One Story, One Song : Library Edition

by Richard Wagamese, Christian Baskous (Narrated by)

Overview

A collection of warm, wise, and inspiring stories from the author of the bestselling One Native Life

Since its publication in 2008, readers and reviewers have embraced Richard Wagamese's One Native Life. "In quiet tones and luminous language," wrote the Winnipeg Free Press, "Wagamese shares his hurts and joys, inviting readers to find the ways in which they are joined to him and to consider how they might be joined to others."

In this book, Richard Wagamese again invites readers to accompany him on his travels. This time his focus is on stories: how they shape us, how they empower us, how they change our lives. Ancient and contemporary, cultural and spiritual, funny and sad, the tales are grouped according to the four essential principles Ojibway traditional teachers sought to impart: humility, trust, introspection, and wisdom.

Whether the topic is learning from his grade five teacher about Martin Luther King, gleaning understanding from a wolf track, lighting a fire for the first time without matches, or finding the universe in an eagle feather, these stories exhibit the warmth, wisdom, and generosity that made One Native Life so popular. As always, in these pages, the land serves as Wagamese's guide. And as always, he finds that true home means not only community but conversation-good, straight-hearted talk about important things. We all need to tell our stories, he says. Every voice matters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982611392
Publisher:	Blackstone Pub
Publication date:	12/18/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Richard Wagamese (1955-2017) was one of Canada's foremost writers. He was a newspaper columnist and reporter, radio and television broadcaster and producer, documentary producer, and the author of over a dozen previous novels, including Keeper'n Me and Indian Horse, which was a Canada Reads Finalist. He was also the author of acclaimed memoirs, including For Joshua, the bestselling One Native Life, and One Story, One Song, which won the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature. Wagamese won numerous awards and recognition for his writing. He led writing and storytelling workshops across the country and made frequent appearances as a speaker.

Christian Baskous has won three AudioFile Earphones Awards for narration. He is an actor whose theatrical credits include numerous roles in the New York Shakespeare Festival, Circle in the Square, the Kennedy Center, and Theater for the New City, as well as other regional theaters. His film and television work includes appearances in Glory, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Law & Order, Swan's Crossing, and Swift Justice.

Editorial Reviews

08/29/2016
In this collection of brief essays, Wagamese (Medicine Walk), an Ojibwe journalist, author, and poet, reflects on matters including climate change, Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, growing up as a First Nations boy in Ontario in the 1960s and 1970s, homelessness, alcohol addiction, and simple pleasures such as walking in the woods with his dog. All of the reflections have a conversational and folksy tone to them, and the more politically and socially charged ones skillfully avoids the self-righteousness that sometimes accompanies such messages. Even when dealing with dispiriting topics, Wagamese expresses hopefulness without sounding naive. The book is loosely divided into four sections based on the four cardinal directions and points on the traditional Native medicine wheel: east for humility, south for trust, west for introspection, and north for wisdom. The way Wagamese uses these divisions feels arbitrary; the book's sections overlap considerably in both content and sentiment. However, the eloquence that has made Wagamese one of Canada's foremost First Nations storytellers and writers largely quiets any qualms one might have about the book's structure. This is an uplifting collection that readers will peruse thoughtfully and revisit many times. John Pearce and Chris Casuccio, Westwood Creative Artists. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly