QUOTED
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“I will tell you something about stories . . . They aren't just entertainment. Don't be fooled. They are all we have, you see, all we have to fight off illness and death.” “When someone dies, you don't get over it by forgetting; you get over it by remembering, and you are aware that no person is ever truly lost or gone once they have been in our life and loved us, as we have loved them.” |
FICTION
- Almanac of the Dead
The novel takes place against the backdrop of the American Southwest and Central America. It follows the stories of dozens of major characters in a somewhat non-linear narrative format. Much of the story takes place in the present day, although lengthy flashbacks and occasional mythological storytelling are also woven into the plot. The novel's numerous characters are often separated by both time and space, and many seemingly have little to do with one another at first.
(Wikipedia) - Ceremony
This story, set on an Indian reservation just after World War II, concerns the return home of a war-weary Navaho young man. Tayo, a young Native American, has been a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II, and the horrors of captivity have almost eroded his will to survive. His return to the Laguna Pueblo reservation only increases his feeling of estrangement and alienation. While other returning soldiers find easy refuge in alcohol and senseless violence, Tayo searches for another kind of comfort and resolution.
(Wikipedia) - Gardens in the Dunes
Gardens in the Dunes -- a magical combination of childhood idyll and bitter reality eloquently depicts the jungles of Brazil, and the great cities of the East. A child of an ancient Indian tribe, Indigo is orphaned when soldiers raid and destroy her town. She is adopted by an American family, but the white education forced upon her clashes with the centuries-old wisdom of her people. Her new family expects her to abandon the deep, instinctive knowledge that has become a part of her soul. But Indigo cannot forget her past -- and she will change all their lives before finally returning to her own.--from the publisher
(LibraryThing)
POETRY and SHORT STORIES
- Storyteller
Storyteller, first published in 1981, blends original short stories and poetry influenced by the traditional oral tales that she heard growing up on the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico with autobiographical passages, folktales, family memories, and photographs. As she mixes traditional and Western literary genres, Silko examines themes of memory, alienation, power, and identity; communicates Native American notions regarding time, nature, and spirituality; and explores how stories and storytelling shape people and communities.---from the publisher
(LibraryThing)
ESSAYS
- Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit
Leslie Marmon Silko's essays evoke the spirit and voice of Native Americans. Whether she is exploring the vital importance literature and language play in Native American heritage, illuminating the inseparability of the land and the Native American people, enlivening the ways and wisdom of the old-time people, or exploding in outrage over the government's long-standing, racist treatment of Native Americans, Silko does so with eloquence and power, born from her profound devotion to all that is Native American.--from the publisher
(LibraryThing)
INTERVIEWS
- Listening to the spirits: An interview with Leslie Marmon SilkoArnold, Ellen, and Leslie Marmon Silko. "Listening to the spirits: An interview with Leslie Marmon Silko." Studies in American Indian Literatures (1998): 1-33.
- Two Interviews with Leslie Marmon SilkoSeyersted, Per. "Two Interviews with Leslie Marmon Silko." American Studies in Scandinavia 13.1 (1981): 17-33.
LITERATURE DATABASES
- Alexander Street LiteratureThis is a comprehensive, cross-searchable package of collections covering literatures of place, race, and gender.
- Columbia Granger’s World of Poetry OnlineThis database contains 250,000 poems in full text and 450,000 citations
- Films on DemandThese videos cover American Literature.
- Gale LiteratureThis database brings together many Literature databases.
- Gale: LitFinderHere you can find access to short stories, speeches, and plays.
- JSTORThis a huge database covering the humanities with access to very many academic journals and more.
- Project MuseThis database is a provider of digital humanities and social science content. It has access to academic journals and books.
- Scribner Writers SeriesThis includes 15-20 page signed essays on more than 2,000 authors and literary genres.
- Twayne Author SeriesHere you can find biographical information and literary criticism about world authors and their notable literary works.
- Twentieth-Century African American PoetryThis is a source for modern and contemporary African American poetry
- Women Writers OnlineThis is a full-text collection of early women’s writing in English, published by the Women Writers Project at Northeastern University.