Leslie Marmon Silko

Leslie Marmon Silko's Writing Style

Silko's writing style is largely based on her identity as a Laguna woman, and she is known as one of the most famous writers of the Native American Renaissance. Silko has often been called the first Native American woman novelist, a term which she dislikes because the indigenous writers before her were largely ignored throughout history. Her work focuses on the clash between Native American culture and white society.

Many of Silko's works are influenced by the traditional myths of the Laguna people, and the majority of her characters are Native American. While her stories are influenced by tradition, her characters and their issues are modern. Her characters experience social injustice, racism, alienation, oppression, and prejudice at the hands of white society.

Fig. 2 - Silko's writing style is strongly influenced by her Native American heritage.

Silko often blends poetry and prose in her works, using a variety of genres to tell a story. The flow from one genre to the other is fluid, showcasing how storytelling is diverse, dynamic, and adaptable. In addition to cultural themes, Silko often discusses themes of nature and spirituality in her work.

Leslie Marmon Silko's Books

Two of Silko's most famous books are Ceremony and Storyteller.

Ceremony (1977)

Ceremony (1977) is Silko's first novel. It was instantly successful and positioned Silko as an important 20th-century novelist. The story centers around Tayo, a half-white, half-Native American World War II veteran. Tayo suffers from PTSD (what his doctors call "battle fatigue") and often has flashbacks to the war. He grieves the loss of people he loved who died on the battlefield and on the reservation while he was gone.

When Tayo is finally released from the hospital, he cannot cope with civilian life. He suffers from alcoholism and depression. At the same time, his reservation suffers from a drought, and the Pueblo people are close to starvation. Tayo realizes that the fate of his people is tied to his own healing. He meets with a medicine man who helps him heal mentally and spiritually from his trauma. Eventually, he is able to complete the ceremony and save his people.

Storyteller (1981)

Storyteller (1981) is Silko's first mixed-genre collection of poetry, prose, and photography. It centers around traditional Laguna stories and myths, as well as Silko's own experience and her family's history. Although each work in Storyteller could stand alone, as a collection, it emphasizes the power behind oral traditions and the connection it builds between indigenous people of the past and the present.

Leslie Marmon Silko's Poems

Many of Silko's poems reveal her connection to the natural world and her identity as an indigenous woman. Two of these such poems are "How to Write a Poem About the Sky" (1981) and "Indian Song Survival" (1981).

"How to Write a Poem About the Sky"

"How to Write a Poem About the Sky" was published in Storyteller in 1981. The poem begins by describing a frozen Alaskan sky. The speaker characterizes the sky in tangible ways, using living creatures in order to give the sky a life of its own. From the sky emerges birds and elk, along with wind and snow. The sky also acts as an equalizer, in which,

Although the speaker is far away in the American midwest, the sky connects her to the frozen landscape of Alaska. No matter if she is smelling the smell of piñon in the breeze of New Mexico or the juniper in the breeze of Alaska, she knows she is at home under the sky.

Fig. 3 - The speaker of "How to Write a Poem About the Sky" gives life to an Alaskan sky.

"Indian Song: Survival"

"Indian Song: Survival" was also published in Storyteller in 1981. In this poem, the Native American speaker attempts to flee from the persecution and oppression that results from her indigenous identity. She is hunted by white society, which tells her:

The speaker escapes into nature for comfort. The branches, rivers, and leaves are her home and sanctuary, and she is able to "hide in spider's web" (22) where her oppressors cannot find her. By the end of the poem, the natural world is more than a hiding place for the speaker. She herself has become the natural world, as sure as the wind and swift as a deer.

Leslie Marmon Silko: Quotes

Below are some of Silko's most important quotes about storytelling, identity, and race.

This quote comes from a poem in Silko's book Ceremony. It speaks to the importance of storytelling in Native American cultures. Much of indigenous history, language, and knowledge has been erased by forced assimilation and social injustice against Native Americans. Storytelling is one of the few ways contemporary Native Americans can connect to and understand the culture of their ancestors in a completely-changed, 21st-century context.

Silko said this quote during an interview for the Write Stuff. It speaks to her sense of identity as a contemporary Native American woman. Many indigenous cultures in the past and present believe that land can not be owned and dominated by any one person. Instead, it is to be shared and respected by all. In much the same way, Silko doesn't see herself as belonging to any one country. She doesn't believe in nationalism and exclusion. Instead, she shares a connection and a responsibility with the entire world.

This quote comes from Silko's novel Almanac of the Dead. It speaks to the racism and prejudice that Native Americans experience in a world dominated by white, Western society. Indigenous people are marginalized and oppressed even today by lack of opportunities, erasure of culture, and environmental and social injustices. Although contemporary society has come far in terms of recognizing and combating racism, it is still an inherent part of everyday life in America.