Alexie's Poetry

In poetry class, I studied the poem "Defending Walt Whitman" by Sherman Alexie and I was so intrigued by his style that I decided to read more about him and his other poems.  I learned that Alexie is not only a poet, but also a filmmaker and writer, and even sometimes a comedian.  He was born on October 7, 1966 in Wellpinit, Washington.  Alexie is a Native American, and much of his poetry reflects on his time and experiences growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation.

Alexie writes a lot about the distress of those growing up on Indian reservations.  Regardless of the serious matters and struggles he talked about in his first few collections though, he had a humorous undertone to most of those poems.  The first two books were titled I Would Steal Horses and The Business of Fancydancing. 

The fact that Alexie's subject matter is based on his own personal experiences really makes the reader feel for him in all of his works.  His poetry deals a lot with the topics of poverty, racism, and alcoholism, especially in those first two books.  There is so much suffering in these poems, but at the same time, there is still a feeling of love.  His sense of humor lightens the mood of it though, making a serious and depressing matter more bearable to read about.

To learn more about this great poet, filmmaker, and writer, watch the video of his interview below.
sources:
http://www.hangingloosepress.com/fancydancing.html
http://www.wellpinit.org/timeline
http://www.slipstreampress.org/horses.html
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/sherman-alexie
http://www.bpj.org/poems/alexie_whitman.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJmRaLUcVU8 (video)
http://www.seattletimescompany.com/luminaries/prof_alexie.html (picture)