By William
Doyle-Marshall
Thomas King who
was a Native Indian activist in the 1960s and 1970s emerged winner of the 2014
RBC Taylor Prize of $25,000 for literary non-fiction for his book “The
Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America”.
Announcement was made during a Monday gala luncheon at the King Edward Hotel
downtown Toronto. King was among five outstanding finalists. Andrew Westoll,
one of the jurors wished all the authors could be winners.
King is a novelist, short-story writer,
nonfiction author, screenwriter and photographer. He was born in the U.S., the
son of a Greek mother and a Cherokee father. Since migrating to Canada he
accepted a position in Native Studies at the University of Lethbridge and soon
began writing serious fiction which earned him the distinction of being one of the
finest contemporary Native American writers.
During the very popular Sunday morning brunch
hosted by ace bookseller Ben McNally, King reminded Canadians that his publication
became a reality as he could not find books that dealt with Canada’s First
Nations communities. After many years teaching about Native Indians, the author
was disturbed by the absence of books on the subject. He observed that patterns
created 400 years ago still exist as very little progress has been made.
Never-the-less King is hoping for a different kind of conversation. Back in the
beginning newcomers to Canada harboured concerns about living with First
Nations people. He laments that Canadians don’t know their history.
Author Thomas King and his wife Helen
The annual Ben McNally’s annual Sunday
morning brunch for finalists at the King Edward Hotel has grown into a must
attend affair for Torontonians with a taste for good literature, especially in
the non-fiction genre. Noreen Taylor, widow of Charles Taylor, a respected
Canadian journalist, launched the Charles Taylor Foundation in his honour more
than a decade ago. Since then Canada has been introduced to some of the most
creative and insightful authors who have been sharing information with readers
about matters that are near and dear to our hearts. This year finalists for the
RBC Taylor Prize for Literary Non-fiction captured a range of issues and Ms.
Taylor calls them ‘remarkable’. At Sunday’s brunch, she invited the audience to
join in a love affair with some of Canada’s finest authors.
David Stouck delves into the life of Arthur
Erickson who grew up in a family with a father whose legs were blown off during
World War combat. However the subject of Stouck’s book is known as a famous
architect who loved to be at the center of things and above all have a good
time.
What is
important to Erickson’s work in relation to today the author told the attentive
Sunday morning gathering the buildings he created across the country were
stacked with ideas that revolved around interdisciplinary studies, transparency
in justice and perhaps Erickson could be regarded as a pioneer in green
architecture. This is a man Stouck said who loved life and made sure to have
friends among the rich and famous in Hollywood and the Royal Family. And if you
don’t mind a little gossip, the author also included some of that juicy
practice in “Arthur Erickson: An Architect’s Life”.
Graeme Smith told the gathering it is
important to rub their noses into the Afghanistan scene where the Canadian flag
is to be lowered in Kabul as this country withdraws its involvement in that war
that has claimed the lives of many civilians there. Smith sounds troubled that
there will be a questionable election of a new president. From this foreign
correspondent’s perspective, it will not be a democratic election. Further the author
of “The Dogs Are Eating Them Now: Our Ware In Afghanistan” predicts this could
be a summer of increased violence – as a couple thousand civilians will be
killed. The peace and stability Canadians were told were being restored in
Afghanistan when troops were first assigned there was not achieved.
Despite his
gloomy picture of the outcome of the Afghanistan war, Smith is hopeful, all is not
completely lost if a lot is done to make sure the Afghan State gets what it
needs to survive--$6 billion a year to keep its security force.”
J.B. MacKinnon’s “The Once and Future World:
Nature As It Was, As It Is, As It Could Be” started for him in British Columbia
where he observed big box stores were taking over spaces that were once
occupied by what he thought were indigenous shrubs to the territory. Many of us
can relate to the situation right here in the Greater Toronto Area as we
observe transformation of a landscape that now resembles major European cities
complete with pollution of all sorts. He evoked much laughter while relating
the story about salmon spawning in a certain B.C. location which attracted a
massive crowd eager to see 12 salmon showing life that was once taken for
granted. Any thoughts about re-wilding the world you may have, MacKinnon would
smile with pleasure.
Charlotte Gray was attracted to the “Massey
Murder” by the court case involving teenaged domestic worker facing a murder
charge over the shooting death of her employer. It prodded her to write about
the social history of Canada during the First World War. She realized a true
crime would be a wonderful doorway into that period of Canadian history. This
meant finding a crime with lots of different elements and themes for her to
follow up and explore what was going on behind the scenes. That meant spending
a lot of time in Old City Hall where police cases are still tried. She was
struck by the surrounding with lots of people bustling around, lawyers in
gowns. Nobody who hasn’t spent time there could really understand what’s
happening. No doubt things are still the same. By William
Doyle-Marshall
Thomas King who
was a Native Indian activist in the 1960s and 1970s emerged winner of the 2014
RBC Taylor Prize of $25,000 for literary non-fiction for his book “The
Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America”.
Announcement was made during a Monday gala luncheon at the King Edward Hotel
downtown Toronto. King was among five outstanding finalists. Andrew Westoll,
one of the jurors wished all the authors could be winners.
King is a novelist, short-story writer,
nonfiction author, screenwriter and photographer. He was born in the U.S., the
son of a Greek mother and a Cherokee father. Since migrating to Canada he
accepted a position in Native Studies at the University of Lethbridge and soon
began writing serious fiction which earned him the distinction of being one of the
finest contemporary Native American writers.
During the very popular Sunday morning brunch
hosted by ace bookseller Ben McNally, King reminded Canadians that his publication
became a reality as he could not find books that dealt with Canada’s First
Nations communities. After many years teaching about Native Indians, the author
was disturbed by the absence of books on the subject. He observed that patterns
created 400 years ago still exist as very little progress has been made.
Never-the-less King is hoping for a different kind of conversation. Back in the
beginning newcomers to Canada harboured concerns about living with First
Nations people. He laments that Canadians don’t know their history.
The annual Ben McNally’s annual Sunday
morning brunch for finalists at the King Edward Hotel has grown into a must
attend affair for Torontonians with a taste for good literature, especially in
the non-fiction genre. Noreen Taylor, widow of Charles Taylor, a respected
Canadian journalist, launched the Charles Taylor Foundation in his honour more
than a decade ago. Since then Canada has been introduced to some of the most
creative and insightful authors who have been sharing information with readers
about matters that are near and dear to our hearts. This year finalists for the
RBC Taylor Prize for Literary Non-fiction captured a range of issues and Ms.
Taylor calls them ‘remarkable’. At Sunday’s brunch, she invited the audience to
join in a love affair with some of Canada’s finest authors.
David Stouck delves into the life of Arthur
Erickson who grew up in a family with a father whose legs were blown off during
World War combat. However the subject of Stouck’s book is known as a famous
architect who loved to be at the center of things and above all have a good
time.
What is
important to Erickson’s work in relation to today the author told the attentive
Sunday morning gathering the buildings he created across the country were
stacked with ideas that revolved around interdisciplinary studies, transparency
in justice and perhaps Erickson could be regarded as a pioneer in green
architecture. This is a man Stouck said who loved life and made sure to have
friends among the rich and famous in Hollywood and the Royal Family. And if you
don’t mind a little gossip, the author also included some of that juicy
practice in “Arthur Erickson: An Architect’s Life”.
Graeme Smith told the gathering it is
important to rub their noses into the Afghanistan scene where the Canadian flag
is to be lowered in Kabul as this country withdraws its involvement in that war
that has claimed the lives of many civilians there. Smith sounds troubled that
there will be a questionable election of a new president. From this foreign
correspondent’s perspective, it will not be a democratic election. Further the author
of “The Dogs Are Eating Them Now: Our Ware In Afghanistan” predicts this could
be a summer of increased violence – as a couple thousand civilians will be
killed. The peace and stability Canadians were told were being restored in
Afghanistan when troops were first assigned there was not achieved.
Despite his
gloomy picture of the outcome of the Afghanistan war, Smith is hopeful, all is not
completely lost if a lot is done to make sure the Afghan State gets what it
needs to survive--$6 billion a year to keep its security force.”
J.B. MacKinnon’s “The Once and Future World:
Nature As It Was, As It Is, As It Could Be” started for him in British Columbia
where he observed big box stores were taking over spaces that were once
occupied by what he thought were indigenous shrubs to the territory. Many of us
can relate to the situation right here in the Greater Toronto Area as we
observe transformation of a landscape that now resembles major European cities
complete with pollution of all sorts. He evoked much laughter while relating
the story about salmon spawning in a certain B.C. location which attracted a
massive crowd eager to see 12 salmon showing life that was once taken for
granted. Any thoughts about re-wilding the world you may have, MacKinnon would
smile with pleasure.
Charlotte Gray was attracted to the “Massey
Murder” by the court case involving teenaged domestic worker facing a murder
charge over the shooting death of her employer. It prodded her to write about
the social history of Canada during the First World War. She realized a true
crime would be a wonderful doorway into that period of Canadian history. This
meant finding a crime with lots of different elements and themes for her to
follow up and explore what was going on behind the scenes. That meant spending
a lot of time in Old City Hall where police cases are still tried. She was
struck by the surrounding with lots of people bustling around, lawyers in
gowns. Nobody who hasn’t spent time there could really understand what’s
happening. No doubt things are still the same.
The panel of jurors selected the finalists from 124 non-fiction books authored by Canadians and submitted by 45 publishers.
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