Furious Observations of a Blue-Eyed Ojibway: Funny, You Don't Look Like One III

Funny You Don't Look Like One #3

by Drew Hayden Taylor

Furious Observations of a Blue-Eyed Ojibway is the third volume of short stories and articles by playwright and author Drew Hayden Taylor. The books in this series of humorous and anecdotal observations are his bestsellers. This follow-up to Funny, You Don't Look Like One and Two will delight and enlighten readers with more real-life stories and perspectives on contemporary Aboriginal life.

Genres: Nonfiction

1 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2002

About the author

During the last thirty years of his life, Drew Hayden Taylor has done many things, most of which he is proud of. An Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations in Ontario, he has worn many hats in his literary career, from performing stand-up comedy at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., to being Artistic Director of Canada's premiere Native theatre company, Native Earth Performing Arts. He has been an award-winning playwright (with over 70 productions of his work), a journalist/columnist (appearing regularly in several Canadian newspapers and magazines), short-story writer, novelist, television scriptwriter, and has worked on over 17 documentaries exploring the Native experience. Most notably, he wrote and directed REDSKINS, TRICKSTERS AND PUPPY STEW, a documentary on Native humour for the National Film Board of Canada.

He has traveled to sixteen countries around the world, spreading the gospel of Native literature to the world. Through many of his books, most notably the four volume set of the FUNNY, YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE ONE series, he has tried to educate and inform the world about issues that reflect, celebrate, and interfere in the lives of Canada's First Nations.

Self described as a contemporary story teller in what ever form, last summer saw the production of the third season of MIXED BLESSINGS, a television comedy series he co-created and is the head writer for. This fall, a made-for-tv movie he wrote, based on his Governor General's nominated play was nominated for three Gemini Awards, including Best Movie. Originally it aired on APTN and opened the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco, and the Dreamspeakers Film Festival in Edmonton.

The last few years has seen him proudly serve as the Writer-In-Residence at the University of Michigan and the University of Western Ontario. In 2007, Annick Press published his first Novel, THE NIGHT WANDERER: A Native Gothic Novel, a teen novel about an Ojibway vampire. Two years ago, his non-fiction book exploring the world of Native sexuality, called ME SEXY, was published by Douglas & McIntyre. It is a follow up to his highly successful book on Native humour, ME FUNNY.

The author of 20 books in total, he is eagerly awaiting the publication of his new novel in February by Random House as "One of the new faces of fiction for 2010", titled MOTORCYCLES AND SWEETGRASS. In January, his new play, DEAD WHITE WRITER ON THE FLOOR, opens at Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay. Currently, he is working on a new play titled CREES IN THE CARRIBEAN, and a collection of essays called POSTCARDS FROM THE FOUR DIRECTIONS. More importantly, he is desperately trying to find the time to do his laundry.

Oddly enough, the thing his mother is most proud of is his ability to make spaghetti from scratch.

Reviews

[Pankaj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing series of observations from "the other side". Very funny observations of this Ojibway!

[Jeffrey Greening · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny as always

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Entertaining and insightful - as a white U.S. woman, I enjoyed reading about First Nations cultures in Canada that I have little-to-no knowledge about. The book's occasional typos were distracting and the author's rants on political correctness (and his ex-girlfriends) were tiresome, but the chapters/columns gave funny insights into the author's life (everyday and artistic, since he also writes for theater and television/film) and views from the early 2000s when this was published. I didn't realize that this was the third collection in a series when I saw it at a used bookstore, so if I ever find the others (there were four in total) I will make sure to read those, too.