|
April 1, 2003
CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine (724)
738-4854; e-mail: gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu
NATIONALLY KNOWN NATIVE-AMERICAN SPEAKER
COMING TO SRU APRIL 22
SLIPPERY
ROCK, Pa. – Native-American author and speaker Sherman
Alexie, heralded byThe New Yorker as one of the
“top 20 writers for the 21st century,” comes
to Slippery Rock UniversityApril 22 for a public
discussion of his work and life on and off the
reservation.
Alexie,
a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, will speak 8 p.m. in the
Multi-Purpose Roomof the University Union. General
admission is $5, students $3. He presentation is titled “The
Business of Fancy Dancing: Poems, Stories, Punch Lines and Highly
Biased Anecdotes.”
Alexie’s
visit is the kickoff event for “Kaleidoscope,” Slippery
Rock University’s April 22 to May 2 arts festival. Concerts,
children’s activities, art exhibitions, Civil War encampments
and more are on tap. Visit www.sru.edu/pages/916.asp,
or call 724-738-4863 for a complete
listing.
National
reputation
Alexie’s
ability to write about contemporary Native Americans by enfolding
optimism with hard-hitting cynicism is one of the strengths that
have made critics rave about his work. The New Yorker said
his stories are woven into “the most lyrical acerbic fiction
since Mark Twain.” The Boston Globe reported, “Sherman
Alexie has become quite clearly an important voice in American
literature.”
Alexie’s
14 books of fiction and poetry include “Reservation
Blues,” “Indian Killer” and “The Lone
Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.” His two films are
“Smoke Signals” and “The Business of Fancy
Dancing.” His work has won scores of awards, including the
American Book Award and the PEN/Hemingway and Sundance Film
Festival awards.
Slippery
Rock University’s English honorary students who saw Alexie
speak at the National Council of Teachers of English Conference
last year made a specific request for his performance this year,
says SRU’s Dr. Rachela Permenter, professor of
English.
Permenter said one
student told her “he was absolutely hilarious in person,
which you don’t expect from a writer. More than that, he lets us know
what’s really going on with Native Americansand he seems to offer all of us the chance
to find new meaning in the stories of our own
lives.”
After
his performance, Alexie will sign copies of his books for those who
bring them. The SGA Bookstore will set up a booth to make
books and videotapes available for purchase. A portion of the
profits will be donated to the American Indian Scholarship
Fund.
PN, PgN, PR,
PT
|