25th Trillium Award

Trillium Testimonial: Ashliegh Gehl

 
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This year marks the 25th Anniversary of Ontario's illustrious Trillium Book Award/Prix Trillium. To celebrate this silver milestone, Open Book has asked members of the literary community to tell us what they love about their favourite award-winning Trillium title. If you're looking for a recommended read (or re-read), follow these Trillium Testimonials on Open Book: Ontario from now until the winners of the 2012 award competition are announced. Today, journalist and Open Book: Ontario editorial intern, Ashliegh Gehl tells us why she's chosen Thomas King’s The Truth About Stories (Anansi), winner of the 2003 Trillium Book Award.

Open Book:

What do you love about this book?

Ashliegh Gehl:

The Truth About Stories introduced me to a new way of thinking.

King writes, “The truth about stories is that that’s all we are.” He calls stories wondrous, but dangerous things. And I started to look at people as canvases covered in brushstrokes, marred by the birth and death of the stories they told – intrigued by the stories they weren’t telling.

It was, in many ways, a personal awakening that overflowed into other parts of my life. He framed, rather uniquely, the essence of a story. And for that, I’m thankful.

OB:

When did you first read it?

AG:

I discovered King when I was living in Thunder Bay, studying at Lakehead University. It must have been around 2005 when started studying First Nations in Canada. As a result, I discovered King, Drew Hayden Taylor and a handful of other unbelievable writers unbeknown to me.


Ashliegh Gehl is a freelance writer and multimedia journalist.

She has written for the Montreal Gazette, Quill & Quire, OurKingston.ca, Northumberland Today and The Intelligencer newspapers.

Between countless cups of oolong tea, Ashliegh has been busy working on two books. Visit her website for more information.

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