Dawn Dumont
Dawn Dumont is a Plains Cree writer, comedian and journalist from the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Writing career
Her first book, Nobody Cries at Bingo (2011), is a fictionalized, humorous account of her own life growing up on a reserve.[1][2] Dumont says that the book was inspired by the writing of David Sedaris.[3] In 2012 it was shortlisted for an Alberta Readers' Choice Award and a Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Award, and selected for the Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Books for Kids and Teens.[1] In 2021, the French translation of the book (On pleure pas au bingo, translated by Daniel Grenier) was nominated for the Governor General's Award for English to French translation at the 2020 Governor General's Awards.[4]
She followed up with Rose's Run (2014), the story of Rose Okanese, a single mother, who enters a marathon in an effort to boost her self-esteem.[1] Writing in Pacific Rim Review of Books, Chuck Barker described the novel as "integral Canadian literature" and praised Dumont's "self-depreciating, honest, comprehensive, and confidential" sense of humour.[5] This book won the 2015 Saskatchewan Book Award for Fiction.[6]
In 2017 she changed formats, publishing a collection of short stories titled Glass Beads.[7] In more than twenty stories, Dumont explores the relationships between four First Nations characters over a period of two decades.[7] Shannon Webb-Campbell, reviewing the book in The Malahat Review, notes that "much like beadwork, each strand or story stands on its own, but can only be fully formed in relation to others."[7] Glass Beads was shortlisted for four Saskatchewan Book Awards, including the Book of the Year Award and the Indigenous Peoples' Writing Award.[8] It won the Fiction Award.[9]
In addition to her books, Dumont has performed as a stand-up comic, she was a story editor for the animated APTN program, By the Rapids, and she writes regular columns in Eagle Feather News and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.[1][10]
Personal life
Dumont was born and raised on the Okanese First Nation. She earned a Bachelor of Art degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1995.[10]
As of 2017[update] she has one child.[11]
Works
- Nobody Cries at Bingo. Thistledown Press. 2011. ISBN 9781897235843.
- Rose's Run. Thistledown Press. 2014. ISBN 9781927068816.
- Glass Beads. Thistledown Press. 2017. ISBN 9781771871273.
- On pleure pas au bingo (in French). Translated by Grenier, Daniel. Éditions Hannenorak. 2019. ISBN 9782923926407.
References
- ^ a b c d Copley, John (9 December 2014). "Dawn Dumont Tells A Great Story With An Important Message". Alberta Native News. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Moreno-Garcia, Sylvia (30 June 2018). "Step Away From The 'Trauma Buffet' With These 5 Beach Reads By Authors Of Color". NPR. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Slind, Theressa. "In Search of Laughter: An Interview with Dawn Dumont". Room Magazine. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Plusieurs Autochtones en lice pour les Prix littéraires du Gouverneur général". Ici Radio-Canada, May 4, 2021.
- ^ Barker, Chuck (Spring 2016). "Rose's Run by Dawn Dumont". Pacific Rim Review of Books. 10 (1).
- ^ "Rose's Run". Saskatchewan Book Awards. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ a b c Webb-Campbell, Shannon (Winter 2017). "Fiction Review". The Malahat Review (201): 108–112. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Carter, Sue (26 February 2018). "Dawn Dumont shortlisted for four Saskatchewan Book Awards". Quill & Quire. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Glass Beads". Saskatchewan Book Awards. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ a b Dumont, Dawn (25 May 2016). "Speaking up: How one Saskatchewan writer and comedian found her voice". Arts & Science. University of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Dumont, Dawn (10 January 2017). "Baby, let's hit Las Vegas". Saskatoon StarPhoenix.