sherman alexie

I am totally intimidated by the task of writing about Sherman Alexie. The man speaks for himself well-enough, first of all. And furthermore, I'm just another kid in the fan club.

The first time I came across Sherman, I was really disappointed.

I rode my bike up a heinous hill in the dead of winter to attend a poetry reading by one of my favorites, Simon Ortiz -- or so I thought. My lungs were still on fire when Sherman approached the podium and began reading a long poem about his admiration of Simon Ortiz. I frantically searched my pockets for the flyer advertising the event. Had I misread the heading, was this a tribute to Simon Ortiz and not the real thing? I didn't realize, of course, that Seattle-native Sherman Alexie is probably one of the most well-loved poets of our time. In my impatience to hear Simon Ortiz, my introduction to Sherman Alexie became part of the flotsam of the day.

When Sherman started appearing in the editing suites at 911 Media Arts Center, I got interested. Over several months, he became a regular face in the Center, sweating away a hot summer in a dark un-ventilated room alongside his editor, Holly Taylor, always with laughter in his cheeks. They were working on a feature-length experimental video poem of sorts called The Business of Fancydancing. A 90-minute experimental video poem. I wanted to know more.

"Fancydancing is going to be different in the sense of, it's not going to be linear," Sherman explained in 911 Media's summer newsletter. "I'm interested in telling a story, but I'm also interested in ways in which film lends itself to collage. That's the whole idea to begin with, the idea of putting images next to each other that change because you put them next to each other. That independently and together [the shots] have 3 different meanings, the way you make a poem. When you put a couplet together, each line has independent meaning, but when you put the lines together they become something else entirely. I'm thinking of the film as a poem. An it's about a poet. So, you think about it in terms of stanzas. That's how I'm trying to think of it, editing the film as a poem. A narrative poem, but a poem."

The power of non-linear storytelling. Yeah... Disrupting the formal structures for how information is translated in this world. Yeah! I dug it. And their footage was luscious. Finally someone daring enough to tell a story that would be intellectually challenging but also engaging and compelling.

"The whole idea of being an artist is about questioning, asking questions, about challenging authority, about disrespecting convention. Wheras being the member of a tribe and having those traditions is all about respecting convention, repetition of convention, about honoring your elders and those who came before you -- being an artist is the opposite of that. So I don't know how the Indian audience is going to respond to a gay Indian poet, collage-y, art film. I don't know, I don't know. I'm very interested in knowing. In the end we're making a movie that I'm really interested in, and that's what it comes down to, right?"

My job at the time had me giving tours of 911 Media Arts Center to groups of kids, so I used every opportunity and excuse I could to peek into that editing room and watch over their shoulders. "That's the guy who wrote the screenplay for Smoke Signals," I tried to impress upon these 10, 11, and 12 year olds. "Now he's making a new movie, and he's editing it himself here in this room at this very moment. And soon you'll be able to see it in theatres." My excitement was lost on the kids, but Sherman undeniably brought a buzz to the Center. He was bringing life to the ideals of 911 Media's existence. He came to 911 embodying the spirit of independent filmmaking.

"I chose digital video because it's the only way brown people and women get to make movies," he explains as he invites us behind the scenes as DPs, ACs, production assistants and extras. He takes notes from our feedback in the editing room and reserves seats for us at the rough cut screenings.

"I wanted everybody to feel a part of it," he says. "I didn't want anybody to feel less than, I wanted everybody to feel that we were engaged in a communal activity, in a collaborative activity."

When The Business of Fancydancing premiered at local art-house theatre, the crowds were lined up around the block. Sherman, camcorder in hand, was levitating as he greeted the eager ticket holders.

"What did you think?" he asked when he saw me.

I absolutely loved it. One of my all-time favorites.

And you can be sure that now when Sherman Alexie speaks, I pay close attention.