The Business of Fancydancing: Stories and Poems

Sherman Alexie's first 1992 publication, The Business of Fancydancing is a remarkable collection of poetry and prose. The remarkability stems from Alexie's refusal to hide the darkness that permeates through life. He intertwines the beauty and the sorrow of being a Native American living on a reservation through poignant vignettes that blends autobiographical elements with sharp humor and even sharper commentary on the treatment of Native Americans historically. His poems "Evolution" and "13/16" artfully expresses the mistreatment and repression of Native Americans that seems to highlight the corruptive relationship between the colonizer and the colonized. In "Evolution" Alexie describes the how Buffalo Bills slowly steals the lives and hearts of the Native American through his "pawn shop on the reservation/ right across the border from the liquor store". Throughout the poem the Native Americans pawn off everything including "VCR, a full-length beaded buckskin outfit/...their hands/...their skeletons/...but his heart, Buffalo Bill takes that for twenty bucks" and at the end all those items form the Museum of Native American Cultures. The poem conveys the resentment, frustration, and sense of loss that Alexie and Native Americans as a culture have experienced.The prose piece "Gravity" is an excellent example of Alexie incorporating a personal component into his poems. "Gravity" showcases the complex relationship between the love of a son and father with the reality of the dysfunction of that very relationship. The piece includes flashbacks and present time that gives glimpses of the nature of the father/son relationship and how it may have developed into a son who hasn't returned in years and a father who keeps a scrapbook of his son. Because Alexie writes with personal and simultaneously a sense of insurgency he is able to connect to readers by making an emotional connection, by challenging their perceptions, and by appealing to the outcast in each of us. His ability to combine traditional poetic form with a unique modern perspective and razor sharp wit makes this collection appealing to wide range of readers. The Business of FancyDancing is an introduction to Sherman Alexie's brilliance and lays the foundation for his literary significance and key contributor to the evolution of American poetry.

Review - The Business of Fancy Dancing Sherman Alexie“The Business of Fancy Dancing” is a collection of 40 poems and 5 stories by Sherman Alexie, “an enrolled Spokane/Couer D’Alene Indian” (from the back cover).These poems and stories have a gritty, yet compelling, yet lyrical, texture. They speak of the ugly, poverty, alcohol driven, life on Indian Reservations. They speak from inside, not as an outsider viewing Indian Reservation life.In the introduction Sherman speaks of the “truth” of these stories. He remarks that while the facts are a little changed and different, the essence and truth of the stores and poems shines through. I agree with him on his writing. While I am not Native American, I have had a fascination for Native American cultural history all of my life, and from that a glimpse into the failures and successes of the Reservation system. Sherman speaks from his heart about the failures of the Reservation system.

I am a fan of Sherman Alexie and I absolutely enjoyed reading this good as I have his other books. I think anyone who is interested in reading about modern day Native American life, especially in the North West, should read this. Before I found Mr. Alexie's writing, the only Indian writing I knew of was of South-West Indians. I read this as an e-book in my Kindle.

My Grandfather was full blooded Creek Indian so this was information I enjoyed to learn more about Indian life in the early years. I really enjoyed this book and the characters were totally believable. The author took the time to do some good research but still not written like a History book. Good story that I truly would recommend to anyone..

What can I say? I'm a huge fan of anything written by Sherman Alexie, with an exception (depending on mood) of "Indian Killer." This book, "The Business of Fancydancing" is another collection of brilliant short stories and mostly poetry by a brilliant writer. I believe I own every book Alexie wrote. He has a way with words I rarely see by other writers. His accurate protrayal of American Indian life isn't easily forgotten, but is always easy to read again. Thank you, Mr. Alexie, for being you and sharing your life and observances so generously.

I was very satisfied with the order process and the product. Thank you!

"The Business of Fancydancing" was my introduction to Sherman Alexie's writing. I purchased the book based on an ambiguous recommendation of a well-read friend. Green. I chose well. "Fancydancing" resides on my coffee table, and I can pick it up, open it, and be immersed in a haunting poem or short story that is astonishing in both simplicity and depth. How can that be...

Early Sherman Alexie is very strong. Start with his earliest work, such as this title and work around it a bit. His recent stuff is a bit stiff and stilted; the early stuff is far from it.

I came to this having just read Face.It's different but equally wonderful. The challenges of reservation life are there as is his love of playing with form though prose poems/annotations/asides less so.The story of his dad and family crop up throughout in gorgeous honesty. I don't know if it's right to mention value for money in the context of what's in Alexie's mind but a fiver for'They/do not die but remain/within the soft edges of the earth,the ashOf house fires and cancer/in sin and forgiveness/huddled under old blankets'and many more is nearly ridiculous.