Samson Occom

In this magnificent contribution to Native literary history and early American studies, Ryan Carr reconstructs Samson Occom in a way that keeps his complicated humanity, well, complicated, especially when considering Occom as a religious thinker and public intellectual. This book is original, erudite, edifying, and beautifully written. I recommend it highly. -- Scott Richard Lyons, author of <i>X-Marks: Native Signatures of Assent</i> Ryan Carr has produced a strikingly fresh account of Samson Occom's rendering of Christianity as a tool to maneuver the catastrophe of settler colonialism by centering Indigenous community. He subtly narrates how Occom used language to traverse vast distances in practicing radical hospitality and to elicit ancient notions of sacredness. -- Jean M. O’Brien, coeditor of <i>Allotment Stories: Indigenous Land Relations under Settler Siege</i> In Samson Occom, Ryan Carr makes the powerfully argued case for expanding our interpretive practices regarding Occom through consideration of his work on its own terms—ones that respect what we can know of Occom’s purposes and perspectives. Through careful and broadly considered historical research, Carr creates an impressive network of connected histories through which to situate Occom as a thinker, writer, and leader. -- Robert Warrior, coauthor of <i>American Indian Literary Nationalism</i>