Farewell for a storyteller
08/05/14 04:23
It probably isn’t going to make much of a splash in United States media, but it seems worth noting that Farley Mowat passed away yesterday just one week shy of his 93rd birthday after a remarkable life. Canadians are more likely to recognize the name and not his passing. But there are a significant number of us who don’t live in Canada who are nonetheless fascinated by the north country. For some of us, travel to remote and isolate locations may never occur, so we make our journeys into the lands of the Cree and Inuit and other people of the north by reading the writings of others. Mowat made his first trip above the arctic circle at the age of 18 and traveled extensively across much of Canada’s north country.
And the wrote and wrote - more than 40 books sold more than 17 million copies in 52 different languages. Perhaps most famous of his books is a work of fiction called Never Cry Wolf. The book is credited with shifting public opinion in Canada away from the irrational fear of wolves.Critics noted that the book is not a work of science. Mowat noted that the fear of wolves also came from a work of fiction: “Little Red Riding Hood.”
I don’t think it came from the debate over wolves but one of my favorite quotes of Farley Mowat comes from one of many environmental debates in which he engaged. He is reported to have said, “Never let the facts get in the way of the truth.” I suppose it is just another way of saying “Anyone can lie using statistics,” but it has such a noble and poetic ring to it. I keep looking for the opportunity to use the quote in the midst of a discussion or debate.
Mowat served int he Canadian Army in Britain, Sicily and the Netherlands during the Second World War, entering the service as a 2nd Lieutenant and retiring as a Captain after the war in Europe was concluded.
After the war he became vocal as a spokesperson for the Ihalmuit, a Carabou Inuit band whose lives and way of life were threatened by a total lack of understanding by European settlers in Canada. He penned People of the Deer, which became a best seller and still provides a view of a group of people not widely known south of the arctic circle. After receiving great literary acclaim for that book, the stories continued to follow. He wrote of Newfoundland, where he lived for eight years. He wrote about Viking voyageurs who came to the North American continent. He even wrote a biography of Dian Fossey. He wrote for children and teens and adults.
He was more than a storyteller.
It was Elie Wiesel who once said, “Sometimes in order to tell the truth you have to tell a story.” Like Wiesel, Mowat seemed to understand that perspective is incredibly important when trying to communicate a message. It takes far more than a list of facts to convey the truth of a situation. Mowat excelled in seeing life as a story.
Four major themes seem to have emerged in Mowat’s contribution to literature: World War II, environmental concerns and advocacy, the earliest interactions between Europeans and Americans, and life in the far north.
The story of a writer, of course, never ends with the person’s death. Some writers who are very famous and well-known during their lifetimes become obscure quickly upon their death. The subjects of their writing belong to a specific time and place and their words are quickly forgotten after the span of their lives. Other writers are obscure for all of their lives and their words are discovered and become popular only after their death. I suppose that every writer wants simplKy to contribute something of lasting value - some story or set of words that is worth reading more than once.
I have a sense that Mowat’s books will continue to be popular for many years to come. We always have a need for a reasonable perspective on the events of our past that make us who we are. The world was shaped by the events of the Second World War. The interactions between indigenous and newcomers in Canada givs us a perspective on native/non-native relationships that is helpful for understanding our culture and identity.
And some of us are always up for a good adventure story. There is something about the far north that stirs the imagination. Not everyone appreciates the poetic style of Robert Service, but his adventure poems tell fascinating stories. More interesting are the stories of Margaret Murie, Nancy Lord, Nick Jans, John McPhee, Seth Kantner and John Sayles. It seems like I can never get enough stories of people who defy the odds and learn to survive in a harsh environment where life requires incredible self-reliance and courage. Farley Mowat’s People of the Deer certainly ranks up there with other great writers of the far north.
The book is a tragedy. In 1886, the Ihalmuit people numbered seven thousand. In 1952, when Mowat wrote People of the Deer there were only 40 left. The destruction of the indigenous cultures of North America is a tragedy. For the Ihalmuit, the were able to endure bleak, interminable winters, to suffer shortages of food, and to travel huge distances by food and kayak. But they couldn’t survive the devastation of outsiders bent on exploiting their land and and its animals.
It is a story that we dare not forget, lest we fail to understand who we are and how we came into the possession of the land that we call our own. Mowat has told the story in a way that is unforgettable and, I suspect, even more than Never Cry Wolf, People of the Deer is his most enduring book.
He lived a full life and shared a long marriage with his wife, Claire. But none of us can go on forever and the time has now come for him to die.
His words and his passion, however, continue to enrich the lives of others and will do so for decades to come.
And the wrote and wrote - more than 40 books sold more than 17 million copies in 52 different languages. Perhaps most famous of his books is a work of fiction called Never Cry Wolf. The book is credited with shifting public opinion in Canada away from the irrational fear of wolves.Critics noted that the book is not a work of science. Mowat noted that the fear of wolves also came from a work of fiction: “Little Red Riding Hood.”
I don’t think it came from the debate over wolves but one of my favorite quotes of Farley Mowat comes from one of many environmental debates in which he engaged. He is reported to have said, “Never let the facts get in the way of the truth.” I suppose it is just another way of saying “Anyone can lie using statistics,” but it has such a noble and poetic ring to it. I keep looking for the opportunity to use the quote in the midst of a discussion or debate.
Mowat served int he Canadian Army in Britain, Sicily and the Netherlands during the Second World War, entering the service as a 2nd Lieutenant and retiring as a Captain after the war in Europe was concluded.
After the war he became vocal as a spokesperson for the Ihalmuit, a Carabou Inuit band whose lives and way of life were threatened by a total lack of understanding by European settlers in Canada. He penned People of the Deer, which became a best seller and still provides a view of a group of people not widely known south of the arctic circle. After receiving great literary acclaim for that book, the stories continued to follow. He wrote of Newfoundland, where he lived for eight years. He wrote about Viking voyageurs who came to the North American continent. He even wrote a biography of Dian Fossey. He wrote for children and teens and adults.
He was more than a storyteller.
It was Elie Wiesel who once said, “Sometimes in order to tell the truth you have to tell a story.” Like Wiesel, Mowat seemed to understand that perspective is incredibly important when trying to communicate a message. It takes far more than a list of facts to convey the truth of a situation. Mowat excelled in seeing life as a story.
Four major themes seem to have emerged in Mowat’s contribution to literature: World War II, environmental concerns and advocacy, the earliest interactions between Europeans and Americans, and life in the far north.
The story of a writer, of course, never ends with the person’s death. Some writers who are very famous and well-known during their lifetimes become obscure quickly upon their death. The subjects of their writing belong to a specific time and place and their words are quickly forgotten after the span of their lives. Other writers are obscure for all of their lives and their words are discovered and become popular only after their death. I suppose that every writer wants simplKy to contribute something of lasting value - some story or set of words that is worth reading more than once.
I have a sense that Mowat’s books will continue to be popular for many years to come. We always have a need for a reasonable perspective on the events of our past that make us who we are. The world was shaped by the events of the Second World War. The interactions between indigenous and newcomers in Canada givs us a perspective on native/non-native relationships that is helpful for understanding our culture and identity.
And some of us are always up for a good adventure story. There is something about the far north that stirs the imagination. Not everyone appreciates the poetic style of Robert Service, but his adventure poems tell fascinating stories. More interesting are the stories of Margaret Murie, Nancy Lord, Nick Jans, John McPhee, Seth Kantner and John Sayles. It seems like I can never get enough stories of people who defy the odds and learn to survive in a harsh environment where life requires incredible self-reliance and courage. Farley Mowat’s People of the Deer certainly ranks up there with other great writers of the far north.
The book is a tragedy. In 1886, the Ihalmuit people numbered seven thousand. In 1952, when Mowat wrote People of the Deer there were only 40 left. The destruction of the indigenous cultures of North America is a tragedy. For the Ihalmuit, the were able to endure bleak, interminable winters, to suffer shortages of food, and to travel huge distances by food and kayak. But they couldn’t survive the devastation of outsiders bent on exploiting their land and and its animals.
It is a story that we dare not forget, lest we fail to understand who we are and how we came into the possession of the land that we call our own. Mowat has told the story in a way that is unforgettable and, I suspect, even more than Never Cry Wolf, People of the Deer is his most enduring book.
He lived a full life and shared a long marriage with his wife, Claire. But none of us can go on forever and the time has now come for him to die.
His words and his passion, however, continue to enrich the lives of others and will do so for decades to come.