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Joseph Boyden makes good
Oct. 20th, 2008 04:55 pmLast night I went to see author Joseph Boyden . I loved his first book, which was about First Nations soldiers fighting in the First World War. It was a very daring and poetic book. His second book, which deals with contemporary native issues, has been nominated for a Giller, which is one of the most prestigious awards in Canada. I got to the venue early, because I was worried that it would be packed. My suspicions were correct.
The room quickly filled up. I was checking the ethnic component of the room and noticed that there didn't seem to be any native people. There were a few people of colour, but no natives. Hmmm. I chatted a bit with the people around me. Finally, an attractive woman in her 40s came in with a native woman in her 70s. They were looking for a place to sit, and there was an empty seat beside me. I gave up my seat and sat a little behind a pole, because I felt it was completely rude to let this native grandma sit near the back and away from her companion.
Anyway, Joseph came onstage and did some banter. He was wonderfully funny, humble, engaging, and pretty darn good looking. He read three sections from his new book. He is a great reader, and his work definitely draws on the oral tradition, so it sounds great when read out loud. Afterward, people were allowed to ask him questions about his work. There were some good questions asked. One woman noticed that he was speaking with a native accent, and he blushed a little. He had picked up the accent from his visit to family up north. It definitely comes and goes with him, and he slips into it easily when he is reading from his books. Another man said he was from New Orleans, and Joseph was enthused and wanted to visit with him later.
The elderly native woman in the audience asked him some questions about whether or not he'd kept in touch with some of the elders from his area. She told him that she had a teacher who lived up North who had died at 104. Joseph was quite taken by this woman, and they found out that they'd lived in a similar area. After the reading, he went right to her and talked to her and they were really bonding for several minutes. Her companion thanked me again for giving up my seat, and I told her that I had felt it was the right thing to do. He signed a few books for the two native women and then asked the elder if he could give her a kiss on the cheek as he shook her hand. It was very sweet.
During this, I talked to the other native woman in the audience, who asked me if I was native. We were both surprised by the lack of natives at the event, and counted 3. After this, we all got in line for the long wait to get our books signed.
When it was my turn, I asked Joseph if he missed seeing natives when he was living in New Orleans. He told me that it was very weird, but that he went up north 4 or 5 times a year to be around his native family. Then we talked about mixed race identity stuff and First Nations issues for a few minutes. I had been standing in front of the man from New Orleans, and we had been talking about Katrina, New Orleans, poetry, chess and life while waiting in line. It turned out that the New Orleans man is a slam poet who knows my friend Mike. Small world.
I didn't want to take too much of Joseph's time, so I left quickly and turned him over to New Orleans guy. When I got home, I checked to see what he had written in my book. He wrote, "Alexis, Fantastic to meet you." Joseph Boyden.
I thought that was pretty funny, since I only talked to him for about three minutes. Still, nice man, humble, sweet, and a great reader and writer.
The room quickly filled up. I was checking the ethnic component of the room and noticed that there didn't seem to be any native people. There were a few people of colour, but no natives. Hmmm. I chatted a bit with the people around me. Finally, an attractive woman in her 40s came in with a native woman in her 70s. They were looking for a place to sit, and there was an empty seat beside me. I gave up my seat and sat a little behind a pole, because I felt it was completely rude to let this native grandma sit near the back and away from her companion.
Anyway, Joseph came onstage and did some banter. He was wonderfully funny, humble, engaging, and pretty darn good looking. He read three sections from his new book. He is a great reader, and his work definitely draws on the oral tradition, so it sounds great when read out loud. Afterward, people were allowed to ask him questions about his work. There were some good questions asked. One woman noticed that he was speaking with a native accent, and he blushed a little. He had picked up the accent from his visit to family up north. It definitely comes and goes with him, and he slips into it easily when he is reading from his books. Another man said he was from New Orleans, and Joseph was enthused and wanted to visit with him later.
The elderly native woman in the audience asked him some questions about whether or not he'd kept in touch with some of the elders from his area. She told him that she had a teacher who lived up North who had died at 104. Joseph was quite taken by this woman, and they found out that they'd lived in a similar area. After the reading, he went right to her and talked to her and they were really bonding for several minutes. Her companion thanked me again for giving up my seat, and I told her that I had felt it was the right thing to do. He signed a few books for the two native women and then asked the elder if he could give her a kiss on the cheek as he shook her hand. It was very sweet.
During this, I talked to the other native woman in the audience, who asked me if I was native. We were both surprised by the lack of natives at the event, and counted 3. After this, we all got in line for the long wait to get our books signed.
When it was my turn, I asked Joseph if he missed seeing natives when he was living in New Orleans. He told me that it was very weird, but that he went up north 4 or 5 times a year to be around his native family. Then we talked about mixed race identity stuff and First Nations issues for a few minutes. I had been standing in front of the man from New Orleans, and we had been talking about Katrina, New Orleans, poetry, chess and life while waiting in line. It turned out that the New Orleans man is a slam poet who knows my friend Mike. Small world.
I didn't want to take too much of Joseph's time, so I left quickly and turned him over to New Orleans guy. When I got home, I checked to see what he had written in my book. He wrote, "Alexis, Fantastic to meet you." Joseph Boyden.
I thought that was pretty funny, since I only talked to him for about three minutes. Still, nice man, humble, sweet, and a great reader and writer.
