SOURCE: An obituary for Michael Dorris, in The New York Times, April 15, 1997, p. B11.

[Below, Lyman recounts Dorris's literary career and personal life, noting his relationship with Erdrich, his academic colleagues, and professional associations.]

Michael Dorris, a prolific novelist, essayist, critic and educator who won the National Book Award in 1989 for The Broken Cord, about his adopted son's struggle with fetal alcohol syndrome, was found dead on Friday in a motel in Concord, N.H., where he had taken a room under an assumed name. He was 52.

Mr. Dorris was found in a room at the Brick Tower Motor Inn with a plastic bag over his head, the police said. Although the medical examiner's report was not to be completed until today, the police said he had apparently committed suicide. They said a note was found at the scene, but declined to give details.

Mr. Dorris's first success...