Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. (born October 7, 1966 in Spokane, Washington) is an award-winning and prolific writer (of novels, short stories, poems, and screenplays) and occasional comedian who lives in Seattle, Washington. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American (he is a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian) in the United States.
Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation (in Wellpinit, Washington), about 50 miles northwest of the city of Spokane. Despite a …
Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. (born October 7, 1966 in Spokane, Washington) is an award-winning and prolific writer (of novels, short stories, poems, and screenplays) and occasional comedian who lives in Seattle, Washington. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American (he is a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian) in the United States.
Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation (in Wellpinit, Washington), about 50 miles northwest of the city of Spokane. Despite a childhood of medical difficulties, he was a precocious reader who quickly became frustrated with schools on the reservation and opted to attend a nearby (all white) high school. He went on to attend Gonzaga University before transferring to Washington State University and becoming one of the first members of his tribe to graduate from college. He struggled with alcoholism in his time at college until being inspired to go sober by his initial literary successes.
Alexie's writing is marked by harsh depictions of reservation life, autobiographical elements, colorful use of humor, political outspokenness, seamless invocation of history and popular culture, and social commentary. He has also dabbled in stand-up comedy and music.
