Growing up on an Ojibway First Nation in Northwestern Ontario, Richard Wagamese didn’t have a lot of hope. The 59 year old was taken from his family as a toddler and bounced around foster homes before being adopted. Despite a grim start, Wagamese has gone on to write 14 novels and he has a Grade 9 education.
He spoke to an audience of 600 Rothesay high students at the Big Rothesay Read and tells us he loves the enthusiastic response from young people to his book Indian Horse. Wagamese says it’s immensely gratifying because when it came out he didn’t think it would resonate at the high school level.
He tells us he puts something of himself in all of his stories and he learns something about himself as part of that process.
15 year old Rothesay High student Jack Clarke tells us he isn’t much of a reader but he really enjoyed Indian Horse because it’s such a good story, he really felt for Saul, the main character, when he was in the residential school.
Clarke tells us he had never seen a speaker like that and he wants to read another book by Wagamese.
