Native American Literature, S
595. SALISBURY, Ralph. Spirit Beast Chant. Marvin: Blue Cloud Quarterly, 1982. The second book, and second collection of poems, by this writer of Yunwiya Cherokee heritage who has since gone on to write highly praised fiction and science fiction. Blue Cloud Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 2. Mailing address of Joseph Bruchac. Fine in stapled wrappers.
596. SANCHEZ, Carol Lee. Conversations from the Nightmare. (Berkeley): Casa Editorial Publications (1975). Poetry by this writer of Laguna Pueblo ancestry, her first book. One of 500 copies printed. Fine in wrappers.
597. SANCHEZ, Carol Lee. Message Bringer Woman. (n.p.): Taurean Horn Press (1977). Another poetry collection, apparently her second book. One of 750 copies; unaccountably scarce. Trace rubbing; still fine in wrappers.
598. SARRIS, Greg. Watermelon Nights. NY: Hyperion (1998). His second novel. Inscribed by the author to a Native American poet "for your wonderful poetry..." in 2000, and with the recipient's ownership signature on flyleaf. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A good association copy.
599. (Screenplay). Geronimo! (n.p.): Paramount, 1939. Two versions of the screenplay for the classic Hollywood film, embodying most of the stereotyping of Native Americans as bloodthirsty killers which we have come to expect from films of that generation. Both are dated on the front February 9, 1939, but the later of the two has revisions dated 2/24/39, on blue paper, and has more of the cast filled in (in pencil). Unlike the later version, in which Chuck Connors (better known as The Rifleman) played Geronimo, this version had a Native American actor, Victor Daniels aka "Chief Thundercloud," in the part. He was later described as having "only one expression -- murderous." He also played the original Tonto, in the first film version of "The Lone Ranger." Light wear, very good. Hollywood scripts of this vintage seldom come on the market.
600. (SEALE, Doris). The Multicolored Mirror: Cultural Substance in Literature for Children and Young Adults. Fort Atkinson: Highsmith Press (1991). Seale contributes "1492-1992 From an American Indian Perspective." Owner name; highlighting in text; page corners turned; creasing to covers; very good in wrappers.
601. SHAWE, Bernissa. Wind in the Grass. (Seattle): (Self-Published), 1975. A collection of poems with Indian themes by an Oklahoma writer identified as having at least some "Indian blood," although not identified with a particular tribe. Gift inscription inside front cover; edge-foxing to covers; very good in wrappers.
602. SILEX, Edgar Gabriel. Acts of Love. (Willimantic): Curbstone Press (2004). The uncorrected proof copy of the third book of poetry by this writer of mixed Native American/Chicano/European ancestry. Fine in wrappers.
603. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Laguna Woman. Greenfield Center: Greenfield Review (1974). Her first book, a collection of poems published by Native American author and publisher Joseph Bruchac's press. Silko's first exposure to wide readership came in The Man to Send Rain Clouds, an anthology of fiction edited by poet Kenneth Rosen in 1974. She had several stories in the collection, one of which was selected for Martha Foley's Bicentennial anthology, 200 Years of American Short Stories, a remarkable honor for a writer who had not even had a book of fiction published at that point. Silko's early work combines elements of traditional Native American storytelling techniques with the Western form of the novel or short story. As an individual of mixed descent -- part Laguna Pueblo, part Mexican, part white -- Silko wrote from a perspective that acknowledged and used elements of each culture, while she herself was apart from all of them -- an outsider, and as such, her perception was remarkably individuated, free from the clichés of standard Indian stories. It was in this way -- in her ability to create characters who were alienated from both mainstream society and their own cultures -- that she not only created compelling stories and characters but came to be regarded as a voice for the disenfranchised. Now her writings appear widely in anthologies and as introductions, although now they are more overtly "political," and more explicitly identified as "Indian." For a writer whose total literary output over more than 30 years is relatively small, Silko has had enormous influence -- on publishing, on college campuses in Native American literature and multiculturalism courses, and in helping to define the parameters of a Native American literature that avails itself of Western forms and the written word at the same time that it draws upon tribal oral traditions of storytelling and other ceremonial purposes. Fine in stapled wrappers. Two illustrations by Silko and several by Aaron Yava.
604. -. Another copy. Near fine in stapled wrappers. With a 1976 Greenfield Review Press catalog listing the title as "temporarily out of print."
605. -. Same title. Tucson: Flood Plain Press (1994). The uncorrected proof copy of the second edition, handmade by the author and inscribed by Silko "with love," with the dedication hand-written on the copyright page and numbered "Uncorrected Proof Copy #5" in her hand. Fine in saddle-stitched wrappers with cover art affixed. Illustrated by the author, including artwork not in the original edition, and with an afterword to this edition that does not appear in the earlier edition. With hand-addressed mailing envelope.
606. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. NY: Viking (1977). Her first novel, which combines traditional Native storytelling techniques with the Western form of the novel, to create a book that embodies what it describes -- the book itself is structured as a healing ceremony. A powerful novel of alienated young World War II veterans returning to the reservation; the success of this book, both critically and commercially, helped pave the way for the publishing of later Native American writers, such as Louise Erdrich and Linda Hogan. It has become a standard on college campuses. This is a fine copy in a spine-faded, first issue dust jacket. A highly praised and important first novel.
607. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Storyteller. NY: Seaver (1981). Her third book, a collection of stories, poems, essays and photographs. Silko's stories have the remarkable capacity to feel like a "traditional" tale that could have been passed down through a tribe or family for generations, at the same time that they use the straightforward Western short story form to create a singular, telling moment. This volume includes some of the stories that were first collected in The Man to Send Rain Clouds as well as poetry from her then long out-of-print first book, Laguna Woman, plus other, unpublished poems. This is the uncommon hardcover edition (there was a simultaneous wrappered edition). Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a couple very tiny tears. Illustrated with photographs by Lee H. Marmon, Silko's father and a highly regarded Laguna photographer.
608. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. "Tribal Prophecies." (n.p.): (n.p.), 1991. Four photocopied pages of a submission to Rudolfo Anaya's Blue Mesa Review. Two pages consist of "Tribal Prophecies (after Almanac of the Dead)"; two pages are a note to "Rudy" and Silko's personal recollection of the stories of the U.S. government's land grab from the Laguna Pueblo. Photocopies: typed and holograph. Fine. Interesting material, unavailable elsewhere in this form.
609. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Almanac of the Dead. NY: Simon & Schuster (1991). Her second novel, an ambitious attempt to retell 500 years of history from a Native American perspective, by viewing the damaged lives of a group of contemporary Indian drug dealers and misfits, and the anger and fervor of a group of revolutionaries. The central image of an "almanac of the dead" -- a pre-Columbian book of divination -- provides the historical link that unites her contemporary characters with their more glorious forebears. This copy is inscribed by the author in the month before publication "For _____,/ A wonderful care-/ taker and mid-wife/ to this novel!" and dated October 13, 1991. Small bump to upper corner, otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket.
610. -. Another copy. Inscribed by the author in 1996: "To ____,/ Swim swim in the Ocean of Time!" Fine in a fine dust jacket.
611. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. "We Dance to Remember..." Berkeley: Black Oak Books, 1991. Broadside poem excerpted from Almanac of the Dead and issued on the occasion of a reading by the author. Approximately 6" x 10", printed in two colors. Although not called for, this copy is signed by Silko. Fine.
612. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit. NY: Simon & Schuster (1996). Nonfiction, a collection of essays. Signed by the author in the year of publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
613. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Gardens in the Dunes. (NY): Simon & Schuster (1999). Her third novel. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
614. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Eagle Dancers. (n.p.): (n.p.), (n.d.). A broadside poem by Silko, issued in an edition of 1000 numbered copies signed by the author. Illustrated with a photograph by Lee Marmon and also signed by Marmon. 18" x 24". Rolled; else fine.
615. -. Another copy. "A/P" (artist's proof). Signed by Lee Marmon. Rolled; else fine.
616. (SILKO, Leslie Marmon). YAVA, Aaron. Border Towns of the Navajo Nation. (Alamo): (Holmgangers) (1975). A collection of humorous and sad drawings by Yava, a Hopi/Navajo/Tewa artist, introduced by Leslie Silko. Yava is an important Native American artist, and highly collected these days. This is an early publication for him, as it is for Silko, preceding her first novel. Fine in wrappers.
617. -. Another copy. Signed by Silko. Near fine in wrappers.
618. (SILKO, Leslie Marmon). "Out of the Works No Good Comes From: #3" in Puerto Del Sol. Las Cruces: New Mexico State University (1978). Special "New Mexico Anthology Issue" that includes Silko, Joy Harjo, Gene Frumkin, and others. Signed by Silko at her contribution. Fine in wrappers.
619. (SILKO, Leslie Marmon). Leslie Marmon Silko. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press (1999). The first full-length collection of critical essays on Silko's writings, edited by Louise K. Barnett and James L. Thorson, with a preface by Robert Franklin Gish. This is the uncommon hardcover edition; there was a simultaneous softcover. Signed by Silko. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
620. SMITH, Martin Cruz. "QUINN, Simon." The Inquisitor 1. The Devil in Kansas. (NY): Dell (1974). Pseudonymous paperback original. The first in a series featuring Francis Xavier Killy, an ex-CIA officer who is an agent in the Vatican's espionage agency. Rubbing to front cover; hole punched to rear cover; very good.
621. SMITH, Martin Cruz. "QUINN, Simon." The Inquisitor 4. His Eminence, Death. (NY): Dell (1974). Again, a paperback original, the fourth in the series. Creasing to spine folds; creasing and staining to rear cover; bookstore stamp on summary page. About very good.
622. SMITH, Martin Cruz. "QUINN, Simon." The Human Factor. (NY): Dell (1975). A paperback novelization of a Hollywood movie. One corner abraded, one corner creased; short stray ink mark front cover; very good in wrappers.
623. SMITH, Martin Cruz. Gorky Park. NY: Random House (1981). The uncorrected proof copy of this bestselling thriller that was made into a well-received film; his breakthrough book. This title had a widely distributed advance reading copy, which went into two separate printings totaling 2500 copies; the proof is considerably more uncommon; we've only seen it a couple of times. Smith is a part-Pueblo writer, who published a number of books under various pseudonyms as well as his own name prior to the success of Gorky Park. At least two of his earlier books had Indian themes -- Nightwing and The Indians Won. He is doubtless the bestselling Indian author of all time as a result of his Arkady Renko series and his other thrillers and historical novels. Fine in wrappers.
624. -. Same title. The advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.
625. SMITH, Martin Cruz. Red Square. NY: Random House (1992). His third novel in the Gorky Park series, this one set in mafia-run Moscow in post-Communist Russia. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
626. SPINDEN, Herbert Joseph. Songs of the Tewa. (NY): (Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts) (1933). Translations of and an essay about the Indian song-poems, published by a group advocating the viewing of American Indian art as fine art. Spinden, one of the foremost scholars of his time in the field of pre-Columbian art, contributes a short note on the ethics of traditional Native American civilizations -- in particular, their careful stewardship of natural resources, high standards of craftsmanship in the arts, important accomplishments in agriculture and husbandry, and finally, "wise use of leisure saved from the pursuit of food and mere necessities [on which] rest those intellectual, artistic and religious commonwealths which are the crown and glory of mankind." An appendix contains the original Tewa texts of the poems, and notes. Signed by Spinden. Attractively printed and bound quarto. Previous owner pencil gift inscription on front pastedown; near fine in the (chipped) original glassine dust jacket.
Inscribed by the Author, in Dust Jacket
627. STANDING BEAR, Chief Luther. My People the Sioux. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1928. A memoir by this hereditary chief of the Oglala Sioux, including reminiscences of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Little Big Horn, and the Wounded Knee massacre, which at the time was only a little more distant a memory than the 1960s are for us today. He was in the first class of students to attend the Carlisle Indian School, in 1879, and later was a part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. This copy is inscribed by the author: "To Walter Cox/ from/ Chief Standing Bear/ (Mato Najin)/ Oglala Sioux/ who as a little Indian/ boy of 14 worked in/ John Wanamakers/ and will always be/ proud of the honor./ Ohini yan nitakola,/ Wolakota." Standing Bear is referring to Wanamaker's Department Store in Philadelphia, a Philadelphia landmark, where he and another Carlisle student were chosen to go to work, on a trial basis -- an honor accorded to the two "best" boys in the school. The recipient of this book, Walter Cox, was presumably a Philadelphian, who would have known Wanamaker's store. (A Walter Cox is listed in the registry of the Philadelphia Club in 1891.) Fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with rubbing to the folds and blended dampstaining to one corner, but very little edge wear. Uncommon in dust jacket, and especially so inscribed
628. STANDING BEAR, Chief. Land of the Spotted Eagle. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1933. His second book, again a memoir as well as an overview of Lakota life, published after the success of his first book, My People the Sioux. Pencilled owner name front flyleaf; trace rubbing to the boards edges; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Like his first book, scarce in dust jacket.
629. -. Another copy. Mild offsetting to endpages; else fine in a very good dust jacket with a little spine fading and some shallow chipping to the top edge.
630. (Storytelling). HEIDLEBAUGH, Tom; LITTLEBIRD, Larry; WADE, Jon. Mountain Drawing. (Santa Fe): (Circle Film) (1976). A storytelling workbook by two Native American storytellers -- Heidlebaugh, a Leni Lenape, and Littlebird, a Pueblo -- "in cahoots with Jon Wade." Photocopied typescript of a nine-part manual on performing and appreciating the art of telling stories. With examples drawn in part from Taoist and Native sources, including Leslie Marmon Silko and Chief Seattle. A couple creased pages; else fine in ringed binder.
631. STRETE, Craig. The Bleeding Man. NY: Greenwillow (1977). A collection of science fiction stories, the first attempt to fuse American Indian storytelling tradition with the realm of science fiction and fantasy. His first book published in this country (after a limited edition published in Holland in 1976). Fine in a fine dust jacket.
632. -. Same title. Inscribed by the author. Very good in a very good, spine-sunned and price-clipped dust jacket with surface dust soiling, a cup ring, rear panel rubbing and a few small edge chips and creases. Scarce signed.
633. STRETE, Craig Kee. Paint Your Face on a Drowning in the River. NY: Greenwillow (1978). The author's second book published in this country, a story for young adults about a group of young Native Americans, one of whom is drafted to Vietnam. This book was adapted as a play and performed by a touring Native American theater troupe. This copy is inscribed by the author: "To the best looking librarian I've ever met/ Craig Kee Strete." A fine copy in a very good dust jacket pock-marked on the rear panel and with a few modest edge tears. Again, scarce signed.
634. STRETE, Craig. Death Chants: Short Stories. NY: Doubleday, 1988. A collection of fifteen stories, again a blend of Indian lore with science fiction and fantasy, published by Doubleday as science fiction. Introduction by Salvador Dali. Inscribed by the author: "To ___ and ___/ for your warmth and hospitality." Fine in a fine dust jacket. A very nice copy, and very uncommon signed.
635. -. Another copy. Inscribed by Strete to author Jamake Highwater: "For Jamake/ with respect and admiration/ Craig K. Strete." Fine in a very slightly edge-sunned dust jacket; else fine. An attractive copy, and a good association copy.
636. (STRETE, Craig Kee). Red Planet Earth, Vol. 1, No. 2. Dayton/Celina: [Self-Published], 1974. A magazine of American Indian Science Fiction. Strete serves as editor, illustrator and major contributor. This issue includes "The Bleeding Man," a title later used for one of his collections and here a collaboration with Mark Horse; "Last Rites;" and "A Sunday Visit With Great-Grandfather," a collaboration with Jack Red Bear. 30 xeroxed pages stapled at spine; covers yellowing; near fine. A very early, self-published work by Strete, preceding his first book. Uncommon.
637. (STRETE, Craig Kee). Red Planet Earth, Vol. 1, No. 5. Celina: [Self-Published], 1974. Again, edited by Strete, and three of the four pieces in this issue are by Strete. Includes: "Ten Times Your Fingers and Double Your Toes," "To See the City Sitting on Its Buildings" and "A Horse of a Different Technicolor." Maurine Stover contributes a poem. This copy is signed by Strete. 20 xeroxed pages stapled at spine; near fine.
638. "SUBCOMANDANTE MARCOS." The Story of Colors. (El Paso): (Cinco Puntas Press) (1999). The first American edition of this folktale from Chiapas, retold by "Subcomandante Marcos," the leader of the Zapatista guerrillas in Chiapas. A bilingual edition. Signed on the copyright page by the publisher. Quarto; fine in a fine dust jacket. Laid in is an erratum slip noting the withdrawal of support from the National Endowment for the Arts, which had originally pledged support for the book (and is credited on the colophon) but withdrew it when it was discovered that the author was the guerrilla leader.
639. SWANSON, Robert A. Ten broadsides. (n.p.): (n.p.)(n.d.). Poetry by a Chippewa author. "Child of Hope," "Tiinowit," "Solemn Spirits," "When the spirit moves you...," "Seven Drummers," "An Old Man Asks," "We Are the Warrior Spirits," "The Wanderers Prayer," "There are warriors weeping in the garden...," and "Come unto me oh my children..." Also "Heal My Land" by Pat Swanson. Corner creasing to "Solemn Spirits," else fine.