Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit: Essays on Native American Life Today Hardcover – 1 Mar. 1996

A beautiful read, reflecting Native American values. I gifted it to a friend.

The essay, "Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective" is one of the greatest cultural bridges ever constructed between the Euro-American, linear mind and that of the Native American. I've read and taught that essay many times and each time I go over it, I find another point that merits reflection. Consider, for example, the story about the little girl who drowns herself with that of a typical fairy tale. First of all, unlike the fairy tale, but pretty true to life, there is no happy ending. There are days that all our best efforts turn into snakes, children do commit suicide on the false belief that their mothers/families have rejected them, and if, as I believe, this story illustrates how stories fulfill the purpose of bringing people together, (the death of a child, particularly if the parent is the indirect cause through lapse of judgemnt, is the greatest grief to bear, and knowing that others have also experienced it does give the strength to go on living), it does so on more than a superfical level. The essay itself illustrates non-linear thinking as it does not go from point A to B to C, but starts at C and radiates out from that focal point, "like a spider's web." For those who want a true and accurate insight as to Pueblo thought and experience, this book is one of the best. It also helps that Leslie Marmon Silko is a master writer.

SHE BRIDGES THE EVOLUTION OF MOTHER EARTH AND OUR INDIGENOUS CULTURES INTO AN EXCEPTIONAL WORK. A MULTI DIMENTIONAL PORTRAIT OF WHO WE WERE TO WHO WE STILL REMAIN... ENLIGHTENS THE STORY OF OUR UNIVERSE, EDUCATES OUR KNOWLEDGE AND LIFTS OUR SPIRITS... THE RAREST OF INSIGHT AND STORYTELLING!!!

Silko is one of the best authors I've ever read. This collection of essays is lovely.

This book is a book of short stories in which some connect and others do not. My favorite story in this collection is "Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit". In this story Silko tells of helping her grandmother in her garden while her grandmother tells her stories from the Pueblo people's mythology and folklore. Silko tells us in this particular story that "Many worlds may coexist here". It's a beautiful prose piece that will stick with you after you have left it.There are other memorable stories in this collection also. "Notes on the Almanac of the Dead" is quite interesting and as I have just recently started reading that novel, I found it especially intriguing. It tells of prophecies made 1,000s of years ago by tribal leaders about the future, i.e., the invasion of the white man, his technology, his downfall. Very, very interesting little story!"Interior and Exterior Landscapes" is another interesting story which describes in detail the beauty of the New Mexico landscape. Then Silko goes on to talk about landscape as a character in a piece of fiction, which I found to be very compelling.This is a really good book and if you have not otherwise read Silko a great introduction to her. As the previous writer stated there are some pieces which repeat but otherwise it is a well written and deeply moving collection of stories.