Award-winning author Sherman Alexie spoke and signed books at the Heard Museum Friday night in support of his latest collection of short stories and poems titled “War Dances.”

The sold-out audience of around 400 people listened as Alexie read selections from his book, waxed nostalgia about vinyl LP’s and mixtapes and relayed his frustrations about the disconnect cell phone technology has had on society.

“Language is the only thing human beings have, and we’ve so easily devalued it,” he said.

Alexie’s speaking engagement also doubled as a stand-up act. He told stories in which he warned his Republican friends about the future of an increasing post-Obama “brown” race and poked fun at Arizona Native American tribes.

At one point, Alexie put an audience member on the spot, asking him to sing the first song he put on the first mixtape he made for his wife.

It was Alexie’s humorous irreverence for saying anything that came to his mind and his ability to translate that humor into his writing that attracted many of the people who attended Friday, including Marie Niechwiadowicz.

“He writes humor very well, which is something I think is difficult to do — to write something that is so funny that you laugh out loud and then within that same [story], write something so striking, disturbing or poignant,” Niechwiadowicz said. “I feel like he has a range.”

Michael Macdonald, an English professor at Everest College, teaches Alexie’s books as required reading for his classes and said Alexie’s relatable humor is what attracts him to his books

“I love his sense of humor,” Macdonald said. “That’s kind of what’s been bringing me back to him.”

Cindy Dach, general manager of Changing Hands Bookstore, helped organize Alexie’s appearance Friday night.

Dach said Phoenix is Alexie’s second-biggest market, next to his hometown of Seattle, and his audience has outgrown Changing Hands Bookstore, which is why the store worked in conjunction with the Heard Museum.

“Sherman’s on the verge of another big breakthrough,” Dach said. “With his shift to a new publisher, he’s about to become a superstar, and it couldn’t have happened to a better person.”

In addition to Alexie’s comedic chops, his writing deals with emotional and realistic themes that include Native American poverty and alcoholism, which speak to some of Alexie’s readers, including Donovan Berry.

“He’s one of the only Native American writers I can truly say that I can actually relate to,” Berry said. “The stories about his dad being diabetic and drunk, I can relate to that kind of stuff because I lived through the same kind of stuff myself.”

Former ASU student Melissa Gorman heard about Alexie’s work when taking American Indian courses at ASU and said compared to other Native American authors, Alexie’s literary voice is unique.

“He really is one of the pioneers of Native American writing. It’s also a different kind of writing that you get from most Native American authors,” she said. “Same kinds of issues, same perspectives on a lot of things, but it’s just totally different.”

Shannon Dye, a librarian at the Burton Barr Central Library, became an instant fan of Alexie’s after seeing him speak several years ago in LA.
Dye waited more than an hour to make sure she was the last in line so she could get some face time with Alexie, and she offered to make him a mixtape, to which he gladly agreed.

“He’s not afraid to tell it like it is,” she said. “He’s not afraid to [curse] in front of a room full of older people … that really just gives his writing a sort of raw feel.”

Reach the reporter at brian.bahe@asu.edu.