thomas Locker, Philomel Books, 1995 ISBN 039922713x
- The Story of the Milky Way: A Cherokee Tale, with Gayle Ross, paintings by Virginia A. Stroud Dial Books, 1995
- Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places, Illustratedby Thomas Locker, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1996
- Lasting Echoes. An Oral History of Native American People. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997.
- Crazy Horse's Vision, illustrated by S.D. Nelson, Lee & Loe Books, Inc, 2000 ISBN1880000946
- Code Talker. About the journey of Ned Begay, a Navajo man's voyage during WWII. First published in USA, Dial Books 2005
- Buffalo Song illustrated by Bill Farnsworth, Lee & Low Books, Inc., 2008 ISBN 9781584302803
- Night Wings, Harper Collins, Publishers, 2009, ISBN 9780061123184
External links
- Public School Insights Interview with Bruchac Posted March 3, 2008
- "Joseph Bruchac". FantasticFiction. Retrieved 1 June 2010.