Encore: 'I'm just kind of a goofball,' Joseph Boyden on identity and listening to his characters' voices

Joseph Boyden is one of Canada's most revered writers. His Irish, Scottish, Anishinaabe and Métis roots, as well as his childhood home in Northern Ontario, play major roles in his writing.

He stopped by the CBC Toronto studio to talk about how Joseph Boyden the man is different from Joseph Boyden the writer.

"My books are so serious. There's humour in them, but they're pretty heavy. In real life, I'm just a goofy, third youngest of eleven children—seven older sisters, an older brother, two younger brothers," Joseph told Candy. "I love laughing, I love making people laugh. And that's something I think I always want to push more in my writing."

Joseph said that his Northern Ontario upbringing will always play a big part in his work, but his aim is to make his writing appeal to readers all over the world. However, the author also shared that he doesn't always run the show when it comes to character creation.

"I know I've got a good character going on when that character starts doing things that I'm surprised by. I compare my characters to being little babies at first, you have to put them in diapers and feed them, or they're going to die. And unfortunately, I have a high infant mortality rate in my fiction," Joseph explained. "But then they suddenly become teenagers, that's when I know these characters are going to stick around."

Joseph discussed some things he's currently working on, which includes a collaboration with artist Kent Monkman.  

He talked to Candy about books that inspired him to become a novelist, as well as authors that made him the writer he is today.

Listen to Joseph explain what National Aboriginal Day means to him:

Watch the Heritage Minute about Chanie Wenjack that Joseph mentions in the interview: