SHERMAN ALEXIE writer, director
Sherman
J. Alexie, Jr., was born in October 1966. A Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian,
he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Wash., about 50
miles northwest of Spokane. Alexie's father is a Coeur d'Alene Indian, and
his mother is a Spokane Indian.
Born hydrocephalic,
with water on the brain, Alexie underwent a brain operation at the age of
6 months and was not expected to survive. He developed an early love for books,
learning to read by age three, and devouring Steinbeck novels at age five.
Alexie attended
high school in Reardan, Wash., where he was "the only Indian...except for
the school mascot." There he excelled academically and became a star player
on the basketball team. Alexie
graduated with a degree in American studies from Washington State University
and went on to receive the Washington State Arts Commission Poetry Fellowship
in 1991 and the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship in 1992.
Sherman Alexie's long literary career begain just two years after college,
when he released two poetry collections. His subsequent publications
(including Reservation Blues and Indian Killer) garnered numerous
awards and honors; most recently, The New Yorker honored him as one of the
top writers for the 21st century.
Alexie also wrote the screenplay for the movie Smoke Signals, based
on a story from his collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.
It won the audience award and filmmakers trophy at the Sundance Film Festival
and was released by Miramax Films in 1999. In
addition to his literary and film successes, Alexie became the first four-time
winner of the World Heavyweight Poetry Bout, a competition judging poets on
their works and performance.
Sherman Alexie lives in Seattle with his wife and two sons. He most recently published the books The Toughest Indian in the World and One Stick Song.
links >> Sherman Alexie's web site