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Meet the Speakers
A prolific novelist, poet and screenplay writer, Alexie has been hailed as one of the best young writers of his generation. The New Yorker named him one of the top 20 writers for the 21st Century. His talent and voice shine brightly, far beyond the pages of his work. Men’s Journal called him “the world’s first fast-talking, wisecracking, mediagenic American Indian superstar.” A gifted orator, Alexie won the World Heavyweight Championship Poetry Bout four years in a row, from 1998 to 2001. In his lectures, he tells tales of contemporary American Indian life laced with razor-sharp humor, unsettling candor and biting wit. He reshapes our myths and stereotypes by speaking his mind on a wide range of issues — from race relations, religion and politics to homophobia, war and morality. A Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Indian, Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington. As a college student, he landed in a poetry-writing class and his professor quickly recognized his “intensity of language, passion and energy.” Upon the publication of The Business of Fancydancing, his first collection of poetry, The New York Times Book Review described him as “one of the major lyric voices of our time.” Since then, Alexie has authored eleven books of poetry, several collections of short stories, two novels and numerous works for magazines. He wrote the screenplay for and produced the feature film Smoke Signals, based on his book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. The film premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, winning both the Audience Award and Filmmakers Trophy.
"He was alternately hilarious, outrageous and thought-provoking before an overflowing crowd. "
Iowa State University Alexie's first novel, Reservation Blues, won Booklist’s Editors Choice Award for Fiction. Indian Killer was a New York Times Notable Book and The Toughest Indian in the World won the 2001 PEN/Malamud award, honoring excellence in the art of storytelling. In Ten Little Indians, a 2003 national bestseller and Publishers Weekly Book of the Year, Alexie’s stories are driven by a haunting lyricism and naked candor that cut to the heart of the human experience. In 2002 Alexie released his directorial film debut, The Business of Fancydancing, which he also wrote. The film won many awards, including the Outstanding Screenwriting Award at Outfest. He is currently working on a screenplay adaptation of The Toughest Indian in the World, which he will direct and co-produce. His book, Flight, is a sci-fi novel and a parable of war featuring an edgy teen outcast named Zits on the verge of committing a colossal act of violence. The New York Times called it “the most unpretentious novel [they’ve] read in a long time,” adding, “there isn’t a false word in it.” Alexie recently won the National Book Award for his latest book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a coming-of-age, interracial comedy for young adults based on his first year at an all-white high school. With his humorous, revealing and exuberant works of art, Alexie compels audiences to see the world for all of its pitfalls and possibilities. Confirmed Presenters, Panelists and Moderators
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