BBeM: Art, Literature & Architecture Item

Art, Literature & Architecture

The Weans
by Robert Nathan (1960)

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Posted by Duff at 2:51 pm (PDT) on Wed July 25, 2012
i simply loved this rather slim (56-page) book when I first encountered it in middle school. Written from the standpoint of distinguished Kenyan archaeologists digging in North America 5000 years in the future, it wags a satirical finger at those who unearth the artifacts of long-forgotten civilizations and attempt to interpret their cultural meanings. For instance, when some of the artifacts appear to reference the U.S., and it seems that in some areas of the country the people refer to themselves as "us'n", the scientists decide that the people were called the Weans, and misinterpret the nation's capital as being Pound-Laundry. My sister and I began referring to ourselves as being from N.Yok. BTW, Motel of the Mysteries, by David Macaulay, is similar.

Posted by Duff at 2:51 pm (PDT) on Wed July 25, 2012

i simply loved this rather slim (56-page) book when I first encountered it in middle school. Written from the standpoint of distinguished Kenyan archaeologists digging in North America 5000 years in the future, it wags a satirical finger at those who unearth the artifacts of long-forgotten civilizations and attempt to interpret their cultural meanings. For instance, when some of the artifacts appear to reference the U.S., and it seems that in some areas of the country the people refer to themselves as "us'n", the scientists decide that the people were called the Weans, and misinterpret the nation's capital as being Pound-Laundry. My sister and I began referring to ourselves as being from N.Yok.

BTW, Motel of the Mysteries, by David Macaulay, is similar.

Registered users can log in to post comments or submit items for the galleries.