Good Reads Going into 2015

     

I read two Sherman Alexie books over the holidays.

I’ve been studying his work because his cousins may

Have been students of mine when I taught English on
The Spokane Indian Reservation 1980-81.

What I’ve Stolen, What I’ve Earned, a collection of

His poetry, copyright 2014, is a treasury of insights

Into human behavior and with wit he shows how

The indigenous people manage to get along in

Their conqueror’s world. His humor should make

Most whites (I am one) laugh at themselves.

I certainly enjoyed the heck out of it.

The Alexie name is familiar to me. I know I had some

Alexies in class. It’s been a long time, so I do not

remember first names. I wish I could claim Sherman

as one of my  students, but he said he went to high school in

Reardon (20 miles south of Wellpinit, just off the

Reservation) I am proud of his achievement just the

same. He is extraordinary. The year I taught there

I was concerned about making sure graduating seniors

were literate. (There were more than a few floaty

kids in my classes. Pot was really popular back then.)

My students were for the most part cooperative and

it was a fun and rewarding year for me.

The second Alexie book I finished was Flight,  2007,

a metaphysical tale of a little lost soul who drops in

to different bodies/lives in different historic eras.

In the beginning, he is a zit faced orphan thrown in

to a maelstrom of unkind foster homes and finally

ends his journey by arriving at a loving home. (Don’t

complain about me telling you the ending, because,

it really is all about the journey!)

Sherman Alexie is an original, skilled storyteller. He

makes me feel like I am sitting in the same room as

he enthralls me with his tales.

The fun for me is that I lived and worked on the

Spokane Reservation and can really relate to his vivid

descriptions and that sense of humor that so many

of the Indians I knew have! They have overcome so

much…So far, I’ve read half a dozen of Alexie’s books.

I intend to read them all! He is that good…

Happy 2015! I highly recommend you check out

Alexie Sherman’s stories and poetry. RMK