In poetry, novels, and short stories, Leslie Marmon Silko embraces the role of storyteller. Silko, the most distinguished and critically recognized of Native American writers, views storytelling as a way of life and her stories as her identity, her autobiography. She defines herself as the product of the land and time and language of her forebears. Her poetry and fiction, Laguna Woman: Poems, Ceremony, Storyteller, and Almanac for the Dead, deeply reflect her Laguna heritage.

In this volume, Gregory Salyer illuminates Silko's life and work in close readings of her poetry, novels, short fiction, and essays. He examines the themes contained therein within the context Silko's Laguna heritage and her desire for a continued oral tradition in print. In Salyer's view, understanding Silko's desire to continue the oral traditions of her ancestors in print offers readers a more complete experience of the stories.

Salyer assesses Silko's place in contemporary American literature, with particular attention to the cultural work her writing performs. Silko explores profound themes such as language, identity, and history from a distinctly Native American point of view.