Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is an award-winning and prolific author and occasional
comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American. He lives in Seattle,
Washington.
Biography
Alexie was born in Spokane, Washington and is of Spokane and Coeur d'Alene heritage. He grew up on the
Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, about 50 miles northwest of the
city of Spokane.
He was born hydrocephalic ("with water on the brain"), and, at six months of age,
underwent brain surgeries to correct the condition. His initial prognosis was grim; even after he survived the operations,
doctors predicted that he would suffer mental retardation. However, in spite of
suffering from seizures and uncontrollable bedwetting,
Alexie proved to be an extremely intelligent child, who says he learned to read at the age of three and by the age of five read
adult novels such as John Steinbeck's The Grapes
of Wrath.
Alexie's intelligence caused problems with his peers at the reservation school, who saw him as an outcast and frequently
bullied him. He opted instead to attend a nearby all-white high school in Reardan,
Washington, about 20 miles south of Wellpinit. There he excelled in academics and athletics, becoming a star
basketball player and popular student.
Alexie graduated from high school in 1985 and entered Gonzaga University in
Spokane on a scholarship. After two years at Gonzaga, he transferred to Washington
State University (WSU) in Pullman. He claims that he initially planned to be
a doctor but after fainting several times in his human anatomy class, he decided to choose a different career. He graduated with
a B.A. in American Studies, becoming one of the first members of his tribe to earn a university degree. His completion of his
degree was a bit unorthodox. He left WSU in 1990 believing he had not met the requirements for the degree, and spent the next few
years explaining that he could never finish his United States History survey because when Indians disappeared a few weeks in, so
did he. In 1994, the director of the American Studies Program, Susan Armitage, examined his academic records and found that he
had completed the requirements, but missed a minor administrative procedure. The degree was thus awarded that spring in a special
ceremony , while he was on campus for a reading.[citation needed]
Writing career
Since 1991 Alexie has published 17 books, and has found success as a writer of novels,
short stories, poems, and screenplays. Alexie's writing is marked by harsh depictions of reservation life, autobiographical elements,
colorful use of humor, political outspokenness, seamless invocation of history and popular culture, and social commentary. He has
also dabbled in stand-up comedy and music.
In college, Alexie was encouraged to write by his poetry professor, Alexander Kuo. His
rise in the world of writing was rapid: he earned a Washington State Arts Commission Poetry Fellowship in 1991 and the
National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship in 1992.
Only a year after leaving WSU, shortly after receiving his second fellowship, two of Alexie's poetry and short story
collections were published: The Business of Fancydancing (Hanging Loose Press) and I
Would Steal Horses (Slipstream Press). In the introduction to The Business of Fancydancing, Alex Kuo wrote:
| “ |
Throughout this collection, there is an emphasis on balancing carefully, and a
willingness to forgive, as in the subsistence forays into the sestina in "Spokane Tribal Celebration, September, 1987," and "The
Business of Fancydancing." The history these stories and poems remember goes beyond the individual; it is the healing that
attends the collective space and distance of both writer and reader, which will hopefully "make everything work/so everyone can
fly again." Here, on a long jumpshot arcing into the distance, there is enough light to push back the darkness for several
generations to come. |
” |
Alexie's literary successes prompted him to give up drinking, an issue with which he had struggled in college. At age 23 he
gave up drinking and has been sober since.
In 1993, Atlantic Monthly Press published his first complete collection of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto
Fistfight in Heaven. The collection earned him a PEN/Hemingway Award for Best
First Book of Fiction and a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award. It was
reissued, with the addition of two new stories, in March 2005 by Grove Atlantic Press.
Atlantic Monthly Press published Alexie's first novel, Reservation Blues, in 1995. He was honored by the UK's
Granta magazine as one of the Best Young American Novelists and won the Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award,
as well as the Murray Morgan Prize.
In June 1998, Taos, New Mexico, Alexie competed in the World Poetry Bout Association
(WPBA) and won his first World Heavyweight Poetry Bout, beating out world champion Jimmy
Santiago Baca. He successfully defended his title three times, becoming the first and only poet to hold the championship
for four consecutive years.
Alexie, alongside seven others, presented in the PBS Lehrer News Hour Dialogue on Race with President Clinton in 1998. Jim Lehrer moderated the discussion,
which aired on PBS on July 9, 1998. Alexie has also been featured on Politically
Incorrect and 60 Minutes II. He wrote a special segment on insomnia and
his writing process called "Up All Night." for NOW with Bill Moyers.
At the Northwest Comedy Festival in Seattle in April 1999, Alexie made his stand-up debut at the Foolproof. In July 1999, he
was the featured performer at the Vancouver International Comedy Festival's opening night gala.
In February 2003, Alexie participated in the Museum of Tolerance project, "Finding Our Families, Finding Ourselves." This
exhibit showcasted the diversity within the personal histories of several noted Americans, and celebrated the shared experiences
common to being part of an American family, encouraging visitors to seek out their own histories and heroes. He presented the
Museum of Tolerance project as a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show in
January 2003, in the episode "Our Big American Family."
Alexie has also served as a juror for several writing awards, including the 1999 O. Henry Award, the 2000 inaugural
PEN/Amazon.com Short Story Award, the Poetry Society of America's 2001 Shelley Memorial Award and the Poets and Writers "Writers
Exchange 2001" Contest. He was a member of the 2000, 2001, 2005 & 2006 Independent Spirit Awards Nominating Committees. He
has also served as a creative adviser to the Sundance Institute Writers Fellowship Program and the Independent Feature Films West
(which has now been changed to Film Independent) Screenwriters Lab. Alexie most recently was a juror for the 2005 Rae Award.
At the University of Washington's 2003 commencement ceremony, Alexie was the commencement speaker. He was an Artist in
Residence at the university and taught courses in American Ethnic Studies in 2004 and 2006. Recently, he earned the 2003 Regents'
Distinguished Alumnus Award, Washington State University's highest honor for alumni. He also holds honorary degrees from Seattle
University (doctor of humanities, honoris causa - 2000) and Columbia College, Chicago (1999). Alexie has also worked as a mentor
for the PEN Emerging Writers program.
Alexie's stories have been included in several prestigious short story anthologies, including The
Best American Short Stories 2004, edited by Lorrie Moore; and Pushcart
Prize XXIX of the Small Presses. Alexie also served as the guest editor for the winter 2000-01 issue of
Ploughshares
Alexie's book, Flight was published in April 2007. His most recently published book, the young adult novel The
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a finalist selection for the National
Book Award in the young people's literature category.[1]
Collaboration with Chris Eyre and Smoke Signals
Alexie collaborated with Chris Eyre, a Cheyenne/Arapaho Indian in 1997. Eyre first heard of Alexie as a graduate student at
New York University’s film school. The two decided to collaborate on a film project. The screenplay was chosen from Alexie’s
short story, "This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," out of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. The film was titled
Smoke Signals and was released under Shadow Catcher Entertainment at the
Sundance Film Festival in January 1998. The film won the Audience Award and the
Filmmakers Trophy.
Smoke Signals then found its way to Miramax Films and was released in New York and Los Angeles on June 26 and across
the country on July 3, 1998. In 1999, the film received a Christopher Award, presented to the creators of artistic works
nominated for the Independent Feature Project/West 1999 Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay.
Notes and references
- Nygren, Åse. "A World of Story-Smoke: A Conversation with Sherman Alexie." MELUS 30.4 (Winter 2005): 149-169. 18 June
2007.
- West, Dennis, and Joan M. West. "Sending Cinematic Smoke Signals: An Interview with Sherman Alexie." Cineaste 23.41998
29-33. 18 June 2007.
Audio interviews
Interviews
A List of Articles and Interviews of Sherman Alexie: http://www.fallsapart.com/interviews.html
Poetry
- The Business of Fancydancing (poetry, 1991)
- I Would Steal Horses
(poetry, 1992)
- Old Shirts and New Skins (poetry, 1993)
- First Indian on the Moon (poetry, 1993)
- Seven Mourning Songs For the Cedar Flute I Have Yet to Learn to Play (poetry, 1993)
- Water Flowing Home (poetry, 1995)
- The Summer of Black Widows (poetry, 1996)
- The Man Who Loves Salmon (poetry, 1998)
- One Stick Song (poetry, 2000)
- Dangerous Astronomy (poetry, 2005)
Fiction
- The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (short stories, 1993)
- Reservation Blues (novel, 1995)
- Indian Killer (novel, 1996; referred to by Alexie as "a feel-good novel about
interracial murder")
- The Toughest Indian in the World (short stories, 2000)
- Ten Little Indians (stories, 2003)
- Flight (novel, 2007)
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (young adult novel, 2007)
Awards
- 1991: Washington State Arts Commission Poetry Fellowship
- 1992: National Endownment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship
- New york Times Book Review Notable book of the Year for "The Business of Fancydancing"
- Slipstream Chapbook Contest Winner for "I Would Steal Horses"
- 1993: Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award
- Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award Citation
- PEN/Hemingway Award: Best First Book of Fiction Citation Winner for "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven"
- Great Lakes College Association: Best First Book of Fiction Award
- 1994: Bram Stroker Award Nomine for "Distances"
- 1996: Before Columbus Foundation: American Book Award
- Morgan Murray Prize for "Reservation Blues"
- Granta Magazine: Twenty Best American Novelist Under the Age of 40
- 1998: Tacoma Public Library Annual Literary Award
- New York Times Notable Book for Indian Killer
- People Magazine: Best of Pages
- Winner, 17th Annual World Championship Poetry Bout
- 1999: New Yorker: 20 Writers for the 21st Century
Films
See also
External links
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