Drama Indigenous Peoples Of The Americas
Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth
- Publisher
- Talonbooks
- Initial publish date
- Jan 1998
- Category
- Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, Canadian
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780889223844
- Publish Date
- Jan 1998
- List Price
- $17.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780889228030
- Publish Date
- Mar 2013
- List Price
- $17.99
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 15
- Grade: 10
Description
Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth is the emotional story of a woman’s struggle to acknowledge her birth family. Grace, a Native girl adopted by a White family, is asked by her birth sister to return to the Reserve for their mother’s funeral. Afraid of opening old wounds, Grace must find a place where the culture of her past can feed the truth of her present.
About the authors
Ojibway writer Drew Hayden Taylor is from the Curve Lake Reserve in Ontario. Hailed by the Montreal Gazette as one of Canada’s leading Native dramatists, he writes for the screen as well as the stage and contributes regularly to North American Native periodicals and national NEWSpapers. His plays have garnered many prestigious awards, and his beguiling and perceptive storytelling style has enthralled audiences in Canada, the United States and Germany. His 1998 play Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth has been anthologized in Seventh Generation: An Anthology of Native American Plays, published by the Theatre Communications Group. Although based in Toronto, Taylor has travelled extensively throughout North America, honouring requests to read from his work and to attend arts festivals, workshops and productions of his plays. He was also invited to Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute in California, where he taught a series of seminars on the depiction of Native characters in fiction, drama and film. One of his most established bodies of work includes what he calls the Blues Quartet, an ongoing, outrageous and often farcical examination of Native and non-Native stereotypes.
Drew Hayden Taylor's profile page
Lee Maracle is a member of the Sto:Lo nation. She was born in Vancouver and grew up on the North Shore. She is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Ravensong and Daughters Are Forever. Her novel for young adults, Will’s Garden was well-received and is taught in schools. She has also published on book of poetry, Bent Box, and a work of creative non-fiction, I Am Woman. She is the co-editor of a number of anthologies, including the award winning anthology My Home As I Remember and Telling It: Women and Language across Culture. Her work has been published in anthologies and scholarly journals worldwide. The mother of four and grandmother of seven, Maracle is currently an instructor at the University of Toronto, the Traditional Teacher for First Nation’s House, and instructor with the Centre for Indigenous Theatre and the S.A.G.E. (Support for Aboriginal Graduate Education). She is also a writing instructor at the Banff Centre for the Arts.
In 2009, Maracle received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from St. Thomas University. Maracle recently received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work promoting writing among Aboriginal Youth, and is 2014 finalist for the Ontario Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.
Maracle has served as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and the University of Western Washington.
Awards
- Winner, Dora Mavor Moore Award (Small Theatre: Outstanding New Play)
Editorial Reviews
"This is a fine show … thanks for Drew Hayden Taylor’s writing … He can make you laugh one minute, then cry the next, and leaves you with lines and images that you will remember long after the curtain comes down. This is not just a great Native production. This is a great production. Period."
– Richard Ouzounian, CBC
Librarian Reviews
Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth
This is a sequel to Taylor’s play Someday, also listed in this catalogue. As the play opens, we learn Anne has died, just months after reuniting with her daughter Grace, now called Janice. Barb, Rodney and Rodney’s brother Tonto travel to Toronto to inform Janice of Anne’s death. Janice is still hesitant about accepting any role in the family. Eventually, both sisters realize that despite having completely different upbringings, they share many similarities and their blood ties run deep. Again, humour is an important counterpoint to the deep emotions. Janice and Tonto’s verbal sparring breaks down stereotypes, which helps Janice to overcome her fears and embrace her new family.Taylor is an award-winning playwright.
Caution: Includes references to sex and alcohol.
Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. Canadian Aboriginal Books for Schools. 2008-2009.
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