The Native Son Also Rises

Just when you were feeling good about getting that 50-cent raise, some overachiever comes along and wins at Sundance, opens for the Indigo Girls, and scores a zillion literary awards. Damn. If he weren’t so entertaining, we’d be hard-pressed to like Native American author Sherman Alexie, who discusses his latest...

By Wynter Holden

October 15, 2009

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Just when you were feeling good about getting that 50-cent raise, some overachiever comes along and wins at Sundance, opens for the Indigo Girls, and scores a zillion literary awards. Damn. If he weren’t so entertaining, we’d be hard-pressed to like Native American author Sherman Alexie, who discusses his latest book, War Dances.

The collection of short stories deals with heavy topics, from adultery to the modern Indian plagues of diabetes and alcoholism. “I can be an arrogant bastard,” Alexie quipped after winning the National Book Award for his first young-adult novel. Yeah, if we’d been reading The Grapes of Wrath instead of Winnie-the-Pooh at age 5, we’d be a little arrogant, too.

Admission is $7, which includes museum entry, a coupon for $7 off War Dances, and live music by Tierra del Fuego.

Fri., Oct. 16, 6 p.m., 2009

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