Bloglander

To help raise funds for an American Indian Graduate Fellowship in Creative Writing, the University of Idaho is hosting HooPalousa 2011, a five-on-five, full-court basketball game featuring acclaimed authors, scholars, athletes, and leaders from local and tribal communities.

The University’s creative writing program and department of English are making a serious commitment to recruit and retain top Native American candidates for the Masters of Fine Arts degree. HooPalousa organizers hope their efforts will attract more Native American students to writing classes.

Home team the Moscow SuperSonnets will take on the Spokane Dirty Realists tonight at 7:30 pm in UI’s Memorial Gym in Moscow.

Representing UI are some of the school’s professors, instructors, graduate students and alumni. SuperSonnets include author and TV star Buddy Levy, Nez Perce tribe Chairman Brooklyn D. Baptiste, and Montana basketball legend Jonathan Takes Enemy.

Spokane players include Gonzaga stand-out David Pendergraft and award-winning authors Sherman Alexie, Jess Walter and Shann Ray Ferch, along with Coeur d'Alene Tribal Chair Chief Allan and Brad Meyers, who was a WSU and Whitworth stand-out and current serves as director of development and public relations for the Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations in Spokane.

The game is free and open to the public. There will be a brief half-time presentation on the fellowship fund. Author-players' books will be for sale at the event, and authors and players will sign books and autographs after the game.