Innovator of the nonfiction novel, a towering figure in American literature for nearly 60 years. Norman Mailer developed in the 1960s and 1970s a form of journalism that combined actual events, autobiography, and political commentary with the richness of the novel. (See also Truman Capote and the cla

Hypnotic, Mythic, Overflowing, Pioneering, Post-war literature, Power, Primal, Voluminous

One of the most important Native American writers of the post-1968 generation, James Welch, to a large degree, established a genre. What he gave us was Native American Literature: literature unmistakably about Indian subjects, written by an Indian writer. His characters were never drawn from sensa

Clean, Clever, Deconstructive, Epic, Expansive, Figurative, Illusive, Lyrical, Mythic, Native american fiction, Native american poetry, Pioneering, Post-colonialism, Sincere, Spiritual, Sublime, Tragic, Tribal

Sherman J. Alexie, Jr. was born in October 1966. A Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA, about 50 miles northwest of Spokane. Born hydrocephalic (water on the brain), Alexie underwent brain operation at the age of six. He survived the surgery,

Angry, Dark, Death, Deconstructive, Dreamy, In-your-face, Lyrical, Mythic, Native american fiction, Native american poetry, Pioneering, Playful, Political, Post-colonialism, Rhythmic, Rough, Spiritual, Tragic, Tribal

Terence McKenna was a psychedelic author, explorer, and showman. He was born in 1946 and grew up in Paonia, Colorado. In high school he moved to Los Altos, California and from there attended U.C. Berkeley for two years before setting off to travel. He travelled widely in Asia, South America, and Euro

Biomorphic, Enigmatic, Experimental, Hallucinatory, Layered, Mythic, Pioneering, Primal, Psychedelic, Spiritual, Trippy