Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie (born 1966 in Wellpinit, Washington) was an American writer, poet, humorist, and screenwriter. A member of the Spokane Tribe, he grew up on a reservation. He learned to read at the age of three. After initially studying medicine and law, he studied English literature at Washington State University but left shortly before completing his degree. His first poetry collections appeared in 1992. His best-known works include the short-story collection *The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven*, the novel *Reservation Blues*, and the screenplay for the film *Smoke Signals*. His young adult novel *The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian* received the National Book Award in 2007 and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 2008.