"My only purpose is to teach children to rebel against authority figures." -- Sherman Alexie
Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is an American writer, poet, filmmaker, and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a Native American. Two of Alexie's best known works are The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1994), a book of short stories and Smoke Signals, a film. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, an autobiographical young adult novel, was his first major commercial success. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
"All art is exploitation.""All I owe the world is my art.""If I wasn't writing poems I'd be washing my hands all the time.""The dream he needed most was the dream that frightened him more."
Sherman Alexie, a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, was born hydrocephalic (or with Water on the Brain) in October 1966, on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. Despite his condition, he had no apparent retardation, though he suffered seizures and other effects throughout his childhood. Alexie made the conscious decision to leave his reservation and attend Reardan High School, where he knew he would receive a better education.
In 1985, Alexie enrolled at Gonzaga University on a scholarship. In 1987, he transferred to Washington State University (WSU), where he fell under the influence of Alex Kuo. Kuo inspired Alexie to write poetry, and soon after graduating, Alexie published his first collection of poems, The Business of Fancy Dancing, through Hanging Loose Press.
In 2005, Alexie became a founding Board Member of Longhouse Media, a non-profit organization that is committed to teaching filmmaking skills to Native American youth, and to use media for cultural expression and social change. Mr. Alexie has long supported youth programs and initiatives dedicated to uplifting at risk Native youth.
Alexie is married to Diane Tomhave, who is of Hidatsa, Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi heritage. They live in Seattle with their two sons.
Basketball
Alexie is also noted for his love of basketball, both as an audience member and a player. He is a loyal and enthusiastic supporter of the now relocated Seattle SuperSonics. His writings on the sport are frequently cited by notable basketball writers, such as ESPN's Henry Abbott.
Prior to the SuperSonics' relocation, the City of Seattle filed a lawsuit against the team's ownership group headed by businessman Clayton Bennett in an attempt to force the team to play out the remainder of its lease (which was to expire in 2010) in Seattle's KeyArena. Alexie testified in favor of the city, stressing the importance of the Sonics to Seattle's culture and community, as well as to individual fans - an experience that he would later describe as the "most terrifying and stressful public speaking gig I've ever had to endure." However, the City of Seattle settled with the ownership group, permitting the team to break its lease and move to Oklahoma City for the following season, in exchange for a multi-million dollar cash settlement. Despite the personal and communal loss, Alexie retains his love for the game, and continues to follow pro ball passionately.
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. Additionally, a number of his pieces have been published in various literary magazines and journals, as well as online publications. His website, FallsApart.com, contains more information than is readily available in this list.
Poetry
On The Amtrak from Boston to New York City (1990)
The Business of Fancydancing (1991)
I Would Steal Horses (1992)
Old Shirts and New Skins (1993)
Postcards to Columbus (1993)
First Indian on the Moon (1993)
Seven Mourning Songs For the Cedar Flute I Have Yet to Learn to Play (1993)
Water Flowing Home (1995)
The Summer of Black Widows (1996)
The Man Who Loves Salmon (1998)
One Stick Song (2000)
Dangerous Astronomy (2005)
Face (2009), Hanging Loose Press (April 15, 2009) hardcover, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1931236713
Fiction by Sherman Alexie
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd (February 28, 1994), hardcover: 224 pages, ISBN 978-0436201905
Reservation Blues (1995)
Indian Killer (1996)
The Toughest Indian in the World (2000) (collection of short stories)
Ten Little Indians (2003)
Flight
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (September 12, 2007), hardcover, 240 pages, ISBN 978-0316013680
War Dances (2009)
"Fiction Chronicle" review of War Dances by Jan Stuart, Sunday Book Review, The New York Times October 22, 2009
Films
Smoke Signals (writer, 1998; adapted from a short story, "This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" in Lone Ranger and Tonto)
The Business of Fancydancing (writer and director, 2002)
Alexie is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2005 O. Henry Award, the 2000inaugural 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, 2006 and 2008. In 2003, he earned the 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 worked as a mentor for the PEN Emerging Writers program.
Awards and honors
1991: Washington State Arts Commission Poetry Fellowship
1992: National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship
The 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 Stoker Award Nominee for Distances
1996: Before Columbus Foundation: American Book Award
Morgan Murray Prize for Reservation Blues
Granta Magazine: Twenty Best American Novelists 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: The New Yorker: 20 Writers for the 21st Century
2007: National Book Award prize for Young People's literature for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
2008: Washington State Book Awards Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award for Middle Grades/Young Adults for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
2009: The Swedish Peter Pan Award for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
2010: PEN/Faulkner Award for War Dances [1]
2010: Native Writers' Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award
2010: recipient of the Puterbaugh [2] award, the first American Puterbaugh fellow
