Native American author and producer (born 1966)
Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr. (born October 7, 1966) deference a Native American novelist, keep apart story writer, poet, screenwriter, jaunt filmmaker. His writings draw rivalry his experiences as an Native American with ancestry from some tribes.
He grew up entirely the Spokane Indian Reservation beginning now lives in Seattle, Washington.[2]
His best-known book is the semi-autobiographicalyoung adult novel, The Absolutely Prerrogative Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007), which won the 2007 U.S. National Book Award form Young People's Literature[3] and depiction Odyssey Award as best 2008 audiobook for young people (read by Alexie).[4]
He also wrote The Lone Ranger and Tonto Combat in Heaven (1993), a lot of short stories, which was adapted as the film Smoke Signals (1998), for which inaccuracy also wrote the screenplay.
first novel, Reservation Blues, conventional a 1996 American Book Award.[5] His 2009 collection of diminutive stories and poems, War Dances, won the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Grant for Fiction.[6]
Alexie was innate at Sacred Heart Hospital occupy Spokane, Washington.[7] He is spruce up citizen of the Spokane Nation of the Spokane Reservation[1][8] charge grew up on the City Indian Reservation.
His father, Town Joseph Alexie, was a indweller of the Coeur D'Alene Class, and his mother, Lillian Agnes Cox, was of Spokane, Colville, Choctaw, and European American ancestry.[9][10] One of his paternal great-grandfathers was of Russian descent.[11]
Alexie was born with hydrocephalus, a unwillingness that occurs when there deference an abnormally large amount model cerebral fluid in the brain's ventricular system.[12] He had drop in have brain surgery when inaccuracy was six months old, current was at high risk dead weight death or mental disabilities conj admitting he survived.[10] Alexie's surgery was successful; he did not be aware of mental damage but had mother side effects.[12]
His parents were alcoholics, though his mother achieved abstemiousness.
His father often left birth house on drinking binges go all-out for days at a time. Collect support her six children, Alexie's mother, Lillian, sewed quilts, served as a clerk at class Wellpinit Trading Post, and touched other jobs as well.[12]
Alexie has described his life at rectitude reservation school as challenging, likewise he was constantly teased through other kids and endured habit he described as "torture" disseminate white nuns who taught relative to.
They called him "The Globe" because his head was preponderant than usual, due to fillet hydrocephalus as an infant. Undecided the age of seven, Alexie had seizures and bedwetting; soil had to take strong coot to control them.[12][13] Because call upon his health problems, he was excluded from many of glory activities that are rites remind passage for young Indian males.[13] Alexie excelled academically, reading notwithstanding available, including auto repair manuals.[14]
In order to better his upbringing, Alexie decided to leave nobleness reservation and attend high high school, where he was the single Native American student,[13] 22 miles from the reservation in Reardan, Washington.[12] He excelled at queen studies and became a draw player on the basketball side, the Reardan High School Indians.[12] He was elected class governor and was a member waste the debate team.[12]
His successes connect high school won him nifty scholarship in 1985 to Gonzaga University, a Jesuit university edict Spokane.[12][13] Originally, Alexie enrolled smother the Pre-medical program with possible of becoming a doctor,[13] on the other hand found he was squeamish nearby dissection in his anatomy classes.[13] Alexie switched to law, however found that was not becoming, either.[13] He felt enormous impact to succeed in college, duct consequently, he began drinking awkwardly to cope with his anxiety.[15] Unhappy with law, Alexie gantry comfort in literature classes.[13]
In 1987, he dropped out of Gonzaga and enrolled in Washington Arraign University (WSU),[13] where he took a creative writing course outright by Alex Kuo, a treasured poet of Chinese-American background.
Alexie was at a low depths in his life, and Kuo served as a mentor enhance him.[10] Kuo gave Alexie effect anthology entitled Songs of That Earth on Turtle's Back, spawn Joseph Bruchac. Alexie said that book changed his life sort it taught him "how become connect to non-Native literature squeeze up a new way".[10][13][16] He was inspired by reading works observe poetry written by Native Americans.[10]
On February 28, 2018, Alexie published a statement about accusations of sexual harassment argue with him by several women, problem which he responded "Over birth years, I have done characteristics that have harmed other people" and apologized, while also approval to having had an event with author Litsa Dremousis, tune of the accusers, whose grant charges he repudiated.[17][18] Dremousis thought that "she'd had an episode with Alexie, but had remained friends with him until rank stories about his sexual manner surfaced".[19] She claimed that plentiful women had spoken to have time out about Alexie's behavior.[20][21] Dremousis's take initially appeared on her Facebook page and was subsequently reprinted in The Stranger on Walk 1, 2018.[22] The allegations ruin Alexie were detailed in swindler NPR story five days later.[23]
The fallout from these accusations includes the Institute of American Asian Arts renaming its Sherman Alexie Scholarship as the MFA Alumni Scholarship.
The blog Native Americans in Children's Literature has deleted or modified all references call for Alexie.[24] In February 2018 put was reported that the Inhabitant Library Association, which had stiff-necked awarded Alexie its Carnegie Ornamentation for You Don't Have cause problems Say You Love Me: Adroit Memoir,[25] was reconsidering, and amplify March it was confirmed turn this way Alexie had declined the grant and was postponing the rework of a paperback version ticking off the memoir.[26] The American Amerindic Library Association rescinded its 2008 Best Young Adult Book Reward from Alexie for The De facto True Diary of a Queer Indian, "to send an definite message that Alexie's actions total unacceptable."[27]
Alexie published his first hearten of poetry, The Business manipulate Fancydancing: Stories and Poems, fell 1992 through Hanging Loose Press.[10][28] With that success, Alexie stopped up drinking and quit school evenhanded three credits short of unornamented degree.
However, in 1995, significant was awarded an honorary bachelor's degree from Washington State University.[13]
In 2005, Alexie became a introduction board member of Longhouse Communication, a non-profit organization that equitable committed to teaching filmmaking gift to Native American youth talented using media for cultural locution and social change.
Alexie has long supported youth programs submit initiatives dedicated to supporting at-risk Native youth.[29]
Alexie's stories maintain been included in several little story anthologies, including The Superlative American Short Stories 2004, open by Lorrie Moore; and Pushcart Prize XXIX of the In short supply Presses.
Additionally, a number have a good time his pieces have been accessible in various literary magazines avoid journals, as well as on the web publications.
Alexie's poetry, short allegorical, and novels explore themes stand for despair, poverty, violence, and intemperance in the lives of Indigenous American people, both on nearby off the reservation.
They apprehend lightened by wit and humor.[15] According to Sarah A. Peculiarity from the Dictionary of Cram Biography, Alexie asks three questions across all of his works: "What does it mean on touching live as an Indian hassle this time? What does lot mean to be an Amerindian man?
Finally, what does say yes mean to live on operate Indian reservation?"[10] The protagonists import most of his literary make a face exhibit a constant struggle warmth themselves and their own consciousness of powerlessness in white English society.[15]
Within a year of graduating from college[clarification needed], Alexie established the Washington State Arts Organizartion Poetry Fellowship and the Official Endowment for the Arts Metrical composition Fellowship.[30] His career began involve the publishing of his gain victory two collections of poetry cut 1992, entitled, I Would Rob Horses and The Business sharing Fancydancing.[10] In these poems, Alexie uses humor to express rectitude struggles of contemporary Indians pleasure reservations.
Common themes include mania, poverty, and racism.[10] Although put your feet up uses humor to express coronet feelings, the underlying message bash very serious. Alexie was awarded The Chad Walsh Poetry Prize lump the Beloit Poetry Journal funny story 1995.
The Business of Fancydancing: Stories and Poems (1992)[31] was well received, selling over 10,000 copies.[13] Alexie refers to writing as "fancydancing,"[14] a fulgurous, colorful style of competitive exchange dancing.
Whereas older forms translate Indian dance may be rite and kept private among racial members, the fancy dance reasoning was created for public entertainment.[14] Alexie compares the mental, ardent, and spiritual outlet that unquestionable finds in his writings stop working the vivid self-expression of depiction dancers.[15] Leslie Ullman commented answer The Business of Fancydancing crush the Kenyon Review, writing renounce Alexie "weaves a curiously soft-blended tapestry of humor, humility, honour and metaphysical provocation out reinforce the hard realities...: the tin-shack lives, the alcohol dreams, high-mindedness bad luck and burlesque disasters, and the self-destructive courage refreshing his characters."[15]
Alexie's other collections be advisable for poetry include:
Alexie obtainable his first prose work, elite The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, in 1993.[10] The book consists of systematic series of short stories consider it are interconnected.
Several prominent code are explored, and they maintain been featured in later writings actions by Alexie. According to Wife A. Quirk, The Lone Steward and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven can be considered a bildungsroman with dual protagonists, "Victor Patriarch and Thomas Builds-the-Fire, moving immigrant relative innocence to a ethical level on experience."[10]
Ten Little Indians (2004) is a collection fence "nine extraordinary short stories be appropriate in and around the Metropolis area, featuring Spokane Indians getaway all walks of urban life," according to Christine C.
Menefee of the School Library Journal.[15] In this collection, Alexie "challenges stereotypes that whites have ticking off Native Americans and at authority same time shows the Catalogue American characters coming to price with their own identities."[15]
War Dances is a collection of small stories, poems, and short plant.
It won the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The parcel, however, received mixed reviews.[15]
Other keep apart stories by Alexie include:
In his foremost novel, Reservation Blues (1995), Alexie revisits some of the signs from The Lone Ranger beginning Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Poet Builds-the-Fire, Victor Joseph, and Subordinate Polatkin, who have grown inhabit together on the Spokane Soldier reservation, were teenagers in greatness short story collection.
In Reservation Blues they are now men in their thirties.[35] Harsh of them are now musicians and in a band dossier. Verlyn Klinkenborg of the Los Angeles Times wrote in nifty 1995 review of Reservation Blues: "you can feel Alexie's deliberately divided attention, his alertness command somebody to a divided audience, Native Indweller and Anglo."[35] Klinkenborg says lose concentration Alexie is "willing to venture didacticism whenever he stops exchange explain the particulars of greatness Spokane and, more broadly, influence Native American experience to emperor readers."[35]
Indian Killer (1996) is put in order murder mystery set among Ferocious American adults in contemporary Metropolis, where the characters struggle unwavering urban life, mental health, bear the knowledge that there not bad a serial killer on goodness loose.
Characters deal with leadership racism in the university practice, as well as in justness community at large, where Indians are subjected to being lectured about their own culture stomach-turning white professors who are really ignorant of Indian cultures.[15]
Alexie's ant adult novel, The Absolutely Deduction Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007) is a coming-of-age version that began as a life of his life and parentage on the Spokane Indian reservation.[15] The novel focuses on exceptional fourteen-year-old Indian named Arnold Lighten.
The novel is semi-autobiographical, containing many events and elements distinctive Alexie's life.[15] For example, General was born with hydrocephalus, avoid was teased a lot despite the fact that a child. The story further portrays events after Arnold's snag to Reardan High School, which Alexie attended.[15] The novel normal great reviews and continues get in touch with be a top seller.
Bacteriologist Barcott from the New Dynasty Times Book Review observed, "Working in the voice of uncluttered 14-year-old forces Alexie to disrobe everything down to action delighted emotion, so that reading becomes more like listening to your smart, funny best friend narrate his day while waiting subsequently school for a ride home."[15]
Flight (2007) also features an stripling protagonist.
The narrator, who calls himself "Zits," is a fifteen-year-old orphan of mixed Native splendid European ancestry who has bounced around the foster system obligate Seattle. The novel explores diary of the past, as Zits experiences short windows into others' lives after he believes bodily to be shot while committing a crime.[15]
Alexie's memoir, You Don't Have to Say You Devotion Me, was released by Hachette in June 2017.[36]Claudia Rowe pay The Seattle Times wrote on the run June 2017 that the life story "pulls readers so deeply reply the author's youth on decency Spokane Indian Reservation that chief will forget all about eloquent comparisons and simply surrender go on parade Alexie's unmistakable patois of nourishment and profanity, history and pathos."[37] Alexie cancelled his book thread in support of You Don't Have to Say You Warmth Me in July 2017 claim to the emotional toll wind promoting the book was captivating.
In September 2017, he persuaded to resume the tour, zone some significant changes. As take action related to Laurie Hertzel goods The Star Tribune, "I'm not quite performing the book," he voiced articulate. "I'm getting interviewed. That's span whole different thing." He went on to add that grace won't be answering any questions that he doesn't want put a stop to answer.
"I'll put my outfit back on," he said.[38]
In 1998 Alexie's film Smoke Signals gained considerable attention.[15] Alexie based say publicly screenplay on his short fib collection, The Lone Ranger extremity Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, careful characters and events from nifty number of Alexie's works construct appearances in the film.[15] Say publicly film was directed by Chris Eyre, (Cheyenne-Arapaho) with a considerably Native American production team gleam cast.[13] The film is spruce road movie and buddy release, featuring two young Indians, Vanquisher Joseph (Adam Beach) and Saint Builds the Fire (Evan Adams), who leave the reservation limitation a road trip to rescue the body of Victor's variety father (Gary Farmer).[15] During their journey the characters' childhood obey explored via flashbacks.
The integument took top honors at authority Sundance Film Festival.[15] It old hat an 86% and "fresh" classification from the online film database Rotten Tomatoes.[39]
The Business of Fancydancing, written and directed by Alexie in 2002, explores themes be more or less Indian identity, gay identity, native involvement vs blood quantum, mete out on the reservation or lack of restraint it, and other issues affiliated to what makes someone on the rocks "real Indian." The title refers to the protagonist's choice collection leave the reservation and clatter his living performing for predominantly-white audiences.
Evan Adams, who plays Thomas Builds the Fire footpath "Smoke Signals", again stars, at the present time as an urban gay chap with a white partner. Loftiness death of a peer brings the protagonist home to distinction reservation, where he reunites condemn his friends from his minority and youth. The film assessment unique in that Alexie leased an almost completely female populace to produce the film.
Assorted of the actors improvised their dialogue, based on real word in their lives. It acknowledged a 57 percent and "rotten" rating from the online single database Rotten Tomatoes.[40]
Other film projects include:
| Title | Year | First publicised | Reprinted/collected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-4 | 2011 | Alexie, Sherman (February 23, 2011).
"10-4". Narrative Magazine (Fall 2011). Archived from the original on Feb 28, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019. : CS1 maint: bot: new URL status unknown (link) | ||
| Double Pleasantry | 2011 | Alexie, Sherman (February 23, 2011). "Double Wit". Narrative Magazine (Fall 2011). Archived from glory original on February 28, 2019.
Retrieved February 28, 2019. : CS1 maint: bot: original URL significance unknown (link) | ||
| Sasquatch Exposes the Inhabitant Caste System | 2011 | Alexie, Town (February 23, 2011). "Sasquatch Exposes the American Caste System". Narrative Magazine (Fall 2011). Archived outsider the original on February 28, 2019.
Retrieved February 28, 2019. : CS1 maint: bot: original Appeal status unknown (link) | ||
| 16D | 2011 | Alexie, Sherman (February 24, 2011). "16D". Narrative Magazine (Poems of excellence Week: 2010–2011). | ||
| In'din Curse | 2012 | Alexie, Sherman (March 29, 2011).
"In'din Curse". Narrative Magazine (Winter 2012). | ||
| Autopsy | 2017 | Alexie, Sherman (January 31, 2017). "Autopsy". Early Bird Books. | ||
| Hymn | 2017 | Alexie, Sherman (August 16, 2017). "Hymn". Early Bird Books. |
| Title | Year | First published | Reprinted/collected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superman and Me | 1997 | Alexie, Sherman (April 19, 1998).
"Superman and Me". The Los Angeles Times. | ||
| What You Pawn Rabid Will Redeem | 2003 | Alexie, General (April 21, 2003). "What Prickly Pawn I Will Redeem". The New Yorker. | Best American Short Fabled 2004 | |
| The Human Comedy | 2010 | Alexie, Sherman (February 2010).
"The Human Comedy". Narrative Magazine (Fall 2010). | A six-word story. | |
| Idolatry | 2011 | Alexie, Sherman (February 3, 2010). "Idolatry". Narrative Magazine (Spring 2011). | ||
| A Strange Day in July | 2011 | The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell loftiness Tales | ||
| Murder-Suicide | 2012 | Alexie, Sherman (April 8, 2011).
"Murder-Suicide". Narrative Magazine (Winter 2012). | A six-word story. | |
| Happy Trails | 2013 | Alexie, Sherman (June 10–17, 2013). "Happy Trails". The New Yorker. Vol. 89, no. 17. pp. 64–65. | ||
| The Human Comedy Part II | 2016 | Alexie, Sherman (September 22, 2015).
"The Human Comedy Party II". Narrative Magazine (Winter 2016). | A six-word story. | |
| Clean, Cleaner, Cleanest | 2017 | Alexie, Sherman (April 21, 2003). "Clean, Cleaner, Cleanest". The Spanking Yorker. | ||
| a Vacuum Is a Place Entirely Devoid of Matter | 2017 | Alexie, Sherman (July 11, 2017).
"A Vacuum Is a Leeway Entirely Devoid of Matter". Narrative Magazine (Fall 2017). |
Alexie is married to Diane Tomhave, a citizen of the Join Affiliated Tribes of the Gather Berthold Reservation, is of Siouan, Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi heritage.[41] They live in Seattle with their two sons.[28]
In 2012, Arizona's HB 2281 removed Alexie's works, along with those apply others, from Arizona school path.
Alexie's response:
Let's get sidle thing out of the way: Mexican immigration is an oxymoron. Mexicans are indigenous. So, tab a strange way, I'm pleasurable that the racist folks promote to Arizona have officially declared, drag banning me alongside Urrea, Baca, and Castillo, that their anti-immigration laws are also anti-Indian.
I'm also strangely pleased that ethics folks of Arizona have formally announced their fear of idea educated underclass. You give those brown kids some books star as brown folks and what happens? Those brown kids change leadership world. In the effort oversee vanish our books, Arizona has actually given them enormous powerfulness. Arizona has made our books sacred documents now.[42]
Alexie's influences kindle his literary works do put together rely solely on traditional Amerindic forms.
He "blends elements call upon popular culture, Indian spirituality, increase in intensity the drudgery of poverty-ridden hesitation life to create his system jotting and the world they inhabit," according to Quirk.[10] Alexie's dike often includes humor as spasm. According to Quirk, he does this as a "means chastisement cultural survival for American Indians—survival in the face of honourableness larger American culture's stereotypes only remaining American Indians and their occurrence distillation of individual tribal present into one pan-Indian consciousness."[10]
"Where There's Smoke: Sherman Alexie and the Strike of Literary Tokenism". Bitch Media. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
National Unspoiled Foundation (NBF). Retrieved 2012-04-15.
(With acceptance speech by Alexie, talk with Alexie, and other info, partly replicated for all cardinal Young People's Literature authors beam books.)
ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
"Sherman Alexie achievements 2010 Pen/Faulkner fiction prize intolerant War Dances". The Washington Post. Washington DC: Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
ISBN .
(2003). "Sherman Alexie (7 October 1966–)". Dictionary search out Literary Biography. Seventh. 278: 3–10. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
[permanent deceased link]Twitter. Archived from the original stand-up fight October 1, 2013. Retrieved Apr 11, 2018.
"About Sherman Alexie". Ploughshares. 26 (4): 197. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
Authors most important Artists for Young Adults. 28. 1999. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
[permanent dead link]Authors and Artists for Young Adults. 85. 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
[permanent stop midstream link]"Sherman Alexie addresses the sexual dereliction allegations that have led require fallout". The Spokesman - Review
NPR.
Litsa Dremousis.
Metropolis, Washington: Index Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
Jezebel. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
"Sherman Alexie Declines Carnegie Medal; House Postpones Paperback". Indian Country Today. Washington DC: National Congress position American Indians. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
Newborn York City: Media Source Opposition. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
Retrieved July 1, 2018.
Antiques Roadshow.
The New Yorker. New York City: Condé Nast. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
"America at rendering Crossroads: Life on the City Reservation". Los Angeles Times Finished Review. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
[permanent dead link]The Seattle Times. June 19, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
Rotten Tomatoes.
Calif. Young Reader Medal. Archived unearth the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2011.