LeAnne Howe (born April 29, 1951,
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United S ...
) is an American author and Eidson Distinguished Professor in the Department of English at the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
, Athens. She previously taught American Indian Studies and English at the University of Minnesota and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Early life and education
LeAnne Howe was born into a Choctaw family in
Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. The population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States Census, making it the fifth largest ...
, and attended local schools as a child. She later attended
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, where she majored in English. She is an enrolled member of the
Choctaw Nation
The Choctaw Nation ( Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
.
Years later, Howe returned to studies, gaining a
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...
degree in 2000 in
Creative Writing
Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literar ...
from
Vermont College
Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level art school in Montpelier, Vermont. It offers Master's degrees in low-residency and residential programs. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award winners, ...
of
Norwich University
Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-cam ...
. Over the next few years, she began to shift toward the academic world. She taught, lectured and developed courses in Native American Studies at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...
and at
Carleton College
Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowlin ...
in Northfield, Minnesota.
Career
Howe is an author, playwright, scholar, and poet. She has explored Native American experiences through writing screenplays. She has also written fiction, creative non-fiction, plays, and poetry. She has conducted public readings of her work, and has lectured in Japan, Jordan, Israel, Romania, and Spain.
Howe's work has been published in various journals and anthologies.
Honors and awards
She received the
Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award
Before is the opposite of after, and may refer to:
* ''Before'' (Gold Panda EP), 2009
* ''Before'' (James Blake EP), 2020
* "Before" (song), a 1996 song by the Pet Shop Boys
* "Before", a song by the Empire of the Sun from '' Two Vines''
* "Bef ...
in 2002 for her novel ''
Shell Shaker
''Shell Shaker'' (2001) is a novel by American LeAnne Howe (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma). The novel's plot revolves around two tales of murder involving historical Choctaw political leaders. Set over a 200-year period, it focuses on several gener ...
''. In 2006, Howe's collection of poetry ''
Evidence of Red
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evid ...
'' (Salt Publishing, UK 2005) won the
Oklahoma Book Award
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, ...
. In 2012, Howe was the recipient of a
United States Artists
United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards.
Mission
The organization' ...
Fellow award. In 2015, Howe was awarded the first
MLA Prize for Studies in Native American Literatures, Cultures, and Languages for her second novel, titled ''Choctalking On Other Realities'' (Aunt Lute Books, 2013).
Books
*''
Shell Shaker
''Shell Shaker'' (2001) is a novel by American LeAnne Howe (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma). The novel's plot revolves around two tales of murder involving historical Choctaw political leaders. Set over a 200-year period, it focuses on several gener ...
,''
Aunt Lute Books, San Francisco, 2001
*''Evidence of Red: Poems and Prose,''
Salt Publishing
Salt Publishing is an independent publisher whose origins date back to 1990 when poet John Kinsella launched ''Salt Magazine'' in Western Australia. The journal rapidly developed an international reputation as a leading publisher of new poetry ...
, UK, 2005
*''Miko Kings: An Indian Baseball Story,''
Aunt Lute Books, 2007
*''Seeing Red, Pixeled Skins, American Indians and Film'', Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, MI, 2013
*''Choctalking on Other Realities,''
Aunt Lute Books, San Francisco, 2013
*"Singing, Still, Libretto for the 1847 Choctaw Gift to the Irish for Famine Relief," ''The Irish Times''
*''Savage Conversations'', Coffee House Press, 2019
Plays
*''The Mascot Opera'' (Alexander Street Press, 2008)
*''Big PowWow''
*''Indian Radio Days (Theatre C. G.,1998)''
Films
* Co-editor with Harvey Markowitz, and Denise K. Cummings, ''Seeing Red, Pixeled Skins: American Indians and Film'', 2013
*Co-producer with James Fortier for ''Playing Pastimes: American Indian Fast-Pitch Softball, and Survival,'' 2007
*Screenwriter and on-camera narrator for ''Indian Country Diaries: Spiral of Fire'', 2006
See also
*
List of writers from peoples indigenous to the Americas
This is a list of notable writers who are Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
This list includes authors who are Alaskan Native, American Indian, First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Indigenous peoples of Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America ...
*
Native American Studies
*
Native American dramatists and playwrights
References
External links
Official LeAnne Howe site*https://mikokings.wordpress.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, LeAnne
Living people
Native American poets
Native American women writers
1951 births
Native American dramatists and playwrights
Native American novelists
Choctaw people
21st-century American novelists
Sinte Gleska University faculty
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty
University of Georgia faculty
American women dramatists and playwrights
American women poets
American women novelists
21st-century American women writers
21st-century American poets
American Book Award winners
Novelists from Illinois
Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state)
American women academics
20th-century Native Americans
21st-century Native Americans
20th-century Native American women
21st-century Native American women