Leslie Marmon Silko: A Collection of Critical Essays

With the publication of Ceremony in 1977, a strikingly original voice appeared in Native American fiction. These thirteen essays, the first collection devoted entirely to Silko’s work, present new perspectives on her fiction and provide a deeper understanding of her work. From her engagement with the New Mexico landscape to her experiments with cross-cultural narratives and form to her apocalyptic vision of race relations in Almanac of the Dead, Silko has earned her place as a significant contemporary American writer. All of Silko’s important short fiction, her non-fiction essays, and her novel Almanac of the Dead are examined here. The critical approaches range from close reading to the post-modern. This collection is essential for all serious students of Silko’s writings.