Tomson Highway believes everyone has a good story to tell
'Writing is therapeutic, you should write every day if possible.'
Tomson Highway is an acclaimed Cree novelist, children's author, playwright and musician. Highway's work includes Canadian theatre classics The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, the novel Kiss of the Fur Queen and children's novels Caribou Song, Dragon Fly Kites and Fox on the Ice.
He was appointed as an officer of the Order of Canada at the end of 2021 for his contribution to theatre and Canadian culture and his latest work, the memoir Permanent Astonishment, won the 2021 Writers' Trust Hilary Weston Prize and is a finalist for the 2022 Evergreen Award. He also delivered the 2022 Massey Lectures.
The CBC Nonfiction Prize recognizes works of original, unpublished nonfiction up to 2,000 words. The winner will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a writing residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point, a cultural hub on Toronto Island and have their work published on CBC Books.
The 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize is open for submissions until Feb. 28, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
In 2022, Highway spoke to Robyn Burns on All Points West about the inspiration behind his memoir and offered advice to those thinking about entering the CBC Nonfiction Prize.
Permanent Astonishment offers insight into the Cree experience of culture, conquest and survival. Highway was born the 11th of 12 children in a nomadic caribou-hunting Cree family. Surrounded by the love of his family and the vast landscape of his home, he lived an idyllic far-north childhood. But five of his siblings died in childhood, and his parents wanted their two youngest sons, Tomson and Rene, to get big opportunities.
What was your reaction to being appointed as an officer of the Order of Canada?
I screamed with joy for three hours! It was an honour to be recognized by your community, by your country for your accomplishments, for what you've been doing with your life so far. So I must be barking up the right tree. I must be doing something right.
It was an honour to be recognized by your community, by your country for your accomplishments, for what you've been doing with your life so far.
Second, I always think about my parents, who are gone. They were the best and they gave me so much. They made me the person I am today. I was proud of the fact that I had made them proud.
That's amazing! So, can you tell us a bit about what inspired your memoir Permanent Astonishment?
My parents. I wanted to tell the world that parents like mine existed. That they were the best. It's a hymn of thanks and a hymn of prayer to my parents.
I also wanted to talk about my beautiful land. I come from the corner of Northern Manitoba and Nunavut. We had 10,000 acres of unpopulated land virtually to ourselves. It's where I was born and where we grew up. There were endless landscapes with fish, animal life and plant life. I grew up in paradise.
I wanted to tell the world that parents like mine existed. That they were the best. It's a hymn of thanks and a hymn of prayer to my parents.
Third, I wanted to tell the world about my childhood, which was incredible and spectacular. We had pet eagles and I was an avid piano player. We were born in snow banks and houses made of ice! The average Canadian doesn't know that this lifestyle exists in their own country. It's equally a part of Canadian reality, and that's where I come from.
What tips do you have for someone who wants to mine the interesting parts of their life?
Be true to yourself and be good to the people around you. One of the keys to happiness in my opinion is to always think of others before yourself. The reverse is also true.
Also, celebrate what you have. It's where the title of my books comes from. Just the act of breathing is reason aplenty for permanent astonishment. We should be astonished that we're alive today. I thank my lucky stars that I have such a beautiful life.
How do you tell if someone is staying true to themselves in their writing?
The first thing I look for in a piece of writing is musicality. Writing words is the same as writing music. You're talking about rhythm, phrasing, breathing, and how to use silences.
But it's primarily rhythm. The best writing mesmerizes you with its rhythmic power. Rhythm is a very enticing element and you have to know how to handle it.
The best writing mesmerizes you with its rhythmic power. Rhythm is a very enticing element and you have to know how to handle it.
Another thing I look for is the complexity of the characters: the emotional, spiritual and psychological complexity of the characters. The more fascinating [the characters] are, the more you want to read more about them and finish reading the [piece of writing].
If someone has some nonfiction writing that they want to submit to the CBC Nonfiction Prize, but they're a little shy about sharing it, how would you encourage them to do it anyway?
I think everyone should write, no matter how boring you think you are. Everybody has a good story to tell. But you should first learn the technique, which comes from reading a lot, especially works by master storytellers. Even if you don't publish your story, [writing it] is good for you. You're exercising your brain, your heart and your spirit.
I think everyone should write, no matter how boring you think you are. Everybody has a good story to tell.
Writing is therapeutic, you should write every day if possible.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
