Native American Biographies: Alexie, Sherman

Collects seven essays that offer strategies for teaching the works of Native American writer Sherman Alexie.

Provides an overview of the life and work of contemporary author Sherman Alexie, and features analyses of his poetry, novels, and short stories, focusing on the influence of his Native American heritage on his writings.

Noticed initially as a Native American author, Sherman Alexie has since achieved a
reputation as a significant figure in the American literary landscape. The essays in this set discuss many different aspects of Alexie's works. Original essays include a comparison of Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven to Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies. Other essays discuss the juxtaposition of poetry and prose fiction in an examination of Reservation Blues, a close reading of The Summer of the Black Widows, and an overview of his work as writer and director of two films, Smoke Signals and The Business of Fancydancing.