LeAnne Howe is the recipient of Western Literature Association’s 2015 Distinguished Achievement Award for Choctalking on Other Realities! This award honors transformative contributions to the field of Western American literary studies.
The Association commends Howe’s work in their latest press release, stating:
“Through her innovative novels, essays, poetry, and scholarship, Howe, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, unmaps conventional histories of the American West. In their place, she offers restorative stories of Indigenous continuance, creativity, and community. With her intergenerational novels Shell Shaker and Miko Kings, Howe seamlessly fuses fiction, history, and theory. In doing so, she underscores the need to stretch the bounds of what constitutes western American literature.”
Previous recipients of this award include Louise Erdrich, Luis Valdez, Gerald Vizenor, Thomas King, Joy Harjo, William Kittredge, Tillie Olson, Rudolfo Anaya, Sherman Alexie, Sandra Cisneros, and Joan Didion. The award will be presented to Howe on October 15, 2015 at the Association’s 50th annual conference in Reno.
Congratulations on this honor, LeAnne!