Feathursday Raven Tales from the Dena
Yesterday we shared some wood engravings by Alaskan artist, librarian, and illustrator Dale DeArmond (1914-2006) as illustrations for American ethnologist Frederica de Laguna’s transcribed collection of Dena stories, Tales from the Dena, published in 1995 by the University of Washington Press. The trickster character, Raven, features prominently in the folklore of the Denaʼina and DeArmond seems to delight in depicting Raven’s wily character. According to the Sitka Sentinel, DeArmond described ravens as entertaining, intelligent, and mischievous. She’s said she doesn’t particularly identify with them, but she does respect them. “Rather admirable,” she said of the feathered tricksters, “their approach to life. I like it.”
Shown here are a selection of DeArmond’s wood engravings illustrating a few of the Raven tales collected in Tales from the Dena. Click on the images to see the captions.
View more wood engravings by Dale DeArmond.
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