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Article: Learning the Mother Tongue.(Book Review)
- Article from:
- Hollins Critic
- Article date:
- December 1, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1987 The Hollins Critic. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Learning the Mother Tongue. By Cathryn Hankla. Columbia: University of Missouri Press. $7.95 (pa.)
The marvel of these ten beautifully written stories is that they unerringly reveal striking balances among wit, compassion, imagination, fact, faith, reason, time, matter, nature, language, ideas, adults and children. There's not a cliche, not a moment's lapse of tone, not a second's strut of self-indulgence, not a clumsy beat to be found. It's an extraordinary book, wise and funny, complex and clear.
The title story, "Learning the Mother Tongue," is a dizzingly quick lesson in listening to language tell its own story. It makes one do a triple-take; each ...