Conversations with Sherman Alexie

by Nancy J. Peterson (Editor)

Overview

"The responsibilities of being an Indian writer are enormous. Even more so than any other group of people because we have so much more to protect." Sherman Alexie (b. 1966) gained national attention upon release of The Business of Fancydancing, his first collection of poems and stories, in 1992, when a critic for the New York Times Book Review called him "one of the major lyric voices of our time." More recently, in 2007, Alexie won a National Book Award for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a young-adult novel based on his own high school experiences. In Conversations with Sherman Alexie, the writer displays the same passion, dynamic sense of humor, and sharp observational skills that characterize his work. The interviews-ranging from 1993 to 2007-feature Alexie speaking candidly about the ideas and themes behind his poetry collections (I Would Steal Horses, First Indian on the Moon), short story collections (The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Ten Little Indians), novels (Indian Killer, Reservation Blues), and screenplays (Smoke Signals). Nancy J. Peterson is associate professor of English and American studies at Purdue University. She is the author of Beloved: Character Studies and Against Amnesia: Contemporary Women Writers and the Crises of Historical Memory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781604732795
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	12/03/2009
Series:	Literary Conversations Series
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Nancy J. Peterson is associate professor of English and American studies at Purdue University. She is the author of Beloved: Character Studies and Against Amnesia: Contemporary Women Writers and the Crises of Historical Memory.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Chronology xix

Sherman Alexie, Literary Rebel John Carl Bellante 3

Sherman Alexie: A Reservation of the Mind Doug Marx 16

Spokane Words: Tomson Highway Raps with Sherman Alexie Tomson Highway 21

The Reluctant Spokesman Erik Himmelsbach 32

Crossroads: A Conversation with Sherman Alexie John Purdy 36

Sherman Alexie: Poet, Novelist, Filmmaker Charlene Teters 53

Sending Cinematic Smoke Signals: An Interview with Sherman Alexie Dennis West Joan M. West 59

Tribal Visions Kelley Blewster 71

An Interview with Sherman Alexie Joelle Fraser 83

American Literature: Interview with Sherman Alexie Jessica Chapel 96

Hold Me Closer, Fancy Dancer: A Conversation with Sherman Alexie Aileo Weinmann 100

Sherman Alexie in Conversation with Williams Cole Williams Cole 106

Voice of the New Tribes Duncan Campbell 113

Redeemers Matt Dellinger 121

Seriously Sherman: Seattle's Favorite Pissed Off Poet Talks about Truth, Terror, Tradition, and What's So Great about America Anyway? Timothy Harris 128

A Conversation with Sherman Alexie by Diane Thiel Diane Thiel 135

A World of Story-Smoke: A Conversation with Sherman Alexie Åse Nygren 141

Reservation to Riches: A Conversation with Sherman Alexie Lorena Allam 157

Revising Sherman Alexie Dave Weich 169

Interview with Sherman Alexie James Mellis 180

Sherman Alexie Tanita Davis Sarah Stevenson 187

Index 193