Sherman Joseph ALEXIE (1966 born) Ms Isabella Marinaro

“We are more than just writers. We are (Native) storytellers. We are spokespeople. We are cultural ambassadors. We are politicians. We are activists. We are all of this simply by nature of what we do, without even wanting to be” Sherman Alexie Ms Isabella Marinaro

Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr. was born on 7 th October 1966 on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, State of Washington position of the state of Washington Spokane reservation inside the state of Washinton his people, “salmon people”, were devastated by the Grand Coulee Dam Ms Isabella Marinaro

his father, Sherman Joseph Alexie, is a Coeur d’Alene Indian, ocasionally a logger and a truck driver, heavy drinker his mother, Lillian Agnes Cox, is a Spokane that is why Sherman Alexie is a Coeur d’Alene/Spokane Ms Isabella Marinaro

born hydrocephalic, undergoes a brain operation at six months old and is not expected to live in case of survival, he is expected to suffer permanent disabilities for the first 7 years of his life he suffers seizures (from Alexie’s blog, “Fallsapart”) Ms Isabella Marinaro

raised and educated on the Spokane reservation for his weak health conditions he prefers to stay inside develops a love for reading, especially Steinbeck (whom he reads at five y.o.!), but also W. Whitman, E. Dickinson, J. Keats, W.B. Yeats his people, “salmon people”, were devastated by the Grand Coulee Dam Ms Isabella Marinaro

in the eighth grade, he decides to attend a Reardan High School, twenty miles outside the “rez” (= reservation, slang) there he happens to be “the only Indian… except for the school mascot”: there he plays the “good white Indian” his world is upside down and he gets to be the perfect “Reardan kid” by keeping his mouth shut: an honour student, the class president but with his ponytail Ms Isabella Marinaro

he gets popular at Reardan but unpopular on the “rez” graduates with honours, plans to be a doctor until he faints “three times in human anatomy class” at Gonzaga University in Spokane ( ) feeling lost and without a life plan, Alexie begins drinking heavily alcoholism will plague his life for five years Ms Isabella Marinaro

Alexie moves to Washington state university in 1987 and gets enrolled in a creative-writing course of professor Alex Kuo, of Indian descent Kuo gives him an anthology edited by J. Bruchac, Songs from This Earth on Turtle’s Back (1982): Indian poetry for Alexie it is a sort of revelation Ms Isabella Marinaro

under Kou’s guidance and the exposure to Indian poetry, Alexie writes his first book, a collection: The Business of Fancydancing: Stories and Poems (1992) its success also marks the end of a five-year period of alcoholism alcohol addiction among the Indians will be a recurring and devastating theme in his writings Ms Isabella Marinaro

he is soon considered as “one of the major lyric voices of our time” by the New York Times Book Review which selected his first work as a “1992 Notable Book of the Year” 1994: his first prose work is The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven gets three awards for literature and becomes a movie The Lone Ranger with J. Depp and produced by W. Disney Ms Isabella Marinaro

The Lone Ranger and Tonto is so successful that becomes a second movie, titled Smoke Signals (1998) screenplayed by Alexie himself it is the first film produced, written and directed by American Indians the movie is widely awarded Ms Isabella Marinaro

also Alexie’s first novel, Reservation Blues (1995) is very successful and is elected as a Booklist Editor’s Choice Award for Fiction and awarded Ms Isabella Marinaro

among the most important acknowledgements, for this novel Alexie is named one of Granta’s magazine “Twenty Best American Novelists Under the Age of Forty” 1996: Alexie publishes his second prose book, a sort of thriller, Indian Killer, considered as a controversial but intriguing novel Ms Isabella Marinaro

1998, he participates in President Clinton’s Summit on Race and later he gets lots of awards: Stranger Genius Aw., Mason Aw., PEN/Malamaud Aw., PEN/Faulkner Aw.,... studying how to translate Reservation Blues and Indian Killer into movies, Alexie is currently serving as a Creative Advisor to the Sundance Institute Writers Fellowship Program Ms Isabella Marinaro

his main effort is currently how to involve young Indians into movie writing and screenplaying while living in Seattle with his wife Diane, an Indian woman, and their son… …and playing basketball in his spare time Ms Isabella Marinaro