Words At Large

Many writers turn to their roots for inspiration, but most who leave home never go back. One exception is author Gail Anderson-Dargatz, who is living proof that writers can go home again, contrary to Thomas Wolfe’s famous title.

After living for years on the Prairies, Anderson-Dargatz recently moved back to the Thompson-Shuswap region of B.C., where she grew up and began her writing career. She first published stories in her hometown paper, the Salmon Arm Observer, when she was working there as a reporter. She began entering and winning fiction competitions, including the CBC Literary Awards, and moved into writing fiction full-time.

Anderson-Dargatz has gone on to publish three very successful novels, including The Cure for Death by Lightning (Vintage) and A Recipe for Bees (Vintage). Her latest, Turtle Valley (Vintage), is a story about love, land, family and memory set against the backdrop of a forest fire that took place in the area in 1998.

Anderson-Dargatz is open about mining her experiences in her fiction. The narrator of Turtle Valley is a woman named Kat who has returned with her disabled husband and young son to her family’s homestead in Turtle Valley, in the Thompson-Shuswap area. At one point her mother asks, "Are you going to write about this place? About what happened here?" and Kat replies "I've already begun."

Shelagh Rogers spoke with Gail Anderson-Dargatz in Vancouver. The author talked about how she transforms moments from her life into stories, how she sees magic in just about everything and how she is inspired by where she lives.

First aired September 11, 2007 on Sounds Like Canada. [runs 21:56]

For more on Gail Anderson-Dargatz, check out the Words at Large interview from October14, 2007. shelagh Rogers’ new book show, The Next Chapter, begins on CBC Radio One on September 27 at 3 p.m. (3:30 p.m. in Newfoundland). Stay tuned for more information on this hour-long exploration of Canadian writing and reading.