iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

[flyangler18]

Here's a book worth adding to the library. Written by Bill (W.E.) Harney and AP Elkin. I met Bill Harney's son at JT in 2005- an incredibly wise man.

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[ididjaustralia]

flyangler18 wrote:

Here's a book worth adding to the library. Written by Bill (W.E.) Harney and AP Elkin. I met Bill Harney's son at JT in 2005- an incredibly wise man.

Hi Jason,

Maybe we can start a book review or reference library thread? The front cover of your book has Tiwi countrymen on it. Different editions of the book have different covers... mine is something else if my memory serves me correctly.

Guan

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[flyangler18]

That's an excellent idea, Guan. I've been voraciously reading some of the important texts, so can certainly contribute a few reviews.

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[flyangler18]

Well now that I've finally had a good read of this text, I can offer my review:

The collaborative efforts between Bill Harney as poet and AP Elkin as anthropologist/exegist is certainly unique, showing Harney's skill as a poet, translating and transcribing (often in a rhythmic mode imitative of the way the songs were originally sung) a variety of traditional songs throughout the Top End. As in all translations, there is the occasional conflict between idiom and intelligibility/comprehension (if you are familiar with John Csiardi's translation of 'The Divine Comedy', you will understand the issue). In translation studies, there is a constant conflict between preserving the natural rhythms of a language/literary form and making it accessible and understandable to those outside of that tradition, preserving for posterity, etc.

AP Elkin provides the anthropological explanations and credibility to the text.

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[itsadidj]

I've been trying to catch up on some reading myself ( thanks again Kyle ) and think that a book review/reference section would be an excellent addition Guan!

Peace,

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Chris