Ceremony

Ceremony

• Genre: Fiction; historical
• Originally Published: 1977
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 890L; college/adult
• Structure/Length: Unnamed, unnumbered sections of prose and verse; approx. 262 pages; approx. 9 hours, 6 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: A young Indigenous American named Tayo returns to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation after a stay in a veteran’s hospital. His recent experience as a WWII prisoner of war has left him traumatized; he seeks hope, answers, and consolation in the traditional stories, myths, and history of his Indigenous culture.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Racism; prejudice, discrimination; wartime trauma; alienation; alcohol abuse; physical violence; profanity; sexual content

Leslie Marmon Silko, Author

• Bio: Born 1948 in Albuquerque, New Mexico; raised on the Laguna Pueblo reservation; attended the University of New Mexico; considered law as a profession but chose writing instead as a way to convey truth and justice; after publishing short stories and other short works, met with positive critical acclaim with Ceremony; focuses on Indigenous cultural traditions and history in her work; known as a key writer in the “Native American Renaissance”
• Other Works: Laguna Woman: Poems (1974); Almanac of the Dead (1991); Gardens in the Dunes (2000); The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir (2010)
• Awards: American Book Award (1980); Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award (1994); Robert Kirsch Award (2020)