LESLIE MARMON SILKO
Leslie Marmon Silko, an accomplished Native American contemporary writer, was
born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1948. She has a mix of Laguna Pueblo, Mexican,
and White ancestry. Silko grew up at the Pueblo of Laguna, located in west
central New Mexico. She attended a Catholic school in Albuquerque, commuting
from Laguna. In 1969 she received a bachelor's degree in English from the
University of New Mexico. She later taught creative writing and a course in oral
tradition for the English department at the University.
Silko reveals that living in Laguna society as a mixed blood from a prominent
family caused her a lot of pain. It meant being different from, and not fully
accepted by either the full blooded Native Americans or white people. Silko,
despite her pain, was able to overcome the lack of acceptance and identify with
the Laguna culture Despite her keen awareness of the equivocal position of mixed-bloods
in Laguna society, she considers herself Laguna. As she puts it : "'I am of
mixed-breed ancestry, but what I know is Laguna'"(Velie 106).
As a child Silko became familiar with the cultural folklore of the Laguna and
Keres people through the stories passed down to her by her grandmother Lilly and
her Aunt Susie. These women both had a tremendous effect on Silko, "passing down
an entire culture by word of mouth" (Velie 106). While still in college Silko
wrote and published a short story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds." For this story
she was awarded with the National Endowment for the Humanities Discovery Grant.
In 1974 she published Laguna Woman, a book of poetry. In 1977 she wrote her
novel Ceremony. The novel received high praise from critics and its readers. She
has in fact been called the most accomplished Native American writer of her
generation, as well as an "American Indian Literary Master"(Velie npg).
Silko's additional literary works include Storyteller, Almanac of the Dead, and
Yellow Woman + the Beauty of Spirit . She has also published several articles
dealing with literature as well as other pertinent social issues. Examples of
these articles include "In the Combat Zone" and "Race + Racism- Faces Against
Freedom."
Leslie Marmon Silko, an accomplished Native American contemporary writer, was
born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1948. She has a mix of Laguna Pueblo, Mexican,
and White ancestry. Silko grew up at the Pueblo of Laguna, located in west
central New Mexico. She attended a Catholic school in Albuquerque, commuting
from Laguna. In 1969 she received a bachelor's degree in English from the
University of New Mexico. She later taught creative writing and a course in oral
tradition for the English department at the University.
Silko reveals that living in Laguna society as a mixed blood from a prominent
family caused her a lot of pain. It meant being different from, and not fully
accepted by either the full blooded Native Americans or white people. Silko,
despite her pain, was able to overcome the lack of acceptance and identify with
the Laguna culture Despite her keen awareness of the equivocal position of mixed-bloods
in Laguna society, she considers herself Laguna. As she puts it : "'I am of
mixed-breed ancestry, but what I know is Laguna'"(Velie 106).
As a child Silko became familiar with the cultural folklore of the Laguna and
Keres people through the stories passed down to her by her grandmother Lilly and
her Aunt Susie. These women both had a tremendous effect on Silko, "passing down
an entire culture by word of mouth" (Velie 106). While still in college Silko
wrote and published a short story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds." For this story
she was awarded with the National Endowment for the Humanities Discovery Grant.
In 1974 she published Laguna Woman, a book of poetry. In 1977 she wrote her
novel Ceremony. The novel received high praise from critics and its readers. She
has in fact been called the most accomplished Native American writer of her
generation, as well as an "American Indian Literary Master"(Velie npg).
Silko's additional literary works include Storyteller, Almanac of the Dead, and
Yellow Woman + the Beauty of Spirit . She has also published several articles
dealing with literature as well as other pertinent social issues. Examples of
these articles include "In the Combat Zone" and "Race + Racism- Faces Against
Freedom."