Sherman Alexie

"Poetry = Anger x Imagination"

"As a child, I read because books–violent and not, blasphemous and not, terrifying and not–were the most loving and trustworthy things in my life. I read widely, and loved plenty of the classics so, yes, I recognized the domestic terrors faced by Louisa May Alcott’s March sisters. But I became the kid chased by werewolves, vampires, and evil clowns in Stephen King’s books. I read books about monsters and monstrous things, often written with monstrous language, because they taught me how to battle the real monsters in my life. And now I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers. I don’t write to protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons–in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed."

"What kind of life can you have in a house without books?"

"I grabbed my book and opened it up. I wanted to smell it. Heck, I wanted to kiss it. Yes, kiss it. That's right, I am a book kisser. Maybe that's kind of perverted or maybe it's just romantic and highly intelligent."

"“Poetry = Anger x Imagination”"

"My father was always depressed. When he was home and sober, he was mostly in his room."

"In high school I dated a white woman. She would come to visit me on the rez. And her dad, who was very racist, didn't like that at all. And he told her one time, 'You shouldn't go on the rez if you're white because Indians have a lot of anger in their heart."

"You know, people speak in poetry all the time. They just don't realize it."

"My wife was the first romantic partner who understood both American and native parts of me - not so much the positive stuff, but the damage."

"I'm a method writer. In order to write about the emotion, I have to experience it. I get physically tired and exhausted, devoting hours and hours and hours to it."

"When you read a piece of writing that you admire, send a note of thanks to the author."

"My father is an amazing man."

"My father was sleepless most of his life. So by the age of five, I was awake with him all night long, watching bad television or we'd lie in the same bed, and I'd read my comic books while he read his latest spy or mystery novel."

"I don't have to participate in another culture's ceremonies in order to respect that culture."

"Writing is a lonely business."

"Lies have short shelf lives. Lies go bad. Lies rot and stink up the joint."

"When my female friends are left By horrid spouses and lovers,I commiserate. I send gifts-Powwow songs and poems- and wonder Why my gorgeous friends cannot find Someone who knows them as I do. Is the whole world dead and blind?I tell my friends, “I’d marry you Tomorrow.” I think I’m engaged To thirty-six women, my harem:Platonic, bookish, and enraged. I love them! But it would scare them-No, of course, they already know That I can be just one more boy,A toy warrior who explodes Into silence and warpaths with joy."

"Gay people were seen as magical, too. I mean, like in many cultures, men were viewed as warriors and women were viewed as caregivers. But gay people, being both male and female, were seen as both warriors and caregivers. Gay people could do anything. They were like Swiss Army knives!"

"Like officer Dave. He's never said much about his life, but I can tell he's scarred. And he knows I'm scarred too. The wounded always recognize the wounded. We can smell each other."

"Walk the midway and hear the carnival barker. Come see the freak named after his deceased father. Come see the prince who wants to abdicate his throne. Come see the son whose name is carved on a gravestone."