Sherman Alexie Eastern Michigan University舍曼东密歇根大学勒克斯.pptVIP

Author of novels, poems, short prose, films, and essays Born in Wellpinit, WA in 1966 Spokane Indian Reservation Born hydrocephalic (water on the brain), had surgery at 6 months, not expected to survive. Read Grapes of Wrath at 5 years old!!! Ostracized by other children on the reservation Decided to attended high school in Reardan (away from the reservation, only Indian child) After graduating high school, he attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, in 1985. Dropped out of school after 2 years due to heavy drinking. Was robbed at knife point Went back to school (Washington State University) Initially wanted to be a doctor but Alex Kuo inspired him to write poetry. 1991 he finished his bachelor’s degree in American Studies. The Business of Fancydancing, 1992. First Published Work 84 page collection of poems and short stories Many read it as semi-autobiographical: ranging from themes of “drunken rage to playful humor and biting sarcasm, love poems and songs” (Grassian 15). In regards to this title, “Ambiguity immediately appears in the title poem of the collection...Fancydancing is a traditional form of Native American dance that allows a single dancer to display his or her skill or cunning. At the same time it is a staged performance. The fancydancer is sly, intelligent, and able to outwit his oppressors. The modifier business suggest a colder economic reality, as if the fancydance itself has deteriorated from a high cultural art into a cold, economic necessity, possibly commodified by Western culture. It suggests that what was once and art has become a business and that the fancydancer, in this case the individual engaging in what should be a cherished, valued, cultural act, is using it for selfish aggrandizement, a kind of masquerade for money (Grassian 16). The Business of Fancydancing (film), 2002. Seymour Polatkin is a successful, gay Indian poet from Spokane who confronts his past when he returns to his childhood home on the reservation to attend the