Louise Erdrich
Biography
The oldest in a family of seven children, Louise Erdrich was born in Little Falls, Minnesota, in 1954 but grew up in Wahpeton, North Dakota, where her parents worked for the Wahpeton Indian School. Her mother was French Ojibway and her father was German-American. Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. She attended Dartmouth College, where her future husband, writer Michael Dorris, was the first chair of Native American studies department. She also received a master of fine arts degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Erdrich is the author of eleven novels, as well as volumes of poetry, children's books, and a memoir of early motherhood. Her novel Love Medicine won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse was a finalist for the National Book Award. She lives in Minnesota with her daughters and is the owner of Birchbark Books, a small independent bookstore.
The Master Butchers Singing Club
Having survived the killing fields of World War I, Fidelis Waldvogel returns home to his quiet German village and marries, Eva, the pregnant widow of his best friend who was killed in action. With a suitcase full of sausages and a master butcher's precious set of knives, Fidelis sets out for America, getting as far as Argus, North Dakota. Over the years he works hard, building a business, a home for his growing family and a singing club consisting of the best voices in town. After the Waldvogels hire Delphine Watzka, a worldly, Argus native whose origins are a mystery even to her, their lives are never the same. Where personal tragedy and another world war collide, life must be rebuilt from the pieces left behind.
Other Novels by Louise Erdrich
The Antelope Wife. HarperCollins, 1998.
The Beet Queen. Henry Holt and Co., 1986.
The Bingo Palace.Harper Perennials, 1994.
Four Souls: A Novel. HarperCollins, 2004.
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse. :HarperCollins, 2001.
Love Medicine. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984.
The Master Butchers Singing Club. HarperCollins, 2003.
The Painted Drum. Hyperion, 2005.
Tales of Burning Love. HarperCollins, 1996.
Tracks. Henry Holt and Co., 1988.
Website Links:
Erdich's Official Website
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Website Devoted to Louise's Poetry
Salon Interview with Erdrich Internet Public Library: Native American Authors Project
Georgetown University Website Exploring Erich's Work
|
