Alexie takes the stage

Sherman Alexie:  Rez...Urb...RadicalIn keeping with the novel’s theme, he shared his experience of being an urbane-urban Indian generally viewed as being “vaguely ethnic” versus his past self—the impoverished, isolated, physically challenged rez kid viciously taunted by students when he transferred to the all-white school. The resentment, the confusion…the fear. After all, how is a sensitive and precocious child supposed to respond to being told that Indians are the spawn of blacks mating with buffalo?

“Rez…urb…rez…urb,” he said, pacing the stage. Which is he?

His inner battle is apparent in earlier works, particularly the 1998 novel, Indian Killer, a raging literary colonoscopy about a Native serial murderer. Whereas creating a revenge story may have been cathartic for the young author, it was ugly—scoping someone’s bowels is not a pleasant sensory experience—and this desire to strike back is a recurrent theme in most of his writing. It is a dance, or to borrow from Alexie directly, a "fancydance" that has arguably limited his artistic growth.

Until now. The story of Arnold in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian finally releases his guilt for actually succeeding in the mainstream world. Alexie can now comfortably acknowledge he’s made it; he has a loving family and wondrously fulfilling career. Despite the virulent racism; despite all the obstacles and people who told him there was no way in hell a sick, poor Indian kid with alcoholic parents could do it.