Literary super star Sherman Alexie will play Red Square on Graduation Day this year. We can’t wait.

A tough guy to categorize, Alexie’s creative genius declines to fall neatly into a single category. Writer, movie-maker, stand-up comedian, equal opportunity iconoclast; where hasn’t this guy ventured in expressing his take on life, the universe and everything?

Here he is, talking to The Daily Beast about his new book Blasphemy.

I called the book Blasphemy primarily because I’ve been so regularly accused of being blasphemous by white folks and Indians. But they only speak of blasphemy in its most basic terms: disrespect toward religion, toward a philosophy. I think blasphemy is actually more directed toward other human beings, and most often expressed toward those who have lesser power in society. I think human beings are sacred and that all the evil shit each of us does is blasphemous…. White folks talk about finding the sacred in the wilderness, and I suppose it’s there, but I hear the sacred in 3 a.m. traffic and 747s descending and loud music from the house down the block and the ship horns in the foggy night and the whirr, whirr, whirr of crowds. If people are sacred then the most sacred places are the ones where the most people have gathered.

As we mentioned above, we can’t wait.

Hope you’ve got Saturday, June 1 blocked out on your calendar. It’s going to be another great Alumni Day on campus. Starting at 9 am, seminars, workshops, student work, tours and a long evening of music on Red Square. Where else can you get 14 hours of cool for only $25?

Can’t get to campus on June 1st?  You can still join in  via live stream on the Evergreen You Tube Channel. Invite your Greener friends over  for your own “Alumni Day” festivities around the TV.  Here’s the line up of evening performers:

Thomas Herndon ’07 to speak at Return to Evergreen

Economics grad student Thomas Herndon ’07, the Greener who schooled Harvard economists over their faulty math and shook up the global austerity world, will speak on campus June 1 as part of  Return to Evergreen. In an afternoon session, Thomas will talk about the project he initiated at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst that eventually debunked the influential Harvard study asserting economic growth slows precipitously when a country’s debt rises above 90% of GDP. In case you missed it, see Thomas make us all proud on The Colbert Report.

Xbox Creator Dan Black ’91

 Dan Black ’91 tells great stories. Well, just imagine: father of Xbox, gamer-extraordinaire, this Greener has spent years working with top game developers, engineers, marketing geniuses and all manner of creative geeks. Of course he’s brimming with tales from the inner sanctum of this amazing and booming industry. Dan has worked on  game franchises such as “Assassin’s Creed,” “Grand Theft Auto,” and Tom Clancy’s “Splinter Cell.” This session will appeal to current students, faculty members and alumni from a broad spectrum of fields and interests: education, gaming, investment, computer science, and show business.

Maia Bellon ’91, newly appointed Ecology Director

Maia Bellon ’91 came to Evergreen as a starry-eyed 17 year old straight out of high school.  She loved to dance. At Evergreen, she fell under the spell of neurobiologist Linda Kahan – (in)famous for teaching the the toughest classes at Evergreen. Emerging from that crucible, Maia graduated, went to law school, and, as an Assistant Attorney General, became a tenacious, environmentally focused litigator. Today, Maia is settling into her new Olympia office as Director of Washington State’s Department of Ecology, the first Greener to hold such a position. Talk about Evergreen changing lives!  Talk about serendipity in action!   Well, actually, that is exactly what we’ll be talking about when Maia teams up with faculty members Linda Kahan and Bill Ransom to reflect on life, serendipity and Evergreen.