大象传媒

Joseph Kakwinokanasum has worked his share of 鈥渏oe jobs,鈥� as he calls them. He鈥檚 been a bicycle courier, a library assistant, a truck driver, a construction worker, a ditch digger, a prison cook. Now in his fifties, the graduate of the Writer鈥檚 Studio creative writing program at 大象传媒 is officially an author. His first novel, My Indian Summer, will be published by Tidewater Press in fall 2022.

Joseph says he鈥檇 wanted to be a writer since he first read Stephen King at the age of nine. 鈥淚t was always something I wanted to do,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t never left me.鈥�

But life was to throw almost insurmountable hurdles along Joseph鈥檚 path to becoming a writer. Of Cree and Austrian descent, Joseph grew up in a small northern B.C. community as one of seven children raised by a single mother. Living in hunger and poverty, beaten by his mother during alcohol-fuelled rages, bullied for being neither fully white nor fully Indigenous, Joseph鈥檚 childhood was the stuff of nightmares.  

鈥淟ife was a war,鈥� he says simply. 鈥淏y the time I was in kindergarten, I knew the world was a cruel place.鈥� But now, he adds with a laugh, he鈥檚 taking the horrendous pile of manure that was his early life and using it to grow roses. In fact, My Indian Summer is loosely based on an alarming incident from when he was 10 years old.

In many ways, Joseph explains, he found his way to writing through therapy. For years, he used journaling to work through his pain, anger and depression.

鈥淧art of my anger was that I wasn鈥檛 following my dreams,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hen I turned 40, I really started examining my life and making real breakthroughs in therapy. I decided I would finally take my writing seriously.鈥�

So, Joseph left his job and lived off his savings for two years: 鈥淚 sold everything. All I owned was a station wagon, pens and paper and some clothes in storage. I had a lot of personal freedom, so I thought, now鈥檚 the time.鈥�

Knowing he couldn鈥檛 do it alone, he began applying to the Writer鈥檚 Studio. 鈥淚 could see no other way to get the experience I needed to write,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚 needed fresh eyes and I needed insight into what the writing community and the business was like.鈥�

Although he was accepted each time he applied, he simply couldn鈥檛 afford the tuition. In the meantime, he built up a supportive community of his own that included his wife, his friends, and even his mother-in-law, who helped him to fundraise. Finally, in 2017, he鈥檇 scraped together enough to pay for his year at the Writer鈥檚 Studio.

鈥淚t was a lot of money to me at the time, but now I look back and it was worth every penny,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 would have paid more for that experience had I known what I would have gotten out of it.鈥�

In the program, Joseph found himself 鈥渂lown away鈥� by the calibre of the mentors and students and energized by their support and feedback.

鈥淚t was a taxing program, a lot of work, but I enjoyed every bit of it,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淚 was up early, I was up late. I just loved it, and I was having the time of my life.鈥�

Joseph recalls the rush of pride and adrenaline he felt after completing the program in 2018 and being handed his certificate.

鈥淵ou know how Hemingway says you have to leave the tank half empty?鈥� he asks. 鈥淚 left 大象传媒 with a full tank and a couple of jerrycans and a few tiny tanks in the back full of gas. I had plenty of gas to keep me going, and plenty of love and encouragement to keep me writing, to keep me believing in myself.鈥�