Leslie Silko, Storyteller

Amanda Morris (Kutztown University of Pennsylvania)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.6: Indigenous Writing and Culture of North America - United States.
Vol. editors: Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Sarah Henzi (Simon Fraser University), Padraig Kirwan (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1981

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)
Story

Resources

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Storyteller

(1981), Leslie Marmon Silko’s (Laguna Pueblo) autobiographical collection of poetry, prose, and photography, celebrates the fluidity of storytelling, the constancy of tradition, the challenges of love and family history, and the power of place. The pieces of this collection weave together a narrative tapestry reflecting traditional Native American storytelling in which formal or structural boundaries are not necessarily hemmed in by labels more familiar to a Euro-American reader. The collection begins with a three paragraph description of a basket, Silko’s Grandpa Hank, and the connection between photography and stories. The form is one which closely resembles what we might think of as a poem, but it reads like creative nonfiction. Silko’s collection will push readers’…

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1052 words

Citation: Morris, Amanda. "Storyteller". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 July 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1846, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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