Joseph Boyden
Joseph Boyden (born October 31, 1966) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. His first novel, Three Day Road won the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. His second novel, Through Black Spruce, won the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Boyden grew up in Willowdale, North York, Ontario and attended the Jesuit-run Brebeuf College School. Boyden's father Raymond Wilfrid Boyden was a medical officer renowned for his bravery, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and was the highest-decorated medical officer of World War II.[1]
Of Irish, Scottish and Métis heritage, Boyden writes about First Nations heritage and culture. Three Day Road, a novel about two Cree soldiers serving in the Canadian military during World War I, is inspired by Ojibwa Francis Pegahmagabow, the legendary First World War sniper. Boyden's second novel, Through Black Spruce follows the story of Will, son of one of the characters in Three Day Road. He has indicated in interviews that the titles are part of a planned trilogy, the third of which is forthcoming.[2]
Boyden studied creative writing at York University and the University of New Orleans, and subsequently taught in the Aboriginal Student Program at Northern College. He divides his time between Louisiana, where he and his wife, Amanda Boyden, are writers in residence,[3] and Northern Ontario.
[edit] Awards
His debut novel, Three Day Road, won the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize in 2006, and was a nominee for the 2005 Governor General's Awards. It previously won the inaugural McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award. Three Day Road was chosen for inclusion in Canada Reads 2006, where it was championed by filmmaker Nelofer Pazira.
His second novel, Through Black Spruce, won the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize.[4][5]
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Novels
- Three Day Road. Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2005. (winner of the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, longlisted for the 2007 IMPAC Award)
- Through Black Spruce. Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2008. (winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, November 2008)
[edit] Short stories
- Born With a Tooth Toronto: Cormorant Books, 2001.
[edit] Non-fiction
- From Mushkegowuk to New Orleans: A Mixed Blood Highway. Edmonton: NeWest, 2008.
- Extraordinary Canadians: Louis Riel And Gabriel Dumont. Penguin, 2010.
[edit] References
- ^ Author Profile: Joseph Boyden in Quill & Quire.
- ^ "Joseph Boyden talks about winning the Giller Prize", National Post, November 12, 2008.
- ^ "What's their story?". CBC News. September 29, 2008. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/09/29/f-boydens.html.
- ^ "Boyden wins literature's Giller", The Globe and Mail, November 11, 2008.
- ^ "Joseph Boyden wins $50K Giller Prize Author vows to 'always write about the First Nations'". CBC News. November 11, 2008. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/11/11/08giller-prize.html. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
[edit] External links
- Minnesota Public Radio: Joseph Boyden reading from "Three Day Road" (RealAudio stream)
- The Walrus Blogs Q&A with Joseph Boyden
- Alexander Varty article
- Author Podcast Interview with Paula Shackleton BookBuffet.com
- The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Allan Gregg interview segment: "Author Joseph Boyden on First Nations opinion of Louis Riel"
|
|||||
