Native American

Contributor Update, Elissa Washuta: ‘Shapes of Native Fiction’

Superstition Review

Join us in congratulating SR interview contributor Elissa Washuta. She recently worked with fellow editor Theresa Warburton to publish Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays By Contemporary Writers this summer.

The collection features both established and emerging Native writers including Stephen Graham Jones, Deborah Miranda, Terese Marie Mailhot, Billy-Ray Belcourt, Eden Robinson, and Kim TallBear. Taken together, the essays examine materiality, orality, spatiality, and temporality in Native literary traditions.

This upcoming Monday, July 22, both Elissa and Theresa will discuss their work on this project from 7 to 8:15 p.m. at the Seattle Public Library, 1000 4th Avenue. The discussion will be recorded for a podcast.

To read more about Elissa’s workshop, click here. You can find her interview from Issue 17 here.

Congratulations, Elissa!

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Literary Event: Sherman Alexie at the Tempe Center for the Arts

Superstition Review

As part of Project Humanities launch week festivities, they will be holding an event at the Tempe Center for the Arts on Monday, February 7th at 7 p.m.  The keynote speaker for the event will be author, poet and screenwriter Sherman Alexie and he will speak on the topic “People, Places and Stories.”

Alexie, currently residing in Seattle, Washington, bases much of his writing on his experiences as a Native American. Some of his best known works are a book of short stories entitled The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1994), the film Smoke Signals, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, an autobiographical novel for young adults.

In 1999, Alexie was named as one of The New Yorker’s top 20 writers of the twenty-first century. In 2007, Alexie was awarded the National Book Award prize for Young People’s literature for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Last year Alexie won the PEN/Faulkner Award for War Dances, the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award, and was the recipient of the Puterbaugh Award and holds the distinction of being the first American to receive the award.

The event takes place February 7th at 7 p.m. at the Tempe Center for the Arts located at 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway Tempe, AZ. 8528. Parking is free for guests in the lot adjacent to the facility. No tickets are needed for this event; seating is on a first come first serve basis. Guests may arrive at 6 p.m. and doors to the theater will open at 6:30 p.m.

Leslie Marmon Silko to read at The Heard Museum

Superstition Review

Superstition Review enjoys updating its readers about upcoming readings in the local community. On November 28th Changing Hands Bookstore will partner with The Heard Museum to present Leslie Marmon Silko’s latest novel The Turquoise Ledge. Named as the November “Republic Recommends” selection by the Arizona Republic, this novel is a highly anticipated memoir of her family history. Influenced by Native American story telling traditions, Silko’s reading should lend a very personal feel at The Heard Museum.

This is Silko’s first publication since her novels Gardens in the Dunes, published in 2000, and Ceremony which is more widely recognized than any other American Novel. As a highly anthologized author, she has also published several essays, short story collections and poetry. Growing up on the Laguna Pueblo reservation, Silko incorporates aspects of Laguna traditions and myths into her writing, making her one of the most influential Native American writers of her generation.

Remember, this event will not take place at Changing Hands Bookstore. It will begin at The Heard Museum at 2 p.m. For more information about how to receive access to preferred seating and to learn more about the event, the event’s webpage is http://changinghands.com/event/silko.