First Indian on the Moon [Hardcover]

Sherman Alexie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993

Poetry. Native American Studies. FIRST INDIAN ON THE MOON opens with the section "Influences": "where I have been/ most of my lives/ is where I'm going/--Lucille Clifton". The stories and poems of Sherman Alexie, an enrolled Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian from Wellpint, Washington, have appeared widely, in such publications as Caliban, Esquire, The World, Beloit Poetry Journal, Red Dirt, Zyzzyva and Story. Alexie has won a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship, and lives in Spokane. "These elegiac poems and stories will break your heart. Watch this guy. He's making myth"--Joy Harjo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Reading this latest offering of poetry and short prose pieces from Native American writer Alexie ( The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven ), it's easy to see why his work has garnered so much attention. Working from a carefully developed understanding of his place in an oppressed culture, he focuses on the need to tear down obstacles before nature tears them down. Fire is therefore a central metaphor: a sister and brother-in-law killed, a burnt hand, cars aflame. Tongue in cheek, Alexie inserts images from popular songs and movies, and catalogues aspects of traditional reservation life that have been sacrificed in America's melting pot. "After 500 years of continuous lies / I would still sign treaties for you," he says in one of this volume's many love poems--a love so powerful it threatens to engulf readers as well. Alexie renews the nearly forgotten sense of language equaling power. And the language in these sequential works is flawless, each section picking up from and expanding upon the previous one, poetry and prose working naturally together. "Imagination is all we have as defense against capture and its inevitable changes," he writes. And he proves his point.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Outraged pride, broken promises, and the scourge of alcoholism are the burden of these sharp-edged, high-impact poems, prose poems, mini-essays, and fragments of stories woven together in a tapestry of pain about death by fire and survival by endurance on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Memories of great Indian chiefs, "fancydancers," powwow campfires, and "some Crazy Horse dream," set against cruelty toward Native Americans, reveal "what went wrong with our love." Caught between alien white and disintegrated Native American cultures, "homeless and hopeful," Alexie uses the "magic and loss" of song and story to forge an "entire identity" out of anger and the nightmare of racism. Despite pain, this moving work celebrates something that can't be killed by cavalry swords, Thunderbird wine, "fake ceremonies," or "continuous lies": there is "nothing more beautiful than snow fallen onto the dark hair and braids of these Spokane Indians." For general collections.
- Frank Allen, West Virginia State Coll., Institute
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 116 pages
• Publisher: Hanging Loose Press; 1st edition (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882413032
• ISBN-13: 978-1882413034
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,036,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Many Voices of Sherman Alexie, June 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: First Indian on the Moon (Paperback)

Sherman Alexi is an in-your-face poet, there's no doubt about it. He has a voice that demands to be heard, and you will listen, even unwillingly. His style is unique, mixing short, terse lines of verse alternating with long lines of prose that carry contrasts of charged emotion against the calming voice of reason. It is not an easy read. There are harsh truths, but truths that need to be addressed and heeded. His voice is the voice of many and the voice of few, but all demand you hear them. Powerful and moving.When I finished reading it, I felt as if I'd been shot in the back with many arrows and was left carrying around holes in my heart.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Technique, November 27, 2000

By 

Schwanda (Shoreline, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Indian on the Moon (Paperback)

A very sad collection of pieces by Alexie, covering all manner of topics of res life. More impressive, however, is his use of style and technique in these works. Sometimes in traditional poem format, sometimes in prose writing, flirting with fiction storytelling. Around every page is a new experience. This is a great collection.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes One Want to Hug Mr Alexie, July 25, 2001

By 

R. F. Benson (Toms River, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: First Indian on the Moon (Paperback)

Sorry if that sounded gushy, but throughout the pathos and humor, I coulldn't help but marvel at this man's spirit-- and his literary skills. I've seen his interviews and featured bios on television and reading his work brings it all to life. I wish I had his ability to draw verbal pictures. Thank you for being you!