{"product_id":"the-place-of-scraps-jordan-abel-9780889227880","title":"The Place of Scraps","description":"\u003cp\u003eGeorge Ryga Award for Social Award: Jordan Abel, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Place of Scraps\u003c\/strong\u003e (Finalist)\u003cbr\u003eBC Book Prize, Poetry: Jordan Abel, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Place of Scraps\u003c\/strong\u003e (Winner) \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Place of Scraps\u003c\/em\u003e revolves around Marius Barbeau, an early-twentieth-century ethnographer, who studied many of the First Nations cultures in the Pacific Northwest, including Jordan Abel's ancestral Nisga'a Nation. Barbeau, in keeping with the popular thinking of the time, believed First Nations cultures were about to disappear completely, and that it was up to him to preserve what was left of these dying cultures while he could. Unfortunately, his methods of preserving First Nations cultures included purchasing totem poles and potlatch items from struggling communities in order to sell them to museums. While Barbeau strove to protect First Nations cultures from vanishing, he ended up playing an active role in dismantling the very same cultures he tried to save.\u003cp\u003eDrawing inspiration from Barbeau's canonical book \u003cem\u003eTotem Poles\u003c\/em\u003e, Jordan Abel explores the complicated relationship between First Nations cultures and ethnography. His poems simultaneously illuminate Barbeau's intentions and navigate the repercussions of the anthropologist's actions. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrough the use of erasure techniques, Abel carves out new understandings of Barbeau's writing - each layer reveals a fresh perspective, each word takes on a different connotation, each letter plays a different role, and each punctuation mark rises to the surface in an unexpected way. As Abel writes his way ever deeper into Barbeau's words, he begins to understand that he is much more connected to Barbeau than he originally suspected. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jordan Abel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0889227888\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780889227880\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Talonbooks\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/29\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.60w x 0.80d","brand":"Jordan Abel","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43980687147263,"sku":"9780889227880","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_3500c3a8-194a-4a39-801c-3e2c4a18613e.jpg?v=1683251318","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-place-of-scraps-jordan-abel-9780889227880","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}