Popular Native American Author Visits Flagstaff
- Oops!
- There is no additional information about this video.
NEWS: Popular Native American Author Visits Flagstaff
Popular Native American author visits Flagstaff
Sherman Alexie, poet, author, comedian and filmaker, will speak on local campuses.
The work of prolific Native American author Sherman Alexie so inspired students at Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy that one student last year begged her parents to help her bring Alexie here.
Her dream comes true Wednesday when the author will pay a visit to FALA, field questions and eat lunch with selected students. He will also give a sold-out lecture Tuesday evening at NAU (see box).
"She was smitten with Sherman Alexie," explained Kirk Quitter, director of FALA. "They read 'The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,' in our American literature class, taught by Doug Paul. She was so excited about the work and the discussions they were having about the work in class, that she said she would love to have him on campus. Her mother works at NAU. After hearing how excited her daughter was about the author, she used the resources at NAU to set up this residency."
Quitter said he himself is a big fan of Alexie, especially his short stories and his movie, "The Business of Fancy-Dancing," which will have a free screening Monday night in the Cline Library Auditorium.
"I love his work," Quitter said. "I'm so excited that we've got the opportunity to teach that book of short stories here. I know our students have been reading his stories and poetry and watching his films." The talk Alexie will present at NAU is titled, "Without Reservations: An Urban Indian's Comic, Poetic & Highly Irreverent Look at the World," and it is part of the NAU Speaker Series.
Alexie lives in Seattle and is a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Native American. Frustrated with the lack of educational materials on his reservation, he left to receive a better education. Alexie went on to become a poet, author, comedian and filmmaker and much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American, a topic he will address in his lecture at the university.
"Alexie really speaks to the emotions of people that aren't 'on the inside,'" said Cynthia Kosso, chair of the Department of History and organizer of the event. "He makes success real to minority populations because he came from as tough a situation as any of them."
Other well-known Alexie works include the movie "Smoke Signals," with Chris Eyre, and his young-adult novel, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," which received the 2007 National Book Award in Young People's Literature.
This article can be viewed in its entirety at:
http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/02/22/news/arts_and_entertainment/sunday_arts/20090222_sunda_191393.txt
Betsey Bruner can be reached at
or 556-2255.
The Author
Interested in the future and, consequently, our children ... (Full Bio)
Contact Us
Send to a Friend
Comments
There are no comments.