Interpreting the Legacy, John Neihardt and Black Elk Speaks

A study of the classic spiritual text, Black Elk Speaks, that makes a convincing case that Neihardt quite consciously attempted to use his literary craftsmanship to provide the reader with direct and immediate access to the teachings of the Oglala elder, Black Elk. Using Neihardt’s original handwritten notes and early manuscript drafts, Holloway demonstrates the poet’s careful and deliberate re-creation of Black Elk’s spiritual world in order to induce a transcendent experience in the reader.