Every day brings a new story. And each day contributes to story telling -- in prose and in poetry, in art and in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books.
Today is the story of Oct. 7th
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It is the 280th day of the year, leaving 85 days remaining in 2022.
On this date in 1968, the novelist, short-story writer, and poet, Sherman Alexie, was born.
He attempts to explain Indian life to the non-Indian, and relates the struggles of poverty, alcoholism, and despair that sometimes is epidemic on the reservations.
Perhaps his most popular book is The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, a collection of 22 interconnected short stories. Originally released in 1993, it tells of two friends, Victor Joseph and Thomas-Builds-The-Fire, and their experiences growing up on a reservation. Starting with the title of the book, Alexie attempts to show how popular culture -- depicted by whites and Indians alike -- has come to represent how society views Indians.
He was born and grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington state. His father was a member of the Coeur d'Alene tribe, and his mother had several tribal ancestors: Colville, Choctaw, and Spokane.
He wrote about his early life, including leaving the reservation to attend a white high school, in a young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. It was published in 2007 and won a National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Alexie's first book, The Business of Fancydancing: Stories and Poems, was published in 1992. His first novel, Reservation Blues, came three years later, and it expands on a short story he had written about a group of Indians who formed a rock 'n' roll band. The novel received mixed reviews, but won several awards, including an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation.
Alexie lives in Seattle with his wife and two children.
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