On Friday, July 24, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., the Oneida Community Mansion House will host a discussion and book-signing by author Anthony Wonderley of At the Font of the Marvelous: Exploring Oral Narrative and Mythic Imagery of the Iroquois and Their Neighbors. 

Published by Syracuse University Press, the book is about Native American folktales and myths throughout the Northeast region, how such stories preserve voices of a bygone day, and why they are important for understanding life and religion in the past.  Grouping the tales around shared themes, the book analyzes topics ranging from cannibal giants to cultural heroes, and from legends of local places to myths of human origins.

Anthony Wonderley (Ph.D., Cornell University) is Curator of Collections and Interpretation at the Oneida Community Mansion House.  Recently named a Fellow of the New York State Archaeological Association, Wonderley wrote another book issued by Syracuse University Press, Oneida Iroquois Folklore, Myth, and History: New York Oral Narrative from the Notes of H. E. Allen and Others.  His articles on archaeology, folklore, and history appear in such journals as American Antiquity, American Communal Societies Quarterly, Journal of Anthropological Research, New York History, Northeastern Anthropology, and Ontario Archaeology. 

The Oneida Community Mansion House was the home of the 19th century utopian Oneida Community (1848-1880).  Today, the 93,000 square living museum houses residential apartments, overnight lodging, Zabroso Restaurant, and banquet and meeting space.  The Oneida Community Mansion House is located at 170 Kenwood Ave., Oneida, NY.  For information call 315-363-0745 or visit www.oneidacommunity.org.

 


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