A Key Into the Language of America

The legacy of cultural imperialism, the consequences of gender, and the marginalization of the conquered are themes that combine and comment, one on the other, in Rosmarie Waldrops remarkable new work, A Key into the Language of America. As formally adventurous (A.L. Nielson, Washington Review) as ever, German-born Waldrop has based her new collection on Rhode Island founder Roger Williamss 1643 guide (of the same name) to Narragansett Indian language and lore.