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328 Western American Literature of helplessness works to turn his voice on itself, calling attention to its own and its owner’s crochets; the effect is tedious as the voice becomes increas­ ingly garrulous and, on too many occasions, querulous as when Purdy begins to distrust poetry itself: “And in the face of their knowledge / all these mere words on paper / ring soundlessly in the vacuum of inattention / I know they mean nothing.” Here the voice labors to destroy its own authority, and in this book, it often succeeds. Purdy’s assaults on the restraints of craft are, then, so thorough that they finally overwhelm the poems in which they must be expressed. MORTON L. ROSS, University of Alberta Dance Me Outside. By W. P. Kinsella. (Canada: Oberon Press, 1977. 158 pages, $4.95.) Dance Me Outside is a vibrant and funny collection of stories by a new Canadian author, W. P. Kinsella. Written in the first person in a lean style, they concern an eighteen year old Indian named Silas Ermineskin who lives on a reserve just south of Edmonton, Alberta. Silas is an impassive and resourceful kid, who, intent on his future, trains doggedly at a government technical school to be a mechanic. He shrugs off an ever-present prejudice that looms large as the distant Rocky Mountains. Traditionally, education is his only out, but English is a foreign language and he still hasn’t got all the verbs right. He is also highly inexperi­ enced writh the white man’s ways and getting someone who calls him a “wagon-burner” to tell him the time of day is like making the earth turn the other direction. Kinsella, however, knows both sides well. “Feathers,” for instance, is a comic-, skilled portrayal of the ménage à trois, climaxed by the omni­ potent Indian dance. Chief Crow-eye, running for political office, takes an intense interest in an attractive young Indian employed by the government to help other Indians. To recapture his affection, the Chief’s overweight wife begins a concentrated study of the chicken dance which she subse­ quently performs at a political rally to win support for the Chief. He cringes openly. Nothing can save her performance. Except one thing. White people love aji Indian dance and applaud her loudly. The Chief, who thought his career finished, is a success. Unfortunately, he celebrates with the wrong woman. Many of these stories have appeared previously in Canadian magazines. Gathered hére, they represent a strong first collection. TERRY ANDREWS LASANSKY ...

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