12 or 20 (second series) questions with Ruth DyckFehderau
RuthDyckFehderau [photo credit: Manikarnika Kanjilal] has written two nonfictionbooks with James Bay Cree storytellers: The Sweet Bloods of Eeyou Istchee:Stories of Diabetes and the James Bay Cree (2017, 2nd Ed 2020)and E Nâtamukh Miyeyimuwin: Residential School Recovery Stories of theJames Bay Cree, Vol. 1 (2023).Her work has been translated into five languages and she has won manyliterary awards. She sometimes teaches Creative Writing and English Lit at theUniversity of Alberta. These days, she lives in Edmonton with her partner. Sheis hearing-impaired.
I (Athena)
isher first novel. More here: ruthdyckfehderau.com
First, rob, let me just say thank you! I appreciatethis opportunity!
1 - How didyour first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare toyour previous? How does it feel different?
My first and second books were written along withJames Bay Cree storytellers: The Sweet Bloods of Eeyou Istchee: Stories ofDiabetes and the James Bay Cree (2017) and E nâtamukw miyeyimuwin: Residential SchoolRecovery Stories of the James Bay Cree, Vol. 1 (2023). It’san incredible honour to hear and then write their stories, to work closely withElders, and to have my writing published under their imprint. So this novel, mythird book (though I started it first), is a very different experience and hasa different function. Even though it’s fiction, it’s more personal to me insome ways because I have chosen all the material. And in other ways it’s lesspersonal. (Writing the stories of others teaches me about myself.) Both thenovel and the Cree books require all my craft; in that way, they are similar.
2 - How didyou come to fiction first, as opposed to, say, poetry or non-fiction?
I have always considered myself a fiction writer.That I have two non-fiction books out now, with another couple commissioned, isas much a surprise to me as to anyone.
3 - How longdoes it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writinginitially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear lookingclose to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
I prefer to write slowly. I love writing and try tosavour the process. And no, first drafts tend to look nothing like finaldrafts. I try things out, examine them from many angles, and delete whatdoesn’t work. Nothing is precious. For me, writing really is rewriting. Oftenmany times.
(That said, the books I write for the James BayCree come with a fierce sense of urgency. The remaining survivors of IndianResidential School are aging, and many of them want to participate in theproject, so I’m trying to gather as many stories as I possibly can, and I dowork at a slightly faster pace on that project.)
4 - Wheredoes a work of prose usually begin for you? Are you an author of short piecesthat end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a"book" from the very beginning?
It depends on the material, I think. A storychooses its own genre and length and structure. Different every time.
5 - Arepublic readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sortof writer who enjoys doing readings?
I love them! Reading stuff out loud to an emptyroom (or to my partner) is part of my process, part of how I know if mycharacters are authentic or contrived. Reading finished pieces isn’t part of mycreative process, really, since the stories are finished, but I do enjoyit.
6 - Do youhave any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions areyou trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the currentquestions are?
Questions change and shift with the politicalclimate, and that’s important. Those shifts often teach us to see those we’vemarginalized and help us to figure out how to be kind – and, for me, questions thataddress marginalization, kindness, and respect are the questions that matter. (Andthey’re timeless, really. Writers have been asking these questions forcenturies. I could go on…)
But I think a novel suffers if it’s about an idea(or a plot) rather than about a character.
7 – What doyou see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they evenhave one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
I think writers should write stories that compel them,stories driven by the characters themselves, because a character struggling tosee their way through the world around them is (I think) always revealing andalways relevant.
8 - Do youfind the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (orboth)?
The process of working with a good editor, turningover every word and phrase with another thinker, is a very great pleasure. Somepresses don’t use editors very much any more, and (I think) the writing suffersfor it.
9 - What isthe best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
From a Cree Elder named Tommy Neeposh: “Listen. Ifyou don’t listen, you’re like a tied-up dog, walking in circles, always seeingthe same things, never knowing more than you know now.” (It’s the epigraph in E nâtamukw miyeyimuwin: Residential School Recovery Stories of the James Bay Cree.)
10 - Howeasy has it been for you to move between genres (non-fiction to fiction)? Whatdo you see as the appeal?
I don’t see them as very different, really. Thepoint is to use craft to tell a good story. The source of the material isdifferent but the skills are the same.
11 - Whatkind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How doesa typical day (for you) begin?
I eat, I sleep, I write, I read,I exercise. I do some version of these in some order every day no matter whereI am in the world.
And it’s not always easy. Thelast time I lived in Nairobi, for instance, our neighbourhood had regularbrownouts, so I had to be sure to have a laptop battery that could hold 8hours’ charge, and to have it fully charged at the start of each day.
And exercise. In one place inthe North, for instance, some months were too cold for most outdoor exercise,the community gym hours conflicted with my schedule, and most buildings had lowceilings. I couldn’t even really do burpees or jumping jacks, let alone jumprope. So I figured out horizontal exercises. In Dhaka, I also couldn’t gooutside (security problems) so I ran stairs in our 6-storey building. But itwas so hot and I didn’t want to cover up in order to sweat and also didn’t wantto disrespect my Muslim neighbours by being in a shared space in workoutclothes. So I waited ‘til midnight when they (who woke early for morningprayers) were asleep and exercised then. Running in Johannesburg was its owntorment because the altitude is 1000+m higher than Edmonton. While living inPoland, way back in ’02, the guys at the gym kept trying to be chivalrous andlift the weights for me (eye roll). Etcetera. Eating and sleeping can alsorequire enomous creativity in some places, but you don’t want this to be anovel.
12 - Whenyour writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of abetter word) inspiration?
First, I usually work on two pieces simultaneously,and when I need a break from one, I go to the other. Second, I move. I usuallystand to write and do a good deal of pacing. If I’m stuck, I go for a run orlift some weights or do some yoga. The physical act of motion helps movethrough a writing or thinking clot as well.
13 - Whatfragrance reminds you of home?
Boreal forest after rain. Edmonton smells amazing.(Well, not so much these smoky days, but most of the time.)
14 - DavidW. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other formsthat influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?
All of the above. But also - people influence mywork. All the time. What they say, how they move, what they pay attention to.People are “forms,” right?
15 - Whatother writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your lifeoutside of your work?
Many of my closest friends are writers or artistsof some kind and they influence me a great deal. I also think it’s extremelyimportant to read stuff that’s very different from what I write. But here’s alist of writers whose work I regularly return to, specifically because theymake me think long after I have finished reading their books. So, here, in noparticular order:
Judith Herman, Elizabeth Strout, Tom Spanbauer,Tomson Highway, Octavia Butler, Stephanie Nolen, Barbara Gowdy, Pat Barker,Rebecca Makkai, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Gaetan Soucy, NK Jemisin, Philip Pullman,David Chariandy, Ursula K. LeGuin, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, AliceMunro, Mark Haddon, Lauren Berlant, Anthony Doerr, Judith Butler, ChandraMayor, Tola Rotimi Abraham, Emma Donaghue, Candas Jane Dorsey, Aritha Van Herk,Pauline Holdstock, Eden Robinson, Amia Srinivasan, Shyam Salvadurai, Anna MarieSewell, Fred Stenson, Lee Maracle, Jacqueline Rose, Ann-Marie Macdonald, EsiEdugyan, Virgina Woolf, Joseph Conrad, Shani Mootoo, Linda Alcoff, GloriaSawai, Hannah Arendt, John S. Milloy, Joanne Episkenew, Michael Ondaatje,Yasuko Thanh, JM Coetzee, Willa Cather, Timothy Findley, Jeanette Winterson, ToniMorrison, Elizabeth Knox, Michelle Good, Michel Foucault, Neil Gaiman, ShermanAlexie, Chinua Achebe, Astrid Blodgett, Richard Wagamese, Nalo Hopkinson,Jeffrey Eugenides, Olga Tokarczuk – yeah, I better stop. I’m not even half waythrough.
16 - Whatwould you like to do that you haven't yet done?
Grow really old. See some more places.
17 - If you couldpick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, whatdo you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?
Oh wow. Any number of things. I like making things.I would have enjoyed being a filmmaker, though my hearing loss might havecaused problems. Before hearing loss, I was a part-time musician. I starteduniversity thinking I would go into medicine, and I still think I would’veenjoyed it. I appreciated working with folks living with brain injuries anddevelopmental disabilities (which figured prominently into I (Athena)) and could have made a career of that. Also enjoyedbeing a prof and could have done that full time. I love being outside, grew upon a farm, and don’t shy away from physical labour so that opens up otheropportunities. For this novel, I had to learn quite a bit about geology andtotally see the appeal. I could do almost anything if it paid my way to travelmore. Especially if I could write about them after.
18 - Whatmade you write, as opposed to doing something else?
I love stories. What a privilege to write them.
19 - Whatwas the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
I recently re-read a favourite: The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moonby Tom Spanbauer. Impresses me every time. And I recently re-watched one of myfavourite films: Antonia’s Line (Dir.Marleen Gorris)
20 - Whatare you currently working on?
Marketing the two books that I launched this year. Thinkingabout the next novel. Nearly half way through gathering and writing the storiesof Indian Residential School survivors for E nâtamukw miyeyimuwin Vol. 2.
