Sherman Alexie Reading

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Author Sherman Alexie reads "Lawyer’s League," a short story from his collection of short stories, Ten Little Indians. He briefly discusses another story in the collection, "The Life and Times of Estelle Walks Above." The stories in this collection are mostly about urban, white-collar Native Americans; he describes these as "immigrant stories." Alexie observes that while 70% of Native Americans live in cities, most Native American literature takes place on the reservation.

Alexie describes his writing process and shares how his work has been received by Native American readers. He speaks more generally about how people have received his work and says that the power of storytelling transcends the bounds of class and culture. 

In: "Live from Prairie Lights" Audio Archive | Fiction

Authors: Sherman Alexie

Date Recorded: July 12, 2003

Works Read: "Lawyer's League," "The Life and Times of Estelle Walks Above," and "Flight Patterns" from Ten Little Indians, by Sherman Alexie; Smoke Signals, by Sherman Alexie

Program: Live From Prairie Lights

Format: reading

Contributors: Julie Englander hosts the reading and introduces the author.

Topics: feminism; Native American literature; Democratic party; Leonard Peltier; pacifism

Play Audio (1 hour, 4 min.)