Thomas King (novelist)

Last updated
Thomas King CC
Thomas King.JPG
King in 2008
Born (1943-04-24) April 24, 1943 (age 80)
Roseville, California, US
Pen nameHartley GoodWeather
Occupation
  • Writer
  • presenter
  • activist
  • academic
CitizenshipUnited States, Canada
Period1980s–present (as writer)
Genre Postmodern, trickster novel; comedy and drama script
Subject First Nations
Notable worksMedicine River; Green Grass, Running Water; The Truth About Stories
Notable awardsOrder of Canada, 2004
ChildrenChristian (born 1971), Benjamin (born 1985) and Elizabeth (born 1988)

Thomas King CC (born April 24, 1943) is an American-born Canadian writer and broadcast presenter who most often writes about First Nations. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Thomas Hunt King was born in Roseville, California, on April 24, 1943. [2] [3] He self-identifies as being of Cherokee, Greek, and German descent. [4] [3] King says his father left the family when the boys were very young, and that they were raised almost entirely by their mother. [5] [6] In his series of Massey Lectures, eventually published as a book The Truth About Stories (2003), King tells that after their father's death, he and his brother learned that their father had two other families, neither of whom knew about the third. [5] [6]

As a child, King attended grammar school in Roseville, California, and both private Catholic and public high schools. After flunking out of Sacramento State University, he joined the US Navy for a brief period of time before receiving a medical discharge for a knee injury. Following this, King worked several jobs, including as an ambulance driver, bank teller, and photojournalist in New Zealand for three years.

King eventually completed bachelor's and master's degrees from Chico State University in California. He moved to Utah, where he worked as a counselor for American Indian students before completing a PhD program in English at the University of Utah. His 1971 MA thesis was on film studies. [7] His 1986 PhD dissertation [8] was on Native American studies, one of the earliest works to explore the oral storytelling tradition as literature. [9] Around this time, King became interested in American Indian oral traditions and storytelling. [9]

Teaching

After moving to Canada in 1980, King taught Native studies at the University of Lethbridge (Alberta) in the early 1980s. He also served as a faculty member of the University of Minnesota's American Indian studies department. As of 2020, King was listed as Professor (retired), Professor Emeritus, School of English and Theatre Studies by the University of Guelph (Ontario). [10]

Activism

King has criticized policies and programs of both the United States and Canadian governments in many interviews and books. [5] He is worried about aboriginal prospects and rights in North America. He says that he fears that aboriginal culture, and specifically aboriginal land, will continue to be taken away from aboriginal peoples until there is nothing left for them at all. In his 2013 book The Inconvenient Indian , King says, "The issue has always been land. It will always be land, until there isn't a square foot of land left in North America that is controlled by Native people." [11]

King also discusses policies regarding aboriginal status. He noted that legislatures in the 1800s in the United States and Canada withdrew aboriginal status from persons who graduated from university or joined the army. King has also worked to identify North American laws that make it complicated to claim status in the first place, for example, the US Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 or Canada's 1985 Bill C-31. Bill C-31 amended the Indian Act in 1985 to allow aboriginal women and their children to reclaim status, which the Act had previously withdrawn if the woman married a non-status man. King claims that the amended act, though progressive for women who had lost their status, threatens the status of future generations because of its limitations. [5]

Writings

King has been writing novels, and children's books, and collections of stories since the 1980s. His notable works include A Coyote Columbus Story (1992) and Green Grass, Running Water (1993) – both of which were nominated for a Governor General's Award (the former for children's literature, and the latter for fiction [9] – and The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America (2012), which won the 2014 RBC Taylor Prize. [12] King's novel, Indians on Vacation (2020), won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour in 2021.

King was chosen to deliver the 2003 Massey Lectures, entitled The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. [5] King was the first Massey lecturer of self-identifying aboriginal descent. King explored the Native experience in oral stories, literature, history, religion and politics, popular culture and social protest in order to make sense of North America's relationship with its aboriginal peoples.

King's writing style incorporates oral storytelling structures with traditional Western narrative. He writes in a conversational tone; for example, in Green Grass, Running Water, the narrator argues with some of the characters. In The Truth About Stories, King addresses the reader as if in a conversation with responses. King uses a variety of anecdotes and humorous narratives while maintaining a serious message in a way that has been compared to the style of trickster legends in Native American culture. Within this story, King also integrates the recently popularized idea of turtles all the way down in an anecdote introducing this narrative, calling into the relevancy of this ideology in American and Native American history.

Politics

In April 2007 King announced that he would seek the New Democratic Party (NDP) nomination for Guelph district. On March 30, 2007, he was named the NDP candidate. NDP leader Jack Layton was present at the nomination meeting. [13] A by-election was called in the riding due to the resignation of incumbent Liberal Member of Parliament Brenda Chamberlain, effective April 7, 2008. Scheduled for September 8, 2008, the by-election was cancelled with the calling of the October 14, 2008 federal general election. King finished fourth behind Liberal candidate Frank Valeriote, Conservative candidate Gloria Kovach, and Green candidate Mike Nagy.

Other work

In the 1990s, he served as story editor for Four Directions , [14] a CBC Television drama anthology series about First Nations which was held up by production and scheduling delays before finally airing in 1996. [15] He also wrote the teleplay "Borders", an adaptation of his own previously published short story, for the series. [15]

From 1997 to 2000, King wrote and acted in a CBC radio show, The Dead Dog Café Comedy Hour , which featured a fictitious town and a fictitious radio program hosted by three First Nations characters. Elements were adapted from his novel, Green Grass, Running Water. The broadcast was a political and social satire with dark humour and mocking stereotypes.

In July 2007, King made his directorial debut with I'm Not the Indian You Had in Mind, a short film which he wrote. [16]

In 2020, his book The Inconvenient Indian was adapted by Michelle Latimer as a documentary film, Inconvenient Indian . [17]

Personal life

His partner is Helen Hoy, a professor emerita of English and Women's Studies at the University of Guelph, School of English and Theatre Studies. [18] She has written a study, How Should I Read These? Native Women Writers in Canada, (2001). He has three children, Christian (born 1971), Benjamin (born 1985) and Elizabeth (born 1988). The couple resides in Guelph, Ontario. [19]

Works

Books

DreadfulWater Mysteries
As editor

Selected short stories

Short story collections are listed above.

Scripts

Awards and recognition

Electoral record

Guelph – 2008 Canadian federal election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Frank Valeriote 18,97732.22%-6.17
Conservative Gloria Kovach17,18529.18%-0.57
Green Mike Nagy12,45621.15%+12.43
New Democratic Thomas King9,70916.49%-5.51
Marijuana Kornelis Kleverling1720.27%N/A
Libertarian Philip Bender1590.27%N/A
Communist Drew Garvie770.13%-0.05
Animal Alliance Karen Levenson730.12%N/A
Independent John Turmel 580.10%N/A
Marxist–Leninist Manuel Couto290.05%-0.02

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ralston Saul</span> Canadian writer and political philosopher

John Ralston Saul is a Canadian writer, political philosopher, and public intellectual. Saul is most widely known for his writings on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good; the failures of manager-led societies; the confusion between leadership and managerialism; military strategy, in particular irregular warfare; the role of freedom of speech and culture; and critiques of the prevailing economic paradigm. He is a champion of freedom of expression and was the International President of PEN International, an association of writers. Saul is the co-founder and co-chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, a national charity promoting the inclusion of new citizens. He is also the co-founder and co-chair of 6 Degrees, the global forum for inclusion. Saul is also the husband to the former governor general Adrienne Clarkson, making him the Viceregal consort of Canada during most of her service (1999–2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Maracle</span> Indigenous Canadian writer and academic (1950–2021)

Bobbi Lee Maracle was an Indigenous Canadian writer and academic of the Stó꞉lō nation. Born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, she left formal education after grade 8 to travel across North America, attending Simon Fraser University on her return to Canada. Her first book, an autobiography called Bobbi Lee: Indian Rebel, was published in 1975. She wrote fiction, non-fiction, and criticism and held various academic positions. Maracle's work focused on the lives of Indigenous people, particularly women, in contemporary North America. As an influential writer and speaker, Maracle fought for those oppressed by sexism, racism, and capitalist exploitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Poliquin</span> Canadian novelist and translator (born 1953)

Daniel Poliquin is a Canadian novelist and translator. He has translated works of various Canadian writers into French, including David Homel, Douglas Glover, and Mordecai Richler. Poliquin and his hometown of Ottawa are the subjects of 1999 documentary film L'écureuil noir, directed by Fadel Saleh for the National Film Board of Canada.

The Massey Lectures is an annual five-part series of lectures given in Canada by distinguished writers, thinkers and scholars who explore important ideas and issues of contemporary interest. Created in 1961 in honour of Vincent Massey, the former Governor General of Canada, it is widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed lecture series in the country.

The Governor General's Award for English-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in English. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, seven each for creators of English- and French-language books. The awards was created by the Canadian Authors Association in partnership with Lord Tweedsmuir in 1936. In 1959, the award became part of the Governor General's Awards program at the Canada Council for the Arts in 1959. The age requirement is 18 and up.

This is a list of recipients and nominees of the Governor General's Awards award for English-language poetry. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English language poetry or drama was divided.

The Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian illustrator for a children's book written in English. It is one of four children's book awards among the Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, one each for writers and illustrators of English- and French-language books. The Governor General's Awards program is administered by the Canada Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Boyden</span> Canadian writer

Joseph Boyden is a Canadian novelist and short story writer of Irish and Scottish descent. He also claims Indigenous descent, but this is widely disputed. Joseph Boyden is best known for writing about First Nations culture. Three Day Road, a novel about two Cree soldiers serving in the Canadian military during World War I, was inspired by Ojibwa Francis Pegahmagabow, the legendary First World War sniper. Joseph Boyden's second novel, Through Black Spruce, follows the story of Will, son of one of the characters in Three Day Road. The third novel in the Bird family trilogy was published in 2013 as The Orenda.

<i>Medicine River</i>

Medicine River is a novel written by author Thomas King. It was first published by Viking Canada in 1989. The book was later adapted (1993) into a television movie starring Graham Greene and Tom Jackson.

<i>Green Grass, Running Water</i> 1993 novel by Thomas King

Green Grass, Running Water is a 1993 novel by Thomas King, a writer of Cherokee and Greek/German-American descent, and United States and Canadian dual citizenship. He was born and grew up in the United States, and has lived in Canada since 1980. The novel is set in a contemporary First Nations Blackfoot community in Alberta, Canada. It gained attention due to its unique use of structure, narrative, and the fusion of oral and written literary traditions. The novel is rife with humor and satire, particularly regarding Judeo-Christian beliefs as well as Western government and society. Green Grass, Running Water was a finalist for the 1993 Governor General's Award in Fiction.

Robert Arthur Alexie was a Canadian First Nations novelist and a land claim negotiator who played a key role in land claim agreements in the Northwest Territories.

Native American literature is literature, both oral and written, produced by Native Americans in what is now the United States, from pre-Columbian times through to today. Famous authors include N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, Simon Ortiz, Louise Erdrich, Gerald Vizenor, Joy Harjo, Sherman Alexie, D'Arcy McNickle, James Welch, Charles Eastman, Mourning Dove, Zitkala-Sa, John Rollin Ridge, Lynn Riggs, Hanay Geiogamah, William Apess, Samson Occom, Gerald Vizenor, Stephen Graham Jones, et al. Importantly, it is not "a" literature, but a set of literatures, since every tribe has its own cultural traditions. Since the 1960s, it has also become a significant field of literary studies, with academic journals, departments, and conferences devoted to the subject.

Katherena Vermette is a Canadian writer, who won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry in 2013 for her collection North End Love Songs. Vermette is of Métis descent and originates from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was an MFA student in creative writing at the University of British Columbia.

<i>The Back of the Turtle</i> 2014 novel by Thomas King

The Back of the Turtle is a novel by Thomas King. Published by HarperCollins in 2014, the novel won the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2014 Governor General's Awards.

Julie Flett is a Cree-Métis author and illustrator, known for her work in children's literature centered around the life and cultures of Indigenous Canadians. Flett is best known for her illustrations in books such as Little You, and When We were Alone, as well as for her written work in books such as Birdsong. Many of Flett's books are bilingual, and written in a combination of English, Michif, and Cree, and serve as an introduction to Michif and Cree for English-speaking readers. Flett's works are critically successful and have been awarded the Governor General's Literary Award and the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award.

David Alexander Robertson is an Indigenous Canadian author, public speaker, and two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Robertson is a member of the Norway House Cree Nation. He has published over 25 books across a variety of genres. His first novel, The Evolution of Alice, was published in 2014.

Madhur Anand is a Canadian poet and professor of ecology and environmental sciences. She was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario and lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Indigenous peoples of Canada are culturally diverse. Each group has its own literature, language and culture. The term "Indigenous literature" therefore can be misleading. As writer Jeannette Armstrong states in one interview, "I would stay away from the idea of "Native" literature, there is no such thing. There is Mohawk literature, there is Okanagan literature, but there is no generic Native in Canada".

<i>Inconvenient Indian</i> 2020 Canadian documentary film

Inconvenient Indian is a 2020 Canadian documentary film, directed by Michelle Latimer. It is an adaptation of Thomas King's non-fiction book The Inconvenient Indian, focusing on narratives of indigenous peoples of Canada. King stars as the documentary's narrator, with Gail Maurice and other indigenous artists appearing.

<i>The Inconvenient Indian</i> 2012 book by American-Canadian author Thomas King

The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America is a book by American-Canadian author Thomas King, first published in 2012 by Doubleday Canada. It presents a history of indigenous peoples in North America. The book has been adapted into a documentary film titled Inconvenient Indian directed by Michelle Latimer, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020. The film won Best Canadian Feature Film at the festival.

References

  1. ↑ Thomas King in The Canadian Encyclopedia .
  2. ↑ "Thomas King | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  3. 1 2 David, Daniel. "Thomas King, still not the Indian you had in mind – The Globe and Mail". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  4. ↑ "Guelph author Thomas King promoted within Order of Canada". Creston Valley Advance. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative". Ideas. Massey Lectures 2003 (November 7). CBC Radio One (cbc.ca). Retrieved September 7, 2007. Archived May 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 King, Thomas (2003). The truth about stories : a native narrative. Toronto, Ontario. ISBN   0-88784-696-3. OCLC   52877468.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ↑ "A catalog of 16 mm. educational and feature films based on the lives and works of forty American literary figures of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries". Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Inventing the Indian: White images, Native oral literature, and contemporary Native writers". Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 "An Interview With Thomas King". Canadian Literature (canlit.ca). Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Thomas King, College of Arts". U of G. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  11. ↑ "Thomas King Asks: What do Whites Want?". Maclean's . Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Thomas King wins $25K RBC Taylor Prize for non-fiction". CBC News. March 10, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Tom King acclaimed as federal NDP candidate". The Fountain Pen. Guelph, Ontario. Retrieved September 7, 2007.
  14. ↑ "Writer urges CBC to let natives tell their own stories". Toronto Star . November 20, 1993.
  15. 1 2 "CBC finally releases stirring aboriginal dramas". Ottawa Citizen . November 24, 1996.
  16. ↑ "I'm Not the Indian You Had in Mind". National Screen Institute (nsi-canada.ca). March 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  17. ↑ Ryan Porter, "Film adaptations of Indigenous bestsellers The Inconvenient Indian, the Trickster series to premiere at TIFF". Quill & Quire , July 30, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Helen Hoy". U of G. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  19. 1 2 "Guelph author Thomas King promoted within Order of Canada". Guelph Today. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "66 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2022". CBC Books, January 11, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Thomas King, Bev Sellars among finalists for 2014 Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature". Quill & Quire . September 3, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Thomas King wins Governor General's award for fiction". The Globe and Mail . November 18, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Thomas King, Gil Adamson among finalists for $50K Writers' Trust Fiction Prize". Toronto Star , October 6, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Francesca Ekwuyasi, Billy-Ray Belcourt & Anne Carson among 2020 Governor General's Literary Awards finalists". CBC Books, May 4, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir receive Order of Canada". Kitchener Today. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "Thomas King wins $15,000 Stephen Leacock Medal for humour writing". The Globe and Mail , June 4, 2021.
Citations

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.