John Smelcer

The Great Death arrived with the man from downriver, the one who came with the light-colored strangers and had little red spots covering his body. Thirteen-year-old Millie and her younger sister, Maura, are fascinated by the guests, but soon sickness takes over their village. As they watch the people they know and love die, the sisters remain unaffected and begin to realize that they will have to find a new home.
Alone in the cold Alaskan winter

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Kiska's home in the Aleutian Islands is a peaceful paradise until Japan invades in 1942. Soon after, a U.S. naval ship arrives to evacuate everyone in her village to an internment camp almost 2,000 miles away-where they are forgotten. Informed by true events, this is the story of a teenage girl who steps up when her people need a hero.

McSweeney's columnist Kent Woodyard brings new life to the mnemonic memory devices of a bygone era, from creative reinterpretations of classic mnemonics to original creations of dubious usage. Paired with whimsical illustrations, this book is the perfect gift for the word wizards of the world, as well as collectors of useless pop-culture trivia. Kent Woodyard has been a columnist for McSweeney's Internet Tendency since 2009. He has also written for...

Written over the course of a quarter century by one of Alaska's best living writers, these two dozen stories embody the spirit of Alaska--its colliding cultures, magnificent beauty and dangerously unforgiving environment.

Hace 2.000 años un predicador llamado Jesús fue condenado a la crucifixión. Un hombre llamado Simón, de Cirene, se vio obligado a ayudar a Jesús a llevar la cruz pesada. El encuentro cambió su vida. Desde entonces, sus descendientes han salvaguardado un secreto increíble.

In the mythologies of cultures worldwide, Raven, or his smaller cousin, Crow, is often portrayed as an ever-selfish, ever-hungry trickster and destroyer. In this collection, John Smelcer has crafted Raven as all these things, but also as an Instigator who was present at key moments of human history when things went awry. This is the collection that Hughes considered to be the American cousin to his Crow.

Four Indian teenagers are kidnapped from different regions, their lives immutably changed by an institution designed to eradicate their identity. And no matter what their home, their stories are representative of every story, every stolen life. So far from home, without family to protect them, only their friendship helps them endure. This is a work of fiction. Every word is true.

This is a collection of stories from the Ahtna Indians of Alaska, collected and retold by tribe member John Smelcer. Numerous illustrations by Larry Vienneau accompany the stories and numerous pictures of the Ahtna Indians and the storytellers are also, included. The book's Foreword is by Gary Snyder. Each story is, introduced by John Smelcer. A comprehensive bibliography of works on Alaskan mythology and folklore is included at the end.

Four Indian teenagers are kidnapped from different regions, their lives changed by an institution designed to eradicate their identity, and without family to protect them, only their friendship helps them endure.