On July 9th discuss Indian Killer by Spokane author Sherman Alexie. A searing fictional portrait of violence and racism in the guise of a gripping suspense thriller set in Seattle. Alexie combines perfectly crafted prose and unexpected humor in what the New York Times Book Review has called a “brilliant…deeply moving” work. Joyce Vincent (Cherokee/Blackfoot), Associate Director of Native American Student Services at UMass Amherst, will lead the group in discussing Alexie’s powerful novel.

On August 13th discuss Bowman’s Store: A Journey to Myself, which traces the life of writer Joseph Bruchac from a childhood of secrecy to the beginning of his career as one of the best-known authors and storytellers of Native history and lore. Lyrical and deeply moving, Bruchac’s memoir explains how he came to fully claim his Abenaki Indian heritage despite his grandparents’ unspoken pact: never to discuss Grampa’s Indian blood. Ron Welburn (Gingaskin/Assateague/ Cherokee/African-American), poet and professor of English at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will lead this discussion.