Saul to discuss The Comeback at Toronto literary event
By Sam Laskaris
TORONTO – Renowned Canadian writer John Ralston Saul will be discussing his book about Indigenous people at a literary festival in Toronto later this month.
Saul will be speaking about his 2014 book titled, The Comeback, at the Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF) Toronto event on Sept. 27-29 in the city’s Distillery District.
The JLF has been staged annually in Jaipur, the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Rajesthan since 2006. It is considered the world’s largest free literary festival.
Several other cities have staged similar events in recent years, but this marks the first time JLF Toronto will be held.
JLF Toronto will have a number of varying events, including readings, debates, music, outdoor performances, as well as art installations and food.
More information about the festival is available here.
Saul will be joined by Indigenous author Lee Maracle to talk about The Comeback at the Toronto event. His book is appropriately titled as he writes how Indigenous people have made a comeback in Canada, after decades of decline and cultural oppression.
Saul had participated in the JLF in India several years ago and is looking forward to the Toronto event.
“It’s a remarkable and really exciting festival,” he said.
Saul added he has made it a rule to only discuss The Comeback at certain times.
“I only talk about it in the presence of Indigenous people,” he said.
And he’s thrilled Lee will be joining him for the discussion in Toronto.
“I’m a big fan of hers,” he said. “I think she’s a really important figure.”
Saul wrote The Comeback the year before the 2015 federal election.
“I felt we could have another federal election where we could have Indigenous issues pushed to the side,” he said.
Saul was not quite sure what the best platform would be to offer up his thoughts that eventually were published in The Comeback.
“I thought of writing a magazine article or a pamphlet,” he said. “It turned into a small book.”
The Comeback, which is nearly 300 pages, was shortlisted for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing in 2015. This award is presented each year to the best non-fiction book on Canadian political and social issues.
But it wasn’t as if Saul was telling Indigenous people who to choose as the Canadian Prime Minister back in 2015.
“I didn’t say who to vote for,” he said. “I said, ‘Vote for the party you feel will do the most for this issue’.”
Saul believes with another federal election upon us next month that some positive strides have been taken on Indigenous issues across the country in the last four years.
“Things have happened and are happening,” he said. “There has been movement. It would be wrong to say there has been no movement.”
Saul’s session with Maracle will be held at the Tank House Theatre, located inside the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.
Maracle is not as optimistic as Saul, feeling governments are not doing enough for Indigenous people across the country.
“They’re not killing us anymore so that’s good,” she said.
Maracle points to the decades-long battle over Grassy Narrows mercury poisoning as an example of how little change has taken place when it comes to government interaction with Indigenous people.
Saul’s discussion with at JLF Toronto, which is scheduled to last 45 minutes, will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 28.
The Comeback is one of 14 books that Saul has written. His work has been translated into 28 different languages in 37 countries.
Saul is married to Adrienne Clarkson, the former Governor General of Canada. He’s also the President Emeritus of PEN International, an association founded in 1921 to promote literature and intellectual co-operation among writers from around the world.