Sherman Alexie's Website

David's blog a few days ago sent me to Sherman Alexie's website, and there I found some really interesting things. Alexie's web presence, www.shermanalexie.com, is even more self-deprecating, it would seem, than his produced works, but there are still fantastic bits of humor and pathos through the whole page.

The above is a comic Sherman Alexie made and posted on his website. What I love most about this is the sense of the ridiculousness present in it. While the strip starts off with a sad reminder of the violent past of Indians, with "White people are a fad" Leon Short Sight, by the end it has lurched firmly into the absurd. Who could dislike Henry Partially Invisible or even the beaming, starry-cheeked Dave? Not I, certainly.


Of course, most of his posts aren't quite this exuberantly silly. Instead, Alexie posts semi-frequently on real-world events, activist causes, and, of course, American Indian life. "If I had an awesome Indian name, like Sherman Charging Elk," Alexie writes, "I'd probably still live on the rez." Throughout all of his posts, there is a subversive wit running through. This links straight to my favorite Alexie moment I've discovered, via his twitter feed:

I'd like to leave with one more piece of content, this interview he did on his manner of performing at book and poetry readings. While more on the craft of writing and performing rather than Indian life, it still highlights the wonderful sense of humor, love of life, and intensity of thought that Alexie possesses.

When Literature Meets Stand Up