Sherman Alexie is the "Indian du jour" of the mainstream publishing industry, as he notes in his 1995 Tonic interview with Kelly Myers. Alexie has published seven books and three chapbooks in less than five years; while such productivity is remarkable in itself, Alexie's rapid-fire writing and publishing are all the more extraordinary because each work builds on the previous writings, showing ever-increasing degrees of polish and control as well as experimentation with diverse literary forms and styles.

Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr. was born on 7 October 1966 in Spokane, Washington, to Sherman Joseph Alexie, a Coeur d'Alene Indian, and Lillian Agnes Cox Alexie, of Spokane, Flathead, Colville, and white descent. A registered member of the Spokane tribe through his mother, Alexie lived and attended school on the Spokane reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, until he transferred to the white high school in Reardan. He studied at Gonzaga University from 1985 to 1987 and...