Published in 1989 (first published 1981)
259 pages
Leslie Marmon Silko (born Leslie Marmon; b. 1948) is a Native American writer of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, and one of the key figures in the First Wave of what literary critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance. Silko was a debut recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Grant, now known as the “Genius Grant”, in 1981 and the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. She currently resides in Tucson, Arizona.
What is this book about?
Now back in print–a classic work of Native American literature by the bestselling author of Ceremony
Leslie Marmon Silko’s groundbreaking book 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.
Storyteller illustrates how one can frame collective cultural identity in contemporary literary forms, as well as illuminates the importance of myth, oral tradition, and ritual in Silko’s own work. This edition includes a new introduction by Silko and previously unpublished photographs.
