The Delicacy and Strength of Lace: Letters Between Leslie Marmon Silko and James Wright

by Anne Wright (Editor), Joy Harjo (Afterword)

The Delicacy and Strength of Lace The timeless exchange of advice and friendship between two of our greatest literary talents Dear Of course I can't know whether or not the world looks strange to God. But sometimes it looks strange to me.

Leslie Marmon Silko and James Wright met only twice. First, briefly, in 1975, at a writers' conference in Michigan. Their correspondence began three years later, after Wright wrote to Silko praising her book Ceremony . The letters began formally, and then each writer gradually opened to the other, sharing his or her life, work, and struggles. The second meeting between the two writers came in a hospital room, as Wright lay dying of cancer. The New York Times wrote something of Wright that applies to both writers―of qualities that this exchange of letters makes "Our age desperately needs his vision of brotherly love, his transcendent sense of nature, the clarity of his courageous voice."

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Indigenous, Writing, Native American, Memoir, Biography Memoir

112 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1985

Reviews

[Annika Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because James Wright was my uncle (though we never met to my knowledge—he died when I was just a year old). The book is made up of letters between two poets who greatly admire each other and become the closest of friends. I was taken by surprise by the book, which moved me absolutely to tears and allowed me to get to know my uncle.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite, a beautiful, too brief collection of letters between two poets, written over a period of 18 months bringing something special to each others lives at a time when they both needed it, she knowingly, he not realising he was living his last months of life throughout this correspondence which comes to such an abrupt end.

“I am overwhelmed sometimes and feel a great deal of wonder at words, just simple words and how deeply we can touch each other with them, though I know that most of the time language is the most abused of all human abilities or traits.”

I recently read Leslie Marmon Silko's memoir The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir which I loved, followed by her well known novel Ceremony, which was excellent and I wanted to read more about her inner life and chose this slim collection, written when she is 31 years old and he is around 51. They had planned to meet in the Spring of 1980, mentioned in letters in Oct/Nov of the previous year, not knowing he would be gone before then.

They discuss her novel, his poetry, language, his travels, her adventures with animals, their speaking engagements, their mutual challenges and experiences as university professors, and soon begin to share more personal feelings, as she acknowledges the tough time she is having and he shares his own experience, expressing empathy.

“I realize many wonderful things about language - "realize" in the sense of feeling or understanding intuitively: I realize such things most often when I am greatly concerned with another person's feelings. I think such realization is one gift which human beings may give each other. I'm not much good at analysis or scholarly efforts with language, probably because I don't value them as much as I value understanding, which is informed by that which is deeply felt before it is examined.”

[Dirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatest favor I can do for readers who love writing and writers and storytelling and love itself, its fulfillment and timeless endurance, is to say: read this book.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few people write letters anymore. I wish they did. This collection of letters is written between two of my favorite authors over the course of 18 months. Never having met, Leslie Marmon Silko - young Lacuna novelist, and James Wright - middle-aged, widely-regarded Harvard poet, formed a profound friendship through letters. Watching their friendship evolve through stories, landscape, and much life over a much-too-short period of months was astounding, heart-warming, and affirming. In our current time, where friendship, community, and connection has never been more important, I wish I could gift this book to everyone. Beautiful, essential, and most-highly recommended!

*And there’s a great rooster story. Bonus! 😎

[ram · Rating 4 out of 5]

i adored on how two individual two authors grow closer together through letters and distance between them.
i took my own sweet time reading each letters with my busy life ://///

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I read a lot of fiction, I read in search of the truth, not to be entertained, and this collection of letters is as close to life on the page as you can get. That the exchange happens between two people -- a novelist and a poet -- who barely know each other is a testament to the generosity of spirt, depth of appreciation, and openness to chance that both writers truly possessed. The brevity of their exchange (cut short by cancer) makes it that much more intense and poignant and remarkable and rich. My heart is full.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both writers with such appreciation and care for language and what language origin can express. Letters like this will probably never be written again. Connections. Awareness. Storytelling. Process. And again, connections... the power and importance.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

"All this personal turmoil takes me from the writing, but I must have faith that all these stories inside me will wait. And so I must be patient a little longer." -LMS

"A poem is a very odd duck. It goes through changes--in form and color--when you leave it alone patiently, just as surely as a plant does, or an animal, or any other creature. Have you ever read a book by someone which you know has been written too quickly and impatiently and then published too soon? Such books always remind me of tomatoes or oranges that have been picked still green and then squirted full of artificial colors. They look nice on the supermarket shelves, and they taste awful. I remember reading such books and feeling the glands under my chin begin to ache. They made me feel as though I were getting the mumps." -JW

[ebigeyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the most moving books i have ever read, i was moved to tears multiple times. reading an exchanging of letters is always intimate & personal, but this is beyond. wright & silko so early on in their correspondence begin to speak their own language— with having never really met before. the power of their language was tangible then, & perhaps even more so now that we know wright’s fate.

our greatest strength—& also a major fear we have—as people, is to love freely & abandon the expectation that what you love will love you back. wright initially reaches out to silko with this thought/fear in mind, yet what he finds thanks to his vulnerability is that she does, too, love him back. it is clear she needed him during this time in her life. so deeply i feel their friendship & admiration for one another in these letters, it is so inspiring.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am reading this again after several years. This correspondence of letters remains one of the most powerful collection of words I have yet read. A glimpse, . . . a turning back of the sheets, a privileged invitation to softly walk over, place your hand on the shoulder, and share in the exchange; the writing of letters between two sensitive, talented, and in the end, extremely generous people.

" . . . when someone dies, you don't 'get over it' by forgetting, you get over it by remembering, and by remembering you are aware that no person is ever truly lost or gone once they have been in our lives and loved us, as we have loved them."

[Nicole Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, I'm actually about 10 pages from the end, but since I can't read the part about cancer and dying for reasons I'm going to just say I read it.

Most of the book is incredibly soothing and hopeful; only two poets supporting each other could have resulted in such beautiful letters about art and life and the balance between the two. Plus some funny and heartbreaking stories about a mean rooster. I didn't even know Silko wrote poetry before this but I have to find more based on the few that are included here.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really happy to have discovered this—as a Silko fan, this glimpse into her mind and life and craft was powerful. I know little about Wright, but he writes beautifully and I now hope to read some of his work. The exchanges are vulnerable, heartfelt, and intimate, if perhaps a bit over the top when it comes to mutual flattery. But the kindness of each soul and their commitment to the art of writing shines through.

[Caroline Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

To sit with this book is to sit with the essential parts of being human: suffering and death, but also joy and friendship. I read it slowly, at times like a novel, at other times like a book of prayers. Now that it's over I am left with a sense of gratitude: for the writers for writing it and for Anne Wright for sharing it with all of us.

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spellbinding - I read it in a single sitting. The exchanges about our human relationships with landscape and with our beloved dead especially resonated with me. Knowing how it would end was heartbreaking.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a professional-ish friendship this correspondence got almost steamy at the end. I'm not familiar with either of these authors, and I find poetry a difficult genre, but I'm inspired to check out some of their writing now.

[Rhea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Delicacy and Strength of Lace made me glad to be a human, and for the connections I’ve made, especially the fleeting ones that are full of meaning. Leslie’s last letter to James was so moving, and helpful!

[Maria Hrickova · Rating 5 out of 5]

5+

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luminous and heart-breaking correspondence between two of the most important writers in my life.

[Luke Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

a stunning exchange of letters of deep admiration.

[Ryan Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful exchange between two great authors. I loved seeing the humanity expressed in the letters as both depicted the details of their lives and writings.

[Bec Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

my old man gave this to me

[Matthew Stolte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touching

[EB]

This is why it's in my "Want to Read" list: https://howapoemhappens.blogspot.com/...

[wovahova · Rating 5 out of 5]

wholesomely authentic

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book of letters is so exquisite! i've devoured it-- watching the intimacy grow between these two poets over the sharing of the small things that become profound is so, well, extraordinary really-- from the cautious formality of the first handful of letters to the movement toward the familiar and fond-- nicknames and "love" to close--and then the beginning to reveal personal crises and preoccupations--
to share hearts and the pain in them-- as silko writes: " i believe more than ever that it is in sharing stories of our grief that we somehow can make sense out-- no, not make sense out of these things...but through stories from each other we can feel that we are not alone, that we are not the first and the last to confront losses such as these..." (68), and that stories need to be told BY our hearts

-- but then to have experienced this power of correspondence myself-- with friends throughout the years, since 7 year old pen-pal-ing, into this year of daily correspondence with a dear colleague-- this makes the connection to the living, breathing text that much deeper--

like, they write about PLACE-- wright responds to this beautiful lyric meditation of silko's saying "[when you love a place, really and almost hopelessly love it, i think you love it even for its signs of disaster, just as you come to realize how you love the particular irregularities and even the scars on come person's face.]" (32)


and then there are these little gems.... about the possibility that "childhood [can leave] ....an eternal summer in [one's] heart" (34)

and about roosters....

and about the art of making lace, and this wondering why something like this-- so impractical and so time/energy intensive-- survives centuries...

and about love and attachment--wright references spinoza, saying "that the human being is a miraculous creature, and his miracle consists of his capacity for love. he can love anything, from an atom all the way to god. but it is just here...that the tragic difficulty arises. for man must realize that his capacity for love gives him no right to demand that anyone love him in return. not anyone. not even god. i have found that a hard thing to face, but there is something in it that goes beyond pain...." (46)heartbreaking

and OMG wright writes :) too about poems in this way that rings so true: "now they [his new poems] will lie there by themselves for a while until they change. they almost always do. a poem is a very odd duck. it goes through changes-- in form and color-- when you leave it alone patiently, just as surely as a plant does, or an animal, or any other creature. have you ever read a book by someone which you KNOW has been written too quickly and impatiently and then published too soon? such books always remind me of tomatoes or oranges that have been picked still green and then squirted full of artificial colors. they look nice on supermarket shelves, and they taste awful. i remember reading such books and feeling the glands under my chin begin to ache. they made me feel as though i were getting the mumps." (58)



and then THIS: "i feared i might be imposing on your private feelings by offering you a glipse of one of my own scars. But no one could live with such passionate imagination, and write as beautifully as you write, without bearing some scars also, and it was these that i wanted to tell you i recognize and-- in my own way-- bless. we all seem doomed to a freedom to choose between indifference and sadness...." (73)--

and silko's reply: " in that way we help each other-- i never thought about it-- it just felt like something i must write to you. i am overwhelmed sometimes and feel a great deal of wonder at words, just simple words and how deeply we can touch each other with them...." (74)

god, it's incredible--

and there is such compassion between them-- and how they share their writing...and their travels and teaching lives; there's the reality of their difference in age (silko 31ish and wright in his 60s(?)) but their kindredness is so apparent and so sweet-- and it is SO apparent that this corresponding-- this conversation-- is inspiring each of them....



and then this tragedy of an ending...silko's last letter, that wright never read... in which she closes with this: " it is so overwhelming to see your writing on the post card and to feel how much i miss your letters. there is no getting around this present time and place even when i feel you and i share this other present time and place...i treasure the words you write-- your name most of all. but no matter if written words are seldom because we know, jim, we know...." (105)



i am just sitting with that now--

i love this book-- it's authenticity-- these voices, these stories, these lives, intertwined.....

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Wright had only recently happened upon a renewal in his patterns of work when he met Leslie Marmon Silko at an academic conference, then wrote her essentially a fan letter in response to reading her fine novel, Ceremony; returning his letter, Silko suggested that she might hear him out in his implicit offer to mentor her, and gently bring along a career that probably anyway did not require his mentorship. None of which turned out to be pertinent, for before the friendship had grown much beyond that, though grow it did, Wright was sick, and embarked upon a final European trip with his wife Annie. This correspondence is like the promise of a meeting in some truancy from the literary world, and it's deeply moving, while dramatizing the gentleness that was no doubt what the two writers responded to in each other.

[Lauren M Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I am overwhelmed sometimes and feel a great deal of wonder at words, just simple words and how deeply we can touch each other with them, though I know that most of the time language is the most abused of all human abilities or traits.”
― Leslie Marmon Silko, The Delicacy and Strength of Lace

This story is kind. Wright and Silko's friendship filled me right up with hope and warmth. They deeply admired each other and displayed a unique reciprocated respect. After Silko left his hospital room (the first time they had officially met) he wrote, as he lay dying and nonverbal from surgery, a note to his dear wife Annie, that "I have the sense of a very fine, great person—a true beautiful artist. And I'm glad we've all made friends."

This one is a classic in epistle literature for a reason...their friendship is one to behold indeed.

[Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great to stumble upon, really timely for me, and inspiring. Its the letter correspondence between Leslie Marmon Silko ("Ceremony", "Laguna Woman" and other great books) and James Wright ("The Branch Will Not Break" among other poetry collections) and they write about their lives, writing, story telling, the nature of solitude, and the vitality of spirit that informs both of their writings. The letters are longer from Leslie, and really let you into her thought process and character. The letters were sent of a period of years during which James Wright became sick with cancer and passed away. This end to their correspondence is painful, but balanced with the heart and thoughts of the earlier pages, it is a sorrow that bears beauty along with it. I hope you read this! Yes, yOU!

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I am overwhelmed sometimes and feel a great deal of wonder at words, just simple words and how deeply we can touch each other with them, though I know that most of the time language is the most abused of all human abilities or traits. But as you said, you can't or won't be indifferent. I realize many wonderful things about language--"realize" in the sense of feeling or understanding intuitively: I realize such things most often when I am greatly concerned with another person's feelings. I think such realization is one gift which human beings may give each other." -Silko (this book is really written by Leslie Marmon Silko and James Wright)

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been a sucker for the epistolary, whether fiction or not (as here).

These are really quite lovely, however, in their own right. Poets with great command of language, imagery, sensory. Their friendship grows across the page and their words become quite magical as they get to the nitty gritty of their lives.

Lovely, and sometimes, sad to read. I can’t remember where I saw this book recommended now, but I’m so glad I did.

Really makes you want to do nothing else but curl up with collections of their poems and get to know them even better.