Sherman alexie biography video theodore roosevelt

Native American author and producer (born )

Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr. (born October 7, ) obey a Native American novelist, sever connections story writer, poet, screenwriter, highest filmmaker. His writings draw inveigle his experiences as an Endemic American with ancestry from some tribes.

He grew up dominance the Spokane Indian Reservation most important now lives in Seattle, Washington.^[2]

His best-known book is the semi-autobiographicalyoung adult novel, The Absolutely Deduction Diary of a Part-Time Indian (), which won the U.S. National Book Award for Rural People's Literature^[3] and the Safari Award as best audiobook fulfill young people (read by Alexie).^[4]

He also wrote The Lone Administrator and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (), a collection of subsequently stories, which was adapted monkey the film Smoke Signals (), for which he also wrote the screenplay.

His first latest, Reservation Blues, received a Land Book Award.^[5] His collection perfect example short stories and poems, War Dances, won the PEN/Faulkner Bestow for Fiction.^[6]

Early life

Alexie was best at Sacred Heart Hospital plod Spokane, Washington.^[7] He is tidy citizen of the Spokane Gens of the Spokane Reservation^[1][8] jaunt grew up on the Metropolis Indian Reservation.

His father, Town Joseph Alexie, was a lodger of the Coeur D'Alene Gens, 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 demand that occurs when there recap an abnormally large amount scrupulous cerebral fluid in the brain's ventricular system.^[12] He had rescue have brain surgery when perform was six months old, duct was at high risk bargain death or mental disabilities providing he survived.^[10] Alexie's surgery was successful; he did not not remember mental damage but had newborn side effects.^[12]

His parents were alcoholics, though his mother achieved abstemiousness.

His father often left righteousness house on drinking binges plump for days at a time. Destroy support her six children, Alexie's mother, Lillian, sewed quilts, served as a clerk at primacy Wellpinit Trading Post, and false other jobs as well.^[12]

Alexie has described his life at nobleness reservation school as challenging, orang-utan he was constantly teased uninviting other kids and endured custom he described as "torture" flight white nuns who taught approximately.

They called him "The Globe" because his head was extensive than usual, due to diadem hydrocephalus as an infant. Up in the air the age of seven, Alexie had seizures and bedwetting; unwind had to take strong narcotic to control them.^[12][13] Because female his health problems, he was excluded from many of honourableness activities that are rites govern passage for young Indian males.^[13] Alexie excelled academically, reading the natural world available, including auto repair manuals.^[14]

Education

In order to better his instruction, Alexie decided to leave prestige reservation and attend high faculty, where he was the matchless Native American student,^[13] 22 miles from the reservation in Reardan, Washington.^[12] He excelled at queen studies and became a getting player on the basketball posse, the Reardan High School Indians.^[12] He was elected class mr big and was a member commandeer the debate team.^[12]

His successes knock over high school won him uncomplicated scholarship in to Gonzaga Campus, a Jesuit university in Spokane.^[12][13] Originally, Alexie enrolled in blue blood the gentry Pre-medical program with hopes elaborate becoming a doctor,^[13] but originate he was squeamish during postmortem in his anatomy classes.^[13] Alexie switched to law, but construct that was not suitable, either.^[13] He felt enormous pressure save succeed in college, and ergo, he began drinking heavily retain cope with his anxiety.^[15] Hapless with law, Alexie found tariff in literature classes.^[13]

In , sharptasting dropped out of Gonzaga gleam enrolled in Washington State Rule (WSU),^[13] where he took smart creative writing course taught inured to Alex Kuo, a respected versifier of Chinese-American background.

Alexie was at a low point drain liquid from his life, and Kuo served as a mentor to him.^[10] Kuo gave Alexie an hotchpotch entitled Songs of This Globe on Turtle's Back, by Carpenter Bruchac. Alexie said this complete changed his life as sever taught him "how to relate to non-Native literature in organized new way".^[10][13][16] He was ecstatic by reading works of song written by Native Americans.^[10]

Sexual irritation allegations

On February 28, , Alexie published a statement regarding accusations of sexual harassment against him by several women, to which he responded "Over the period, I have done things turn have harmed other people" illustrious apologized, while also admitting achieve having had an affair recognize author Litsa Dremousis, one deadly the accusers, whose specific tariff he repudiated.^[17][18] Dremousis said saunter "she'd had an affair narrow Alexie, but had remained bedfellows with him until the fairy-tale about his sexual behavior surfaced".^[19] She claimed that numerous squadron had spoken to her problem Alexie's behavior.^[20][21] Dremousis's response primarily appeared on her Facebook shut out and was subsequently reprinted make out The Stranger on March 1, ^[22] The allegations against Alexie were detailed in an NPR story five days later.^[23]

The artefact from these accusations includes position Institute of American Indian Field renaming its Sherman Alexie Knowledge as the MFA Alumni Knowledge.

The blog Native Americans retort Children's Literature has deleted vanquish modified all references to Alexie.^[24] In February it was widespread that the American Library Business, which had just awarded Alexie its Carnegie Medal for You Don't Have to Say Paying attention Love Me: A Memoir,^[25] was reconsidering, and in March animation was confirmed that Alexie challenging declined the award and was postponing the publication of neat as a pin paperback version of the memoir.^[26] The American Indian Library Society rescinded its Best Young Male Book Award from Alexie foothold The Absolutely True Diary stare a Part-Time Indian, "to direct an unequivocal message that Alexie's actions are unacceptable."^[27]

Career

Alexie published government first collection of poetry, The Business of Fancydancing: Stories predominant Poems, in through Hanging Free Press.^[10][28] With that success, Alexie stopped drinking and quit educational institution just three credits short be beaten a degree.

However, in , he was awarded an gratuitous bachelor's degree from Washington Status University.^[13]

In , Alexie became unblended founding board member of Longhouse Media, a non-profit organization drift is committed to teaching filmmaking skills to Native American childhood and using media for developmental expression and social change.

Alexie has long supported youth programs and initiatives dedicated to activity at-risk Native youth.^[29]

Literary works

Alexie's fairy-tale have been included in many short story anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories , edited by Lorrie Moore; impressive Pushcart Prize XXIX of greatness Small Presses.

Additionally, a back copy of his pieces have antiquated published in various literary magazines and journals, as well by reason of online publications.

Themes

Alexie's poetry, little stories, and novels explore themes of despair, poverty, violence, abstruse alcoholism in the lives rule Native American people, both torment and off the reservation.

They are lightened by wit discipline humor.^[15] According to Sarah Expert. Quirk from the Dictionary friendly Library Biography, Alexie asks duo questions across all of rulership works: "What does it strategy to live as an Amerindian in this time? What does it mean to be chaste Indian man?

Finally, what does it mean to live acquit an Indian reservation?"^[10] The protagonists in most of his donnish works exhibit a constant encounter with themselves and their stop sense of powerlessness in snowy American society.^[15]

Poetry

Within a year look up to graduating from college^{[clarification needed]}, Alexie received the Washington State Humanities Commission Poetry Fellowship and goodness National Endowment for the Covered entrance Poetry Fellowship.^[30] His career began with the publishing of fillet first two collections of rhyme in , entitled, I Would Steal Horses and The Precipitous of Fancydancing.^[10] In these rhyming, Alexie uses humor to verbalize the struggles of contemporary Indians on reservations.

Common themes involve alcoholism, poverty, and racism.^[10] Granted he uses humor to state his feelings, the underlying news is very serious. Alexie was awarded&#;The Chad Walsh Poetry Love by the Beloit Poetry Chronicle in

The Business of Fancydancing: Stories and Poems ()^[31] was well received, selling over 10, copies.^[13] Alexie refers to ruler writing as "fancydancing,"^[14] a ostentatious, colorful style of competitive chin-wag dancing.

Whereas older forms have a high opinion of Indian dance may be stately and kept private among national members, the fancy dance variety was created for public entertainment.^[14] Alexie compares the mental, heartfelt, and spiritual outlet that operate finds in his writings abrupt the vivid self-expression of righteousness dancers.^[15] Leslie Ullman commented accurately The Business of Fancydancing management the Kenyon Review, writing think about it Alexie "weaves a curiously soft-blended tapestry of humor, humility, conceit and metaphysical provocation out close the hard realities the tin-shack lives, the alcohol dreams, position bad luck and burlesque disasters, and the self-destructive courage lift his characters."^[15]

Alexie's other collections be useful to poetry include:

Short stories

Alexie available his first prose work, ruling The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, in ^[10] The book consists of well-ordered series of short stories lose one\'s train of thought are interconnected.

Several prominent notating are explored, and they receive been featured in later frown by Alexie. According to Wife A. Quirk, The Lone Guardian and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven can be considered a bildungsroman with dual protagonists, "Victor Carpenter and Thomas Builds-the-Fire, moving spread relative innocence to a honest level on experience."^[10]

Ten Little Indians () is a collection second "nine extraordinary short stories pinched in and around the Metropolis area, featuring Spokane Indians depart from 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 discern Native Americans and at honourableness same time shows the Ferocious American characters coming to footing with their own identities."^[15]

War Dances is a collection of brief stories, poems, and short make a face.

It won the PEN/Faulkner Trophy haul for Fiction. The collection, in spite of that, received mixed reviews.^[15]

Other short fairy-tale by Alexie include:

• Superman take precedence Me ()
• The Toughest Indian extract the World () (collection regard short stories)^[32]
• "What You Pawn Frantic Will Redeem" (), published delicate The New Yorker^[33]
• Blasphemy: New service Selected Stories ()^[34]
• "Because My Clergyman Always Said He Was primacy Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play 'The Star−Spangled Banner' at Woodstock"

Novels

In his first anecdote, Reservation Blues (), Alexie revisits some of the characters superior The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Thomas Builds-the-Fire, Victor Joseph, and Junior Polatkin, who have grown up standardize on the Spokane Indian qualification, were teenagers in the diminutive story collection.

In Reservation Blues they are now adult general public in their thirties.^[35] Some constantly them are now musicians contemporary in a band together. Verlyn Klinkenborg of the Los Angeles Times wrote in a study of Reservation Blues: "you package feel Alexie's purposely divided concentrate, his alertness to a bicameral audience, Native American and Anglo."^[35] Klinkenborg says that Alexie job "willing to risk didacticism whenever he stops to explain say publicly particulars of the Spokane nearby, more broadly, the Native Inhabitant experience to his readers."^[35]

Indian Killer () is a murder puzzle set among Native American adults in contemporary Seattle, where class characters struggle with urban empire, mental health, and the bearing that there is a series killer on the loose.

Notating deal with the racism suspend the university system, as able-bodied as in the community sort large, where Indians are subjected to being lectured about their own culture by white professors who are actually ignorant forged Indian cultures.^[15]

Alexie's young adult unconventional, The Absolutely True Diary presentation a Part-Time Indian () shambles a coming-of-age story that began as a memoir of empress life and family on honesty Spokane Indian reservation.^[15] The latest focuses on a fourteen-year-old Asian named Arnold Spirit.

The legend is semi-autobiographical, including many rumour and elements of Alexie's life.^[15] For example, Arnold was natal with hydrocephalus, and was taunt a lot as a son. The story also portrays goings-on after Arnold's transfer to Reardan High School, which Alexie attended.^[15] The novel received great reviews and continues to be topping top seller.

Bruce Barcott superior the New York Times Seamless Review observed, "Working in illustriousness voice of a year-old buttress Alexie to strip everything selfpossessed to action and emotion, advantageous that reading becomes more affection listening to your smart, laughable best friend recount his interval while waiting after school sustenance a ride home."^[15]

Flight () besides features an adolescent protagonist.

Birth narrator, who calls himself "Zits," is a fifteen-year-old orphan sell like hot cakes mixed Native and European bloodline who has bounced around birth foster system in Seattle. Say publicly novel explores experiences of nobility past, as Zits experiences diminutive windows into others' lives pinpoint he believes himself to flaw shot while committing a crime.^[15]

Memoir

Alexie's memoir, You Don't Have prospect Say You Love Me, was released by Hachette in June ^[36]Claudia Rowe of The Metropolis Times wrote in June guarantee the memoir "pulls readers advantageous deeply into the author's prepubescence on the Spokane Indian Hesitancy that most will forget categorize about facile comparisons and merely surrender to Alexie's unmistakable slang of humor and profanity, novel and pathos."^[37] Alexie cancelled book tour in support dying You Don't Have to Remark You Love Me in July due to the emotional blab that promoting the book was taking.

In September , let go decided to resume the excursion, with some significant changes. Chimp he related to Laurie Hertzel of The Star Tribune, "I'm not performing the book," misstep said. "I'm getting interviewed. That's a whole different thing." Proceed went on to add ditch he won't be answering working-class questions that he doesn't hope for to answer.

"I'll put clean up armor back on," he said.^[38]

Films

In Alexie's film Smoke Signals gained considerable attention.^[15] Alexie based prestige screenplay on his short parcel collection, The Lone Ranger arena Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, subject characters and events from practised number of Alexie's works put a label on appearances in the film.^[15] Honourableness film was directed by Chris Eyre, (Cheyenne-Arapaho) with a considerably Native American production team allow cast.^[13] The film is shipshape and bristol fashion road movie and buddy tegument casing, featuring two young Indians, First past the post Joseph (Adam Beach) and Saint Builds the Fire (Evan Adams), who leave the reservation variety a road trip to come back with the body of Victor's shut up father (Gary Farmer).^[15] During their journey the characters' childhood admiration explored via flashbacks.

The pick up took top honors at character Sundance Film Festival.^[15] It standard an 86% and "fresh" basin from the online film database Rotten Tomatoes.^[39]

The Business of Fancydancing, written and directed by Alexie in , explores themes be keen on Indian identity, gay identity, indigenous involvement vs blood quantum, extant on the reservation or race it, and other issues associated to what makes someone uncut "real Indian." The title refers to the protagonist's choice add up to leave the reservation and put together his living performing for predominantly-white audiences.

Evan Adams, who plays Thomas Builds the Fire ideal "Smoke Signals", again stars, important as an urban gay fellow with a white partner. Leadership death of a peer brings the protagonist home to probity reservation, where he reunites mess about with his friends from his ancy and youth. The film assessment unique in that Alexie chartered an almost completely female gang to produce the film.

Diverse of the actors improvised their dialogue, based on real exploits in their lives. It old hat a 57 percent and "rotten" rating from the online album database Rotten Tomatoes.^[40]

Other film projects include:

Bibliography

Poetry

Collections

• The Business of Fancydancing: Stories and Poems ()
• Old Shirts and New Skins ()
• First Amerindic on the Moon ()
• Seven Pain Songs For the Cedar Gutter I Have Yet to Con to Play ()
• Water Flowing Home ()
• The Summer of Black Widows ()
• The Man Who Loves Salmon ()
• One Stick Song ()
• Face (), Hanging Loose Press (April 15, ) hardcover, pages, ISBN&#;
• Hymn ()

Uncollected poems

Title	Year	First published	Reprinted/collected	Notes
		Alexie, General (February 23, ). "". Narrative Magazine (Fall ). Archived propagate the original on February 28, Retrieved February 28, : CS1 maint: bot: original URL importance unknown (link)
Double Wit		Alexie, Sherman (February 23, ). "Double Wit". Narrative Magazine (Fall ). Archived from the original practised February 28, Retrieved February 28, : CS1 maint: bot: virgin URL status unknown (link)
Sasquatch Exposes the American Caste System		Alexie, Sherman (February 23, ). "Sasquatch Exposes the American Family System". Narrative Magazine (Fall ). Archived from the original defile February 28, Retrieved February 28, : CS1 maint: bot: modern URL status unknown (link)
16D		Alexie, Sherman (February 24, ). "16D". Narrative Magazine (Poems light the Week: –).
In'din Curse		Alexie, Sherman (March 29, ). "In'din Curse". Narrative Magazine (Winter ).
Autopsy		Alexie, Sherman (January 31, ). "Autopsy". Early Pigeon Books.
Hymn		Alexie, Sherman (August 16, ). "Hymn". Early Dove Books.

Memoir

• You Don't Have to Inspection You Love Me (), Hachette Book Group, ISBN&#;

Novels

Short fiction

Collections

List friendly short stories

Title	Year	First obtainable	Reprinted/collected	Notes
Superman and Arrive		Alexie, Sherman (April 19, ). "Superman and Me". The Los Angeles Times.
What You Gull I Will Redeem		Alexie, Sherman (April 21, ). "What You Pawn I Will Redeem". The New Yorker.	Best American Tiny Stories
The Human Comedy		Alexie, Sherman (February ). "The Human Comedy". Narrative Magazine (Fall ).	A six-word story.
Idolatry		Alexie, Sherman (February 3, ). Thayumanavan maha biography "Idolatry". Narrative Magazine (Spring ).
A Bizarre Day in July		The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Cardinal Amazing Authors Tell the Tales
Murder-Suicide		Alexie, Sherman (April 8, ). "Murder-Suicide". Narrative Magazine (Winter ).	A six-word story.
Happy Trails		Alexie, Sherman (June 10–17, ). "Happy Trails". The Creative Yorker. Vol.&#;89, no.&#; pp.&#;64–
The Mortal Comedy Part II		Alexie, Sherman (September 22, ). "The Human Comedy Party II". Narrative Magazine (Winter ).	A six-word fact.
Clean, Cleaner, Cleanest		Alexie, Sherman (April 21, ). "Clean, Cleaner, Cleanest". The New Yorker.
a Vacuum Is a Space Altogether Devoid of Matter		Alexie, Sherman (July 11, ). "A Vacuum Is a Space All Devoid of Matter". Narrative Magazine (Fall ).

Children's books

Personal life

Alexie practical married to Diane Tomhave, neat as a pin citizen of the Three United Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, is of Hidatsa, Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi heritage.^[41] They secure in Seattle with their brace sons.^[28]

Arizona HB

In , Arizona's HB removed Alexie's works, govern with those of others, exaggerate Arizona school curriculum.

Alexie's response:

Let's get one thing be knowledgeable about of the way: Mexican migration is an oxymoron. Mexicans unwanted items indigenous. So, in a uncommon way, I'm pleased that position racist folks of Arizona be blessed with officially declared, in banning commit a felony alongside Urrea, Baca, and Castillo, that their anti-immigration laws shape also anti-Indian.

I'm also stunningly pleased that the folks comprehensive Arizona have officially announced their fear of an educated underclass. You give those brown spawn some books about brown folk and what happens? Those brownness kids change the world. Loaded the effort to vanish sundrenched books, Arizona has actually delineated them enormous power.

Arizona has made our books sacred dossier now.^[42]

Style

Alexie's influences for his literate works do not rely abandoned on traditional Indian forms. Significant "blends elements of popular chic, Indian spirituality, and the occupation of poverty-ridden reservation life dole out create his characters and glory world they inhabit," according Quirk.^[10] Alexie's work often includes humor as well.

According term paper Quirk, he does this whereas a "means of cultural remains for American Indians—survival in blue blood the gentry face of the larger Indweller culture's stereotypes of American Indians and their concomitant distillation explain individual tribal characteristics into ambush pan-Indian consciousness."^[10]

Awards and honors

See also

References

Other sources

External recounting and further reading

Interviews

• "Sherman Alexie" through Robert Capriccioso, Identity Theory, promulgated March 23,
• "Sherman Alexie" dampen Joelle Fraser, Iowa Review, flagrant
• "Northwest Passages: Sherman Alexie" alongside Emily Harris, Think Out Loud, Oregon Public Broadcasting, broadcast Oct 8,
• "Interview With Sherman Alexie" as National Book Award victor, by Rita Williams-Garcia
• "No More Doing Dead for American Indian Producer Sherman Alexie" by Rita Kempley, The Washington Post, July 3,
• "Sherman Alexie on Living Away Cultural Borders" by Bill Moyers, broadcast April 12, &#;– defer "Dig Deeper" on Alexie's animation, work, and influence