Sherman Alexie
(* 1966)
Bibliography
Novels
- Reservation Blues (1995)
- Indian Killer (1996)
Short Story Collections
Poetry and Short Prose
- The Business of Fancydancing (1991)
- Old Shirts & New Skins (1993)
- I Would Steal Horses (1993)
- First Indian on the Moon (1993)
- One Stick Song (2000)
Poetry
- Water Flowing Home (1995)
- The Summer of Black Widows (1996)
- The Man Who Loves Salmon (1998)
Screenplays
- Smoke Signals (1998)
- The Business of Fancydancing (2003)
Anthology Contributions
- Northwest Passages:
A Literary Anthology of the Pacific Northwest From Coyote Tales to Roadside Attractions (1994)
- Edge Walking on the Western Rim: New Works by 12 Northwest Writers (1994)
Contribution: One Little Indian Boy (short story)
- Durable Breath: Contemporary Native American Poetry (1994)
- Full Court:
A Literary Anthology of Basketball (1996)
Contribution: Why We Play Basketball (short story)
- The Best American Poetry 1996 (1996)
Contribution: Capital Punishment (poem)
- In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Nonfiction (1996)
Contribution: White Men Can't Drum (essay)
- Poetry of the American West (1996)
Contribution: The Business of Fancydancing (poem)
- Granta 54: Best of Young American Novelists (1996)
Contribution: Integration (short story)
- Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology (1997)
Contribution: Captivity (poem)
- The Most Wonderful Books:
Writers on Discovering the Pleasures of Reading (1997)
Contribution: Superman and Me (essay)
- Home Field: Nine Writers at Bat (1997)
Contribution: Warriors (poem)
- Pacific Northwestern Spiritual Poetry (1998)
- Prize Stories 1999: The O. Henry Awards (1999)
– Prize jury: Sherman Alexie, Stephen King, Lorrie Moore
- A Grain of Poetry:
How to Read Contemporary Poems and Make Them a Part of Your Life (1999)
Contribution: The Exaggeration of Despair (poem)
- Scribner's Best of the Fiction Workshops 1999 (1999)
– Guest editor.
- A Millennium Reflection: Seattle Poets and Photographers (1999)
- The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction: Fifty North American Stories Since 1970 (1999)
Contribution: This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona (short story)
- Growing Up Ethnic in America: Contemporary Fiction About Learning to be American (1999)
Contribution: This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona (short story)
- Walt Whitman: The Measure of His Song (1999)
Contribution: Defending Walt Whitman (poem)
- Skins: Contemporary Indigenous Writing (2000)
- Conversations With Screenwriters (2000)
- Beacon Best of 2000:
Great Writing by Women and Men of All Colors and Cultures (2000)
Contribution: The Toughest Indian in the World (short story)
- Tales Out of School:
Contemporary Writers on Their Student Years (2000)
Contribution: Indian Education (short story)
- Here First: Autobiographical Essays by Native American Writers (2000)
Contribution: The Unauthorized Biography of Me (essay)
- First Loves:
Poets Introduce the Essential Poems
That Captivated and Inspired Them (2000)
Contribution: Introduction to My Papa's Waltz
(Poem by Theodore Roethke)
- The Logan House Anthology of 21st Century American Poetry (2001)
Contribution: Evolution (poem)
- American Diaspora: Poetry of Displacement (2001)
- Best of Prairie Schooner: Fiction and Poetry (2001)
Contribution: Wake and Toward Conception(poetry)
- The Grove Press Reader 1951-2000 (2001)
Contribution: The Toughest Indian in the World (short story)
- Indian Country (2001)
– Photojournalism, with Gwendolen Cates (photographer) and Richard W. West.
- Poems for America:
125 Poems That Celebrate the American Experience (2002)
Contribution: At Navaho Monument Valley Tribal School (poetry)
- Like Thunder: Poets Respond to Violence in America (2002)
- Humor Me: An Anthology of Humor by Writers of Color (2002)
- The Next American Essay (2003)
Contribution: Captivity (essay)
- The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry (3rd Ed.) (2003)
Contributions: Evolution, Tourists, Crow Testament, On the Amtrak..., Native American Broadcasting System (poetry)
- The Spoken Word Revolution:
Slam, Hip Hop & the Poetry of a New Generation (2003)
Contribution: Poetry from Taos Poetry Circus
- Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry (2003)
Contribution: At Navaho Monument Valley Tribal School (poetry)
Themis-Athena's Reviews
The Toughest Indian in the World
Stories that make you think.
Sherman Alexie's narratives in "The Toughest Indian in the World" combine the author's matter-of-fact,
understated style with his edgy humor, irony and passion. The result is a collection of short stories (with
numerous subplots) which will always make you think, sometimes make you laugh, and sometimes make you get
angry. Alexie's heroes come from different tribes and all walks of life, but whether they themselves like it
or not, they are all Indian – not: "Native American." ("You ain't Indian," the Spokane father of a Spokane
student thrown out of class over the question "What is an Indian?" tells his son's mixed-race professor in
"One Good Man." "No. You might be a Native American but you sure as hell ain't Indian.") Not all of these
stories are light fare – "The Sin Eaters," which reflects on the darkest chapters of American Indian history,
is strongly reminiscent of Huxley's "Brave New World." (Not recommended reading before you go to bed, at
least if you have a vivid imagination.) But whether hilariously funny or dead-serious, you will not be able
to put them down until you've read the very last page – and you will be sorry when you have.
For further information consult:
Sherman Alexie's official website
Themis-Athena's guide to the literature of the American West
Copyright 2001-2007: Themis-Athena, all rights reserved.