The Outpouring of Contemporary American Indian literature in the Last Two Decades

Reading Passage Question

The outpouring of contemporary American Indian literature in the last two decades, often called the Native American Renaissance, represents for many the first opportunity to experience Native American poetry. The appreciation of traditional oral American Indian literature has been limited, hampered by poor translations and by the difficulty, even in the rare culturally sensitive and aesthetically satisfying translation, of completely conveying the original’s verse structure, tone, and syntax.

By writing in English and experimenting with European literary forms, contemporary American Indian writers have broadened their potential audience, while clearly retaining many essential characteristics of their ancestral oral traditions. For example, Pulitzer-prizewinning author N. Scott Momaday’s poetry often treats art and mortality in a manner that recalls British romantic poetry, while his poetic response to the power of natural forces recalls Cherokee oral literature. In the same way, his novels, an art form European in origin, display an eloquence that echoes the oratorical grandeur of the great nineteenth-century American Indian chiefs.

“The outpouring of contemporary American Indian literature in the last two decades”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. According to the passage, Momaday’s poetry shares which of the following with British romantic poetry?

(A) Verse structure
(B) Oratorical techniques
(C) Manner of treating certain themes
(D) Use of certain syntactical constructions
(E) Patterns of rhythm and rhyme

2. Which of the following is most likely one of the reasons that the author mentions the work of N. Scott Momaday?

(A) To illustrate how the author believes that members of the Native American Renaissance have broadened their potential audience
(B) To emphasize the similarities between Momaday’s writings and their European literary models
(C) To demonstrate the contemporary appeal of traditional Native American oral literature
(D) To suggest that contemporary American Indian writers have sacrificed traditional values for popular literary success
(E) To imply the continuing popularity of translations of oral American Indian literature

3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about written translations of oral Native American poetry?

(A) They were less widely read than are the works of contemporary Native American poets writing in English.
(B) They were often made by writers who were intimately familiar with both English and Native American languages.
(C) They often gave their readers aesthetic satisfaction, despite their inaccuracies.
(D) They usually lacked complex verse structure.
(E) They were overly dependent on European literary models.

4. The passage suggests which of the following about American Indian poets before the Native American Renaissance?

(A) Art and mortality were rarely the subjects of their poetry.
(B) Their oratorical grandeur reached its peak in the nineteenth century.
(C) They occasionally translated their own poetry.
(D) They seldom wrote poetry in English.
(E) They emphasized structure, tone, and syntax rather than literary form.

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