An exciting collection of new essays on the work of the outstanding American Indian woman writer.

Contains sixteen interviews that provide insight into the thinking and writing of twentieth-century Native American author Leslie Marmon Silko.

Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony: The Recovery of Tradition is a study of the embedded texts that function as the formal and thematic backbone of Leslie Marmon Silko's 1977 novel. Robert M. Nelson identifies the Keresan and Navajo ethnographic pretexts that Silko reappropriates and analyzes the many ways these texts relate to the surrounding prose narrative.

Along with Louise Erdrich's "Love Medicine", Leslie Marmon Silko's "Ceremony" is one of the two most widely taught and studied Native American literature texts. In "Ceremony" Silko recounts a young man's search for consolation in his tribe's history and traditions, and his resulting voyage of self-discovery and discovery of the world. This casebook includes a variety of theoretical approaches and provides readers with crucial information, especially on Native American beliefs, that will enhance their understanding and appreciation of this contemporary classic. This collection also includes two interviews with Leslie Marmon Silko in which she explains the importance of oral tradition and storytelling, along with the autobiographical basis of the novel.

This companion, appropriate for the lay reader and researcher alike, provides analysis of characters, plots, humor, symbols, philosophies, and classic themes from the writings and tellings of Leslie Marmon Silko, the celebrated novelist, poet, memoirist and Native American wisewoman. The text opens with an annotated chronology of Silko's multiracial heritage, life and works, followed by a family tree of the Leslie-Marmon families that clarifies relationships of the people who fill her autobiographical musings. In the main text, 87 A-to-Z entries combine literary and cultural commentary with generous citations from primary and secondary sources and comparisons to classic and popular literature. Back matter includes a glossary of Pueblo terms and a list of 43 questions for research, writing projects, and discussion. This much-needed text will aid both scholars and casual readers interested in the work and career of the first internationally-acclaimed native woman author in the United States.

A major American writer at the turn of this millennium, Leslie Marmon Silko has also been one of the most powerful voices in the flowering of Native American literature since the publication of her 1977 novel Ceremony. This guide, with chapters written by leading scholars of Native American literature, explores Silko's major novels Ceremony, Almanac of the Dead, and Gardens in the Dunes as an entryway into the full body of her work that includes poetry, essays, short fiction, film, photography, and other visual art. These chapters map Silko's place in the broad context of American literary history. Further, they trace her pivotal role in prompting other Indigenous writers to enter the conversations she helped to launch. Along the way, the book engages her historical themes of land, ethnicity, race, gender, trauma, and healing, while examining her narrative craft and her mythic lyricism.

Ceremony is one of the most widely taught Native American literature texts. This casebook includes theoretical approaches & information, especially on Native American beliefs, that will enhance the understanding & appreciation of this classic.

As American Indian writers frequently remind their readers, storytellers wield formidable power to affect the earth and its inhabitants. This power is the same medicine power that inheres in tribal expression such as chants, prayers, and ceremonial rituals. Leslie Marmon Silko, critics point out, modifies literary genres to create the most effective medicine power. When Silko’s Storyteller first appeared in 1981, critics were baffled by this complex text. Today it is a canonical work in the study of American Indian literature. The essays collected in this book, addressing both the original edition of Storyteller and the 2012 revision, use the growth in understanding of Native American literature in general and of Silko’s work in particular to unpack this fascinating work and its critical reception over the years.

A Study Guide for Leslie Marmon Silko's "Love Poem", excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Poetry for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Poetry for Studentsfor all of your research needs.

Gale Researcher Guide for: Leslie Marmon Silko and the Novel as Testimony is selected from Gale's academic platform Gale Researcher. These study guides provide peer-reviewed articles that allow students early success in finding scholarly materials and to gain the confidence and vocabulary needed to pursue deeper research.