Ceremony is a non-linear, lyrical story about Tayo, a half-white, half-Laguna veteran who served in World War II and is trying to adjust to live after the war. It was published in 1977 and is the defining work of Leslie Marmon Silko’s career. Ceremony is usually considered to be a novel; however, it includes a mix of genres, including poetry and myth. It is the kind of work that defies an easy classification in many ways. Tayo’s story is told in lyrical prose and is the most straightforward of the plot lines. It is complemented by poems that describe imaginative imagery and Laguna legends. This mix of genres mirrors Laguna storytelling, which comes from Silko’s childhood.
Silko...
