Louise Erdrich

This book offers a full treatment of Louise Erdrich's writing, analysing its textual complexity and the wider contexts in which it sits, including the critical work on her output and on Native American literature. David Stirrup sorts her output into strands: verse, the early and later novels, life writing, and books for younger readers.

Within each group he combines close reading with a survey of the scholarship. A central argument is that Erdrich's work has become increasingly politically sharp in its handling of ethics and aesthetics in Native American literatures. Her wish to be read as an American author sits in an ongoing conversation with her Ojibwe background.

The book is part of the Contemporary American and Canadian Writers series. Manchester Univ Pr published it in 2010. It runs to 237 pages. ISBN-13: 9780719074264.