Document Type
Book Chapter
Abstract
In her biography of the Canadian poet Pauline Johnson-Tekahionwake; Betty Keller reports an incident that occurred in July 1894 on the trip home from London to canadaa successful trip.by all accounts, during which Johnson-Tekahionwake had not only been feted.as the new darling of the London salon circuit, but had negotiated the English publication ofher first volume ofpoetry with Bodley Head. Keller writes: On her trip home, nursing her sore throat and feeling quite unwell, she found herself unable to avoid a large, talkative American woman.· The lady was extremely upset about many ofthe customs she had found in England. 'Why', she said, 'when I asked for ice water, they looked at me as if I were a North American savage!' 'Do you know', said Pauline quietly, 'that's just the way they looked at me.' 'Oh', said the woman, not at all abashed, 'was your father a reaLwild red Indian?' 'Yes', Pauline answered. 'Why, excuse me', said the woman. 'You don't look a bit like that!' 'Oh?' replied Pauline. 'Was your father a real white man?' 'Why, sure', said the puzzled lady. 'Excuse me, but I'm equally surprised', said Pauline and sought refuge in her cabin. This encounter had been all she had needed to remind her that she was headed home.l
ANZSRC / FoR Code
2005 LITERARY STUDIES
Publication Details
Collett, A. A. (2007). Fair Trade: Marketing 'The Mohawk Princess'. In L. Dale & H. Gilbert (Eds.), Economies of Representation, 1790-2000: Colonialism and Commerce (pp. 157-168). Aldershot, UK & Burlington, USA: Ashgate Publishing Limited.