Roads less traveled

From playwright to children's author, Tomson Highway's talent follows new paths

BY COLLEEN SIMARD

In the literary world, fame is no guarantee you will get the best seats in a restaurant.
Tomson Highway is without a doubt the most successful native writer in Canada, with an Order of Canada medal in 1994 to attest to that.

But it doesn't stop him from almost being turned away by a waiter at the upscale Winnipeg restaurant where we met. I run over, stopping Highway from being turned away by a waiter too eager to close. I am as embarrassed for the talented writer as I am for the young waiter.

Highway makes light of the incident, and orders a decadent chocolate torte. He persuades me to try some.

He also immediately confesses that he didn't always want to be a writer.

"I always wanted to be a musician," says Highway. "But it was all one accident after another, kind of like dominoes."

His voice still carries the lilting tones of Cree, his mother tongue. It's a deep voice, but soft and musical.

Highway didn't begin writing plays until he was 30, and did so only upon the insistence of his younger brother, a dancer.

"So it works, then I started adding words and music," says Highway. "Finally the words became more important than the music."

By all appearances Highway could be just your average Joe, with copper skin, nondescript jeans, navy blazer, and sneakers. But there's something within his shining dark eyes that tells you he is a creative soul.

I am witness to it while watching Highway deftly play the piano, and supervising his play onstage at the Winnipeg International Writer's Festival. It is Rose, a hybrid mixture of two groups of characters from previous plays-the comical women of The Rez Sisters meet the charming men of Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing.

Laughter wells up from the audience. Local native poet Marvin Francis finds Highway's performance enchanting.

"I first heard Tomson this year, at the International Writers Festival here in Winnipeg, and quickly realized how the audience immediately felt connected to his words," says Francis. "He allows other Native playwrights to be considered, and reveals the complexity of Native thought."
Over tea, Highway explains that his creativity was born out of being a child of the north.

Highway was born in Dec. 1951, on his father's trap-line, near Brochet, Manitoba. It is a lifestyle that the author laments has almost vanished among Aboriginal people.

"That lifestyle has pretty well disappeared, nobody lives it," says Highway. "We are the last of a breed, so all the more reason to document it. My life, our lives."

Highway's fans may see parallels between his life and art. His latest offering is no exception, but it is a distinct change in genre for the acclaimed playwright. He recently produced a children's novel, entitled Dragonfly Kites. It is actually the second of the Northwinds Trilogy, the first being Caribou Song. The story is presented in both English and Cree.

Dragonfly Kites follows two Cree brothers-Joe and Cody-who live in northern Manitoba with rocks, sticks, and animals fueling their imaginations. The brothers' creativity crosses over into the land of dreams, where they harness strings to the dragonflies and take the trip of a lifetime.

An ideal complement to the story, the book's illustrations have a surreal, dream-like quality to them that many have taken note of. Artist Brian Deines was recently named a finalist for the 2002 Governor General's Literary Awards in the category of Children's Literature for the Illustrations.

Highway says that when he dreams, the words are a mixture of his first language, Cree, as well as English and French. And he is mastering Spanish, a valuable skill for his overseas lifestyle. Highway spends half his year abroad, in France.

What many don't know about Highway is that he had another chosen profession in social work in native organizations. It is a passion that still drives his work.

"I think of the role of the writer as very much that of a healer," says Highway. "That's the way I look at my writing."

Highway himself has gone through his own healing process, having attended residential school at the age of six.

Highway's dark hair has thinned since his dust cover photograph was taken, and he easily admits having turned fifty. But he is not even close to slowing down, with the final children's novel set to be published, as well as a new novel.

He teasingly remarks that the plot is a secret, "but it is very, very good."
One thing that impressed Highway while in town is the hundreds of native students, a vast increase of the handful that were around when he attended the University of Manitoba in the 1970s.

"It's higher in part as a result of the birth of native literature. They actually have something to read besides Charles Dickens, and William Faulkner, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare," says Highway. "They have native authors-they have their own Shakespeares, Austens, and Brontës."

Highway agrees with comparisons between the Harlem Revolution, a creative explosion among black artists in 1920s Harlem, and the increasingly embraced artistic expression of natives in Canada.

"It's incredible, it's a revolution," says Highway. "And I am very proud to be a part of that."

In the literary world, fame is no guarantee you will get the best seats in a restaurant.
Tomson Highway is without a doubt the most successful native writer in Canada, with an Order of Canada medal in 1994 to attest to that.

But it doesn't stop him from almost being turned away by a waiter at the upscale Winnipeg restaurant where we met. I run over, stopping Highway from being turned away by a waiter too eager to close. I am as embarrassed for the talented writer as I am for the young waiter.

Highway makes light of the incident, and orders a decadent chocolate torte. He persuades me to try some.

He also immediately confesses that he didn't always want to be a writer.
"I always wanted to be a musician," says Highway. "But it was all one accident after another, kind of like dominoes."

His voice still carries the lilting tones of Cree, his mother tongue. It's a deep voice, but soft and musical.

Highway didn't begin writing plays until he was 30, and did so only upon the insistence of his younger brother, a dancer.

"So it works, then I started adding words and music," says Highway. "Finally the words became more important than the music."

By all appearances Highway could be just your average Joe, with copper skin, nondescript jeans, navy blazer, and sneakers. But there's something within his shining dark eyes that tells you he is a creative soul.

I am witness to it while watching Highway deftly play the piano, and supervising his play onstage at the Winnipeg International Writer's Festival. It is Rose, a hybrid mixture of two groups of characters from previous plays-the comical women of The Rez Sisters meet the charming men of Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing.

Laughter wells up from the audience. Local native poet Marvin Francis finds Highway's performance enchanting.

"I first heard Tomson this year, at the International Writers Festival here in Winnipeg, and quickly realized how the audience immediately felt connected to his words," says Francis. "He allows other Native playwrights to be considered, and reveals the complexity of Native thought."
Over tea, Highway explains that his creativity was born out of being a child of the north. Highway was born in Dec. 1951, on his father's trap-line, near Brochet, Manitoba. It is a lifestyle that the author laments has almost vanished among Aboriginal people.

"That lifestyle has pretty well disappeared, nobody lives it," says Highway. "We are the last of a breed, so all the more reason to document it. My life, our lives."

Highway's fans may see parallels between his life and art. His latest offering is no exception, but it is a distinct change in genre for the acclaimed playwright. He recently produced a children's novel, entitled Dragonfly Kites. It is actually the second of the Northwinds Trilogy, the first being Caribou Song. The story is presented in both English and Cree.

Dragonfly Kites follows two Cree brothers-Joe and Cody-who live in northern Manitoba with rocks, sticks, and animals fueling their imaginations. The brothers' creativity crosses over into the land of dreams, where they harness strings to the dragonflies and take the trip of a lifetime.

An ideal complement to the story, the book's illustrations have a surreal, dream-like quality to them that many have taken note of. Artist Brian Deines was recently named a finalist for the 2002 Governor General's Literary Awards in the category of Children's Literature for the Illustrations.

Highway says that when he dreams, the words are a mixture of his first language, Cree, as well as English and French. And he is mastering Spanish, a valuable skill for his overseas lifestyle. Highway spends half his year abroad, in France.

What many don't know about Highway is that he had another chosen profession in social work in native organizations. It is a passion that still drives his work.

"I think of the role of the writer as very much that of a healer," says Highway. "That's the way I look at my writing."

Highway himself has gone through his own healing process, having attended residential school at the age of six.

Highway's dark hair has thinned since his dust cover photograph was taken, and he easily admits having turned fifty. But he is not even close to slowing down, with the final children's novel set to be published, as well as a new novel.

He teasingly remarks that the plot is a secret, "but it is very, very good."
One thing that impressed Highway while in town is the hundreds of native students, a vast increase of the handful that were around when he attended the University of Manitoba in the 1970s.

"It's higher in part as a result of the birth of native literature. They actually have something to read besides Charles Dickens, and William Faulkner, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare," says Highway. "They have native authors-they have their own Shakespeares, Austens, and Brontës."
Highway agrees with comparisons between the Harlem Revolution, a creative explosion among black artists in 1920s Harlem, and the increasingly embraced artistic expression of natives in Canada.

"It's incredible, it's a revolution," says Highway. "And I am very proud to be a part of that."