Native American Authors

Leslie Marmon Silko, 1948-

Laguna Pueblo

Leslie Marmon Silko was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and grew up on the Laguna Pueblo Reservation. Silko received her B.A. (with honors) from the University of New Mexico in 1969. In addition to writing, her career includes an association with the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Navajo Community College in Tsaile, Arizona; and professor of English at the University of Arizona, Tucson, where she is currently employed. Her works in progress includes a screenplay for public television.

Silko is considered to be one of the most important Native American writers of her generation. As a person of mixed Mexican, Laguna Indian and European ancestry, Silko’s writing primarily seeks to identify and express what it means to be a person of mixed blood. Her work largely focuses on the conflict between white and Native American cultures and often draws on Laguna folklore and spirituality. Her complex representations of modern-day Native Americans’ struggle to maintain their culture are underscored by Laguna beliefs in the relationship between human beings and the natural elements.

Online resources by or about Leslie Marmon Silko:

An Interview with Leslie Mormon Silko
Author: Thomas Irmer
Type: authorbio
Description: An interview with Leslie Mormon Silko conducted by a German reporter.

URL: http://www.tep-online.info/laku/usa/mino/indian/silko.htm

IPL Online Literary Criticism: Leslie Marmon Silko
Author: Internet Public Library
Type: authorbio
Description: Collection of links to biographical and critical sites about Silko and her works.

URL: https://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/bin/litcrit.out.pl?au=sil-306

Leslie Marmon Silko
Author: Daniel Droberg and Robin Huiras
Type: authorbio
Description: This page is part of a series from Voices from the Gaps: Women Writers of Color produced by the Department of English and Programs in American Studies at the University of Minnesota. Included is an in-depth biography, selected bibliography, and related links.

URL: https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/166326

Books by Leslie Marmon Silko:

Silko, Leslie Marmon. After a Summer Rain in the Upper Sonoran
Madison, WI : Black Mesa Press for Woodland Pattern, 1984.
Audience: Adult

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Almanac of the Dead
New York : Penguin Books, 1992.
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Adult
ISBN: 0140173196

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony
New York : Penguin Books, 1977.
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Adult
ISBN: 0140086838

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Conversations with Leslie Marmon Silko
Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2000.
Genre: Biography
Audience: Adult
ISBN: 1578063000

Silko, Leslie Marmon. The Delicacy and Strength of Lace : Letters Between Leslie Marmon Silko & James Wright
Graywolf Press, 1986.
Genre: Biography
Audience: Adult
ISBN: 0915308746

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Gardens in the dunes
New York : Simon & Schuster, 1999.
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Adult
ISBN: 0684811545

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Laguna woman
Tucson : Flood Plain Press, 1994.
Genre: Poetry
Audience: Adult
ISBN: 9636554422

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Leslie Silko
Trumansburg, NY : Crossing Press, 1974.
Genre: Autobiography
Audience: Adult

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Sacred water : narratives and pictures
Tucson, Arizona : Flood Plain Press, 1993.
Genre: Autobiography
Audience: Adult
ISBN: 0963655442 (pbk.)

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Storyteller
New York : Seaver Books, 1981.
Audience: Adult
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0394515897

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Yellow woman
New Brunswick, NJ : Rutgers University Press, 1993.
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Adult
ISBN: 0813520045

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Yellow woman and a beauty of the spirit : essays on Native American life today
New York : Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Genre: Essays
Audience: Adult
ISBN: 0684811537

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