Sherman Alexie

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Our city’s most famous writer won his first National Book Award for his young adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007). It’s a coming-of-age tale with plenty of autobiographical import, about a Spokane kid who defies low expectations and social conditions to attend a white high school off the rez. It’s obviously aimed at other bright young misfits (as Alexie once was), and it’s illustrated by Seattle’s Ellen Forney in a cartoony style as if scribbled on crumpled notepaper passed beneath school desks. His talk begins a new series, Set Here, in which area authors discuss the local roots in their work.

Thu., Sept. 4, 6:30 p.m., 2008