Emily Pauline Johnson

La Mohawk E. Pauline Johnson (1862–1913), poète et personnalité de la scène au tournant du XXe siècle, se lie d’amitié avec Joe Capilano, chef de la tribu des Squamish sur la côte Ouest du Pacifique. En s’entretenant avec le vieil homme, Johnson recueille plusieurs légendes sur des lieux de la région de Vancouver. Elle transcrit ces légendes en anglais et les publie en 1911. L’ouvrage remporte un succès populaire et sera réédité à plusieurs reprises.

Un siècle plus tard paraît enfin la première traduction française des Légendes de Vancouver. Un nouveau public peut à son tour s’émerveiller de l’imaginaire et de la culture des Premières Nations, tout en découvrant le talent littéraire d’une de leurs plus célèbres porte-parole.

E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake), connue en son temps à la fois comme une dame victorienne et une princesse mohawk, demeure l’une des grandes auteures canadiennes.

Cette édition française comporte des photographies d’Anne-Marie Comte qui a revisité certains lieux évoqués par Johnson.

Bringing the Legends home

Legends of the Capilano updates E. Pauline Johnson’s 1911 classic Legends of Vancouver, restoring Johnson’s intended title for the first time. This new edition celebrates the storytelling abilities of Johnson’s Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) collaborators, Joe and Mary Capilano, and supplements the original fifteen legends with five additional stories narrated solely or in part by Mary Capilano, highlighting her previously overlooked contributions to the book.

Alongside photographs and biographical entries for E. Pauline Johnson, Joe Capilano, and Mary Capilano, editor Alix Shield provides a detailed publishing history of Legends since its first appearance in 1911. Interviews with literary scholar Rick Monture (Mohawk) and archaeologist Rudy Reimer (Skwxwú7mesh) further considers the legacy of Legends in both scholars’ home communities. Compiled in consultation with the Mathias family, the direct descendants of Joe and Mary Capilano and members of the Skwxwú7mesh Nation, this edition reframes, reconnects, and reclaims the stewardship of these stories.

Reviews
"Shield has skilfully opened up a new avenue to the past with potentially wide-ranging appeal both to scholars and students and to general readers."— Jean Barman

Educator Information
This book is part of the First Voices, First Texts series.

Additional Information
256 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Paperback

For the first time, Pauline Johnson’s "The Two Sisters,” a First Nations legend, is accompanied by sumptuous illustrations that showcase the splendour of the Salish Sea. The universal themes of Creation, courage, and peace run through this legend of two little girls who grow up to be courageous young women who help to bring lasting peace to their world. The story is supplemented by a reference section that will enable a reader, parent, teacher, or visitor to the coast to immerse themselves in the rich history of Coast Salish cultures.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 8.

Additional Information
40 Pages | 9" x 10"