2015: The Year of Reading Women discussion

Thread for discussing the works of Leslie Marmon Silko
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_M...

Ms. Silko is one of my favorite writers. I've loved her works ever since reading Ceremony in high school.

I've read three novels by Ms. Silko:
Ceremony
Almanac of the Dead
The Garden in the Dunes

I would gladly re-read any of the above novels, especially Almanac of the Dead (it's a pretty complex novel).

In addition to the novels mentioned above, she's also published a memoir and collections of poetry, short stories and essays. I've not read any of these.

The Delicacy and Strength of Lace: Letters Between Leslie Marmon Silko and James Wright
Storyteller
Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit
The Turquoise Ledge A Memoir
Laguna Woman

Jason, I've been meaning to read her. I'd especially be up for a read of Almanac of the Dead.

I might passively lurk through a reading of "Almanac for the Dead". I don't do well with scheduled readings because of a neurological condition. But this book has been on my near-term radar for several months now.

I live in New Mexico I am a retired architect who has spent a fair number of working years in Indian Country out here on public projects--schools, clinics, etc. I'm familiar enough with Laguna Pueblo (and its tragic 20th cent. history of abuse by the Uranium mining industry) to presume that a talented, observant and courageous writer--like Leslie Marmon Silko--will have much more than a few truckloads of enlightened attitude to put into words.

I have started "The Almanac for the Dead" a few times; but have chickened out each time. I will read the novel soon. Let's see how soon.

Thank for the thread.

Kris wrote: "Jason, I've been meaning to read her. I'd especially be up for a read of Almanac of the Dead."

Excellent. Whatever reading schedule works for you would work for me but I think it would be nice to read this after we read Zitkala-Ša.

I've already read the phenomenally powerful AotD, but I'll hang around for inspiration to check out more of her works.

I will watch for what gets chosen here. I have started several times to read/to listen to Ceremony, but have always managed to get diverted. Still, want to read this strong woman's voice.

Aubrey wrote: "I've already read the phenomenally powerful AotD, but I'll hang around for inspiration to check out more of her works."

I just read (and liked) your review of AoTD.

Garden in the Dunes is a very interesting follow up to AoTD. It has a very different tone, it is full of life (it deals with gardens and flowers) but does touch on some of the same themes (displacement of Native people, colonization, exploitation of land and people) as AoTD. I highly recommend it!

Dharmakirti wrote: "Kris wrote: "Jason, I've been meaning to read her. I'd especially be up for a read of Almanac of the Dead."

Excellent. Whatever reading schedule works for you would work for me but I think it wou..."

Great -- I'm trying to have us settle on a time for the Zitkala-Ša read, and then we can nail down AotD. I'd be up for anything else by Silko as well.

How about reading her memoir The Turquoise Ledge in September?

Mosca wrote: "I might passively lurk through a reading of "Almanac for the Dead". I don't do well with scheduled readings because of a neurological condition. But this book has been on my near-term radar for sev..."

I encourage you to give it another go. The subject matter can be difficult and the book is full of some rather nasty characters who do some pretty nasty things, but in the end...well, I can only speak for myself, in the end I was a different person than when I started.

Here is an episode of KRCW's Bookworm featuring Leslie Marmon Siklo (29 minutes). Interesting converstation and Ms. Silko reads from her memoir.

http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/show...

"I encourage you to give it another go."

Thank you, Dhrmakirti.

I certainly have a strong intention to read AotD sometime soon--and probably more Leslie Marmon Silko after that.

Just when, for me, is not always known in advance.

And this particularly powerful work will require, from me, the proper timing. But probably soon.

:)

Dharmakirti wrote: "How about reading her memoir The Turquoise Ledge in September?"

I'd be up for that!

And now that we've schedule the read of Zitkala-Ša, American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings for June, we can schedule the other Silko reads. Any preference on timing for Almanac of the Dead? Maybe November and December?

November and December work for me.

Great! I'll put up the discussion thread now.

OK, Almanac discussion thread posted at https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/.... We need at least one more participant to post the thread for The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir in September.

I actually own The Turquoise Ledge and would love to read it here. I should read some of her fiction before hand I would think. I have begun Ceremony but then got sidetracked. I'll try to get back to that.

I loved Ceremony and will join any Silko reads :-)

Welcome Sue and Zanna.

I've got The Turquoise Ledge ready to read - sorry that slipped by me as I was only looking at upcoming group reads - did anyone read it? Would anyone like to buddy up on it in the next few weeks? Or later in the year?

Zanna wrote: "I've got The Turquoise Ledge ready to read - sorry that slipped by me as I was only looking at upcoming group reads - did anyone read it? Would anyone like to buddy up on it in the next few weeks? ..."

I already own it and I would really like to read it. I have some other reading commitments right now, but maybe I can set those aside. I think it would be really interesting to read her memoir prior to reading Almanac of the Dead.

I think so too, I want to read it this month. I'll be ready by Monday, but any time before the end of October is good

Zanna wrote: "I think so too, I want to read it this month. I'll be ready by Monday, but any time before the end of October is good"

Monday will work for me.

Cool! :-D

So I started reading yesterday afternoon and found I had read almost 50 pages in the brief time I had available. I love how she starts with a mixture of astrologies and ploughs straight into the imaginary with the hidden ledge of turquoise she casually investigates on her walks in the desert. He ancestor stories are spinning out slowly, like a mental landscape she's traversing as she walks along the old aroyos...

There is a bit of a meandering style that I find I'm liking. It's like I'm going on a walk with her and she's just telling me about things - a little geology, some bits about language a little family history and her personal history. I'm really liking it.

Yes! It's completely meandering, as she suggests is true for her ancestors, time is the present, not a line heading somewhere. A bowl in which elements are mixed and transformed...

Zanna wrote: "So I started reading yesterday afternoon and found I had read almost 50 pages in the brief time I had available. I love how she starts with a mixture of astrologies and ploughs straight into the im..."

It's a very sensual read with so much southwest cultural and political relevance. I think of that book once in a while and would read it again. Haven't read her fiction for some reason, so won't comment more unless I do.

Kallie,if you are interested in checking out her fiction, we will be reading her novel Almanac of the Dead starting sometime next month (a schedule hasn't been set, yet). Here is a link to the discussion thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I was reading Chapter 15 this morning, and she talks about drought, the Tucson heat and how "the wise shopper waits until the night" so their groceries don't spoil in the heat. This short paragraph caught my attention:

"Night. Heavenly delicious sweet night of the desert that calls all of us out to love her. The night is our comfort with her coolness and darkness. On wings, on feet, on our bellies, out we all come to glory in the night."

"Night. Heavenly delicious sweet night of the desert that calls all of us out to love her. The night is our comfort with her coolness and darkness. On wings, on feet, on our bellies, out we all come to glory in the night."

Thanks, Dharmakirti!

Lily wrote: "Thanks, Dharmakirti!"

You're welcome.

Yes that is a beautiful passage = )
The drought and heat she described towards to start of the book was counterpointed by lots of rain and even floods towards the end.

I've always loved snakes and lizards so it's nice to read a book full of love for these often disliked creatures

I thought her strategy of painting the boulders with Star Beings was really funny

I loved how she thought about everything that happened and interpreted it with a mixture of knowledge - physics, local (especially indigenous) history and lore, astrology

Dharmakirti wrote: "Kallie,if you are interested in checking out her fiction, we will be reading her novel Almanac of the Dead starting sometime next month (a schedule hasn't been set, yet). Here is a lin..."

Thanks, I may be ready then. Now a mid-term and thesis -- Hispanas and role changes over time.

Reviewed The Turquoise Ledge
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Zanna wrote: "Reviewed The Turquoise Ledge
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Thanks for posting the link to your review, I really enjoyed reading it.

Aww thanks for reading!

Zanna wrote: "Reviewed The Turquoise Ledge
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

The discussion here has been pushing me to realize I want to put The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir on my tumbling over TBR. Zanna, you just convinced me I will anyway, maybe even try to "sell" it to my f2f book club, or maybe even a local library club.

It would be fun to read some of the snake related passages out loud in a f2f club and watch to see if people squirm (like i did).

Dharmakirti wrote: "It would be fun to read some of the snake related passages out loud in a f2f club and watch to see if people squirm (like i did)."

;-0

Haha glad I convinced you Lily xx

I love Silko's attitude towards snakes; although, her attempts to rescue rattlesnakes or sit in a chair that has a rattlesnake camping out underneath it do make me squirm a little bit.

I grew up on a farm in Northern Minnesota and while there weren't any venomous ones, we did have a lot of snakes around the farm. My dad would tell us to leave the snakes alone because they took care of the mice, shrews and other pests that loved to get into the barn and the cattle feed.

My only "encounter" with venomous snakes was when I spent some time in Alabama for Army basic training and I would occasionally see a rattlesnake or a cottonmouth cross a path or come across one in the woods. I got in the habit of carefully watching the ground in front of me to avoid accidently stepping on one.

Predators are so important to healthy ecosystems...

I have never seen a snake in the wild = (

Zanna wrote: "I have never seen a snake in the wild = ("

I stepped across a rattler in the Black Hills one summer in my college days. My companion, walking behind me, called to me to look backward to notice the coiled snake I had apparently just stepped over. He and I got off that mountain very quickly and carefully.

Haha!
When I was about 9 I went on a walking holiday in the Lake District with my family and we stayed in a log cabin in a rural area. There were warning signs on the site about adders, the only poisonous snake to be found on this isle. They are endangered and shy, and the sign was a precaution; sadly we never saw one. However, my mum immortalised the thrill produced by the warning in a brief cycle of limericks she sent on a postcard to her parents:

It's lovely up here in the Lakes
The Lodge is surrounded by snakes
The food is, well, chips*
And pork pies*** and crisps**
And mars bars**** and kit kats**** and flakes****

The weather's been smashing***** so far
We've hardly stepped out of the car
The footpaths are good
If you don't mind the mud
You don't notice coming home from the bar

It's not that we've not been well fed
We've all got a comfortable bed
The kids are behaving
The views are amazing
We just wish you were here... instead.

*chips are what USians call 'fries'
**crisps are what USians call 'chips'
***pork pie is a very traditional British cold dish, made from a special type of pasty which is thick, heavy and a nice dark brown in colour. The filling is a solid block of meat. Ugh!
****these are all oversweetened cheap popular chocolate bars
*****smashing is a Britishism meaning 'excellent'

Your mother must have been a lot of fun to be around.

A friend once recounted sitting on a boulder, yakking eating peanuts and throwing the shells down . . . into a hollow where a rattlesnake (maybe more than one) lay coiled near their dangling feet. Our dogs running ahead may be why I never saw or heard a rattler while hiking here in in NM, but one dog came home with her entire muzzle swelled up. For some reason, this wasn't fatal; the vet said she'd probably been bitten by a baby rattler.

Oh Leslie's dogs get bitten quite often. She explains that they most often get the bite in the loose skin around their muzzles, which is less dangerous than venom going into muscle tissue. Also, they become inured to the venom after exposure!

My mum is still great fun to be around - more fun than me really. She's only 52

Zanna wrote: "Haha!
When I was about 9 I went on a walking holiday in the Lake District with my family and we stayed in a log cabin in a rural area. There were warning signs on the site about adders, the only po..."

That's a lovely limerick, thanks for sharing. :-)

= )