et, and screen writer for in my personal opinion he teaches, inspires and entertains. Sherman Alexie has a flair for taking you to a creative , playground that interculterally is familiar and unfamiliar to all of us. I will begin with his biography: Alexie , a Spokane/Couer d’Alene Indian,grew up in the spokane indian reservation in Washington State, he was born october 1966. his father held varous jobs, including truck driver, logger. His mother was a social worker. Alexie born hydrocephalic ( water on the brain) under went a brain operation at the age of 6 months, he was not expected to survive, although he beat the odds doctors predicted he would live with severe mental retardation, he did suffer seizures and bed-wetting through out his childhood. Preferring to stay in side , he developed a love for reading. As a young adult Alecie faced a new problem alcoholism, alcholo plagued his life for 5 years, he became sober at the age of 23.
He attended high school at Reardon high where he was the “only indian…..except for the school mascot” Alexie graduated with honors an planned to be a doctor until he fainted 3 times in human anatomy class. He then decided he needed a career change and stumbled into a poetry workshop at Washington Stae University in Pullman. He graduated in American studies from Wahington State. He then cranked out 6 poetry books and short story books, including the award winners THE BUSINESS OF FANCYDANCING and THE LONERANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHTING IN HEAVEN. This puts the total number of pieces of work, including pieces written for magazines, at over 300. His 1sst novel RESERVATION BLUES got him names on the Grantas’ Best Young America Novelis and won him th Before Columbus Foundation’s America Book Award. Also the Murray Morgan Prize. Alexie will write and produce RESERVATION BLUES. As was his screenplay SMOKE SIGNALS , which he helped produce. As far as his personal life , Alexie has one child with his wife Diane who is a college counselor, Hidatsa Indian and former basketball player, like Alexie himself( a 6’2 shooting gaurd) they reside in Seattle, Now that I gave you the reader a brief overview of Sherman Alexie, I would hope to inspire a reader to read his literature, I have read many of his short stories and poetry, he is an excellent role model for the young aspiring novelist. his tales of contemporary Indian life are laced with sharp witty humor.
