His recent debut novel, Watermelon Nights, has received widespread acclaim and placed him firmly in the ranks of Louise Erdrich and Sherman Alexie as a critical literary voice that captures the depth and complexity of contemporary American Indian life. In An Afternoon with the Author on Wednesday, January 31 at 4 p.m. in UCSB Corwin Pavilion , Sarris will read from and discuss his work.
Admission is free and the public is encouraged to attend.
Courtesy of the UCSB Bookstore, books by Sarris will be available for purchase and signing at the event. When Johnny, who ekes out a living selling second-hand clothes, contemplates leaving home for the big city, he discovers there's more than his floundering business keeping him where he is. We learn how the tragic events of his grandmother's youth as well as his mother's attempts to separate herself from her Indian heritage make his dilemma even more difficult. He has written two plays, including one for the Mark Taper Forum about the Laguna Beach Indians and is at work on the book for a new musical commissioned by Rent producer Jeffrey Sellers. He is also developing a screenplay about the 1913 uprising at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania that resulted in the firing of American sports icon Pop Warner, slated to be played by John Travolta.