Antioch school seeks to ban a Sherman Alexie book : relevance vs moral judgements?

chicagotribune.com - 21 weeks ago - 315 views

In a case of culture clash, some parents of Antioch High School students are seeking to ban 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' by author Sherman Alexie. This group calls the book vulgar, while others say character's experience are the same challenges facing incoming freshmen. Alexie is a well known author of First Nation fiction and a nationally acclaimed author.

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by Len Kody 21 weeks 5 days ago

Boo!

I actually taught Sherman Alexi during my brief tour of duty as a public school teacher.

It was good unit to teach because it ended with a movie (Sherman Alexi wrote the screenplay for the 90's indie flick "Smoke Signals") -

by Tamale Chica 21 weeks 5 days ago

Wow, it's been awhile since I saw Smoke Signals -- one of the few films where you see Adam Beach with long hair. It had a good cast of First Nation actors, plus the Chris Eyre direction.

Alexie is considered so mainstream by many Native American writers -- he is certainly no Vine Deloria, Jr. To me, wanting to ban his books is like saying Reader's Digest is radical and extreme.

by Len Kody 21 weeks 4 days ago

They updated the article since yesterday. Here's the new headline: Controversial book to stay on reading list

by Tamale Chica 21 weeks 4 days ago

Thanks Len. I did see that update. There was a time when reading Native Son and the Martian Chronicles in Chicago Public High Schools was considered radical and extreme, so I look at these things as a process of evolvement.