This is a book about the way different literary traditions and different kinds of cultural discourse interplay and intersect. The author argues that Western civilization has imposed its notions of the literary upon many non-Western cultures. Non-Western cultures that possess oral, rather than written, literary traditions are often looked down upon by Westerners. Points of Contact introduces the reader to the rich oral cultures of the native people of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the South Pacific. Contents: Three Worlds; Goblins on the Shore; Huenum's Trap; On the Margins of Textuality; Civilization as History and Proportion; and Points of Contact. « less more »