Here is a luminous collection of Native American songs and verse selected and updated by the editor of Coming to Light, the highly praised anthology of Native American literature. These are stories of the earth and the sky, of mourning and of love, of ceremonies and rites and rituals. The first Europeans paid little mind to the song, dances, and ceremonies of the Native Americans, dismissing them as the noises of "demons and the damned" and "the cries and howling of wolves." It was only late in the 19th century, in the face of the apparent passing from the scene of the native way of life, that the documentation of the disappearing cultures was pursued with any urgency. Swann (English, Cooper Union, New York) has put together a collection of native songs that were nearly lost. These are not literal translations?he has not worked with the Native languages, though the actual translators and the sources of their works are cited?but versions of the original songs. There is a great range and variety here, and a common ground: open forms, organic rhythms, and a tendency to incantation and rich imagery. The matter is of the land and living, of links with the past and hopes for the future. Swann's volume will give many good reasons to sing. Recommended.?Louis McKee, Painted Bride Arts Ctr., Philadelphia Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. minous collection of Native American songs and verse selected and updated by the editor of Coming to Light, the highly praised anthology of Native American literature. These are stories of the earth and the sky, of mourning and of love, of ceremonies and rites and rituals.