by Eva Dameron
Daily Lobo
Sherman Alexie said he wrote a book about alienation that everyone can relate to.
He's on a national tour for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a finalist for the National Book Award. Alexie will talk at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Woodward Hall.
"I visit high schools during the day and do bookstores at night," Alexie said. "(High school students) are loving the book like crazy. Today, in Phoenix, I was at a couple schools where the audience is 70 to 80 percent Latino, and I've been to schools where it's 99 percent rich white kids. I'm amazed. The story about a rez kid is transcending every boundary imaginable."
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Alexie writes about the trials of being an American Indian. He wrote the screenplay for the movie "Smoke Signals" based on his book of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven.
At his talks, people have run up to him in tears to hug him,
he said.
"I don't know what that is, but there's a lot of Indian people who have had similar life trajectories as the character in my book - who left the reservation for a better life and felt judged negatively because of it," he said. "This book validates their decision to leave."
Alexie said the most memorable part of his book tour was meeting someone from the "Smoke Signals" movie set.
"There's a big scene at the end where one of the characters is on a bridge, and the architect of that bridge came to one of my readings," he said. "That was great. I just thanked him for his art, his beauty of building that bridge, and he thanked me for making it part of that film."
He said Wednesday's event will include storytelling, reading, a lecture and stand-up comedy.
"It'll be an entertaining evening," he said. "It's a good book. In pursuit of a better life, an Indian kid leaves his reservation high school to go to the white high school on the border, where he becomes the only Indian except for the mascot."
The story takes place in Washington, where Alexie grew up.
He said wearing a suit is the most intense part about being nominated for the National Book Award.
"It's exciting to think about wearing a tuxedo, but I'm stressing that it'll be a larger size than it was when I got married," Alexie said. "The ceremony is fun, and the National Book Award has such an amazing history - an amazing list of winners."
Sharon Warner, director of UNM's creative writing program, said students are eager to attend Alexie's lecture.
"He's a prolific writer and someone who writes about the Native experience from a Native perspective. And he's also a young writer - a young, hip and happening writer," Warner said. "So, I think he's very exciting to students, and I know that some students from Native American Studies, College of Education and English are excited about his visit."
Tickets are $3 in advance for students and $5 for the general public and anyone who buys tickets at the door.
