The 1829 memoir A Son of the Forest, by Pequot author, activist, and Methodist minister William Apess, was the first published book-length memoir written by a Native American. The text offers a firsthand account of the intrinsic moral worth and adaptability of Indigenous peoples, penned by a dynamic Native figure, a preacher and an intellectual, who was not reluctant to highlight the political and economic disparities maintained between settler and Indigenous cultures or bring attention to ongoing settler-colonial injustices. This new edition includes a rich selection of appendices, including Apess’s other writings, works relating to the Pequot War, and other literature by Native and African American writers of the period. The edition situates Apess among the greatest writers of his day—a voice as important for our own times as it was for nineteenth-century audiences.
Comments
“Drew Lopenzina’s edition does the critical work of situating William Apess in the social, spiritual, and tribal context of his times. The reader gains not just insight into the genius of Apess’s oratory and life, but also greater understanding of the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples of his Pequot and Mohegan homelands and the tenuous liminal spaces they frequently occupied in American society. This context underscores not only Apess’s survival of the colonial yoke, but also his full-throated challenge of its legitimacy. It is a must-read for scholars of the region and for anyone looking for rare insights from a nineteenth-century Native author.” — J. Cedric Woods, University of Massachusetts, Boston
“A thoughtfully assembled and annotated edition that eases readers into the world of Apess’s 1829 memoir. The expansive introduction and supporting appendices map the intersecting cultural and political forces that, in Lopenzina’s words, produced a William Apess, offering readers not just a way into this vital text but also a way to stand gently within it, open to everything that Apess’s urgent and transformative voice still asks of us.” — Rachel Bryant, University of New Brunswick, Saint John
“William Apess’s autobiography disrupts familiar American tropes while offering a nuanced portrait of Native adaptation in New England. Lopenzina shines a bright light on the ‘unexpected’ Native identity that Apess embodies as well as the vexing colonial frameworks and assumptions that Apess confronted. This volume is a gift, to readers, teachers and students who want to grapple with the complexities of American literature and history. Lopenzina illuminates the generative possibilities of Apess’s beacon in our own challenging times.” — Lisa Brooks, Amherst College
