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White Rock legend honoured for his life’s work
By Alex Browne - Peace Arch News
Published: June 09, 2009 12:00 PM
Told that he just may be White Rock's most famous non-resident resident, author W.P. Kinsella chuckles.
He's read so many poorly-researched online biographies that still have him living in the city, he's resigned to the fact it's part of his legend.
As spouse Barbara Turner Kinsella notes, "People still think Bill is sitting there in his apartment over Cosmos Restaurant, tapping away at his 1957 Royal typewriter.
"He still has it, but it's in our basement now. Would anyone believe that Bill has an iMac?";
In truth, Kinsella moved from White Rock 11 years ago, and now lives in a house in a 150-year-old orchard in the Fraser Canyon.
The retired author, now 75, made a very rare excursion from home to Vancouver Tuesday to receive the 15th annual George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Public Library and the Pacific Book World News Society.
In a ceremony at Vancouver's Central Library, Mayor Gregor Robertson delivered a proclamation for Vancouver Author Appreciation Day honouring Kinsella.
The award also includes $3,000 and a commemorative plaque installed in the Writers' Walk outside the library.
"I'm very pleased,"; Kinsella said Monday. "It's nice to have your work recognized, especially as a body of work over the years.";
A prolific novelist and short-story writer before retiring almost a decade ago, Kinsella has a reputation for plain speaking - and not suffering fools gladly - that was later reinforced by a stint as a newspaper columnist.
In his fiction, he's stayed true to two basic themes: the game of baseball as a form of magical metaphor, and his wryly comical stories about Frank and Silas, First Nations residents of Hobbema, Alta.
"When a writer finds something that people like, it's like a prospector finding gold - you work it for all its worth,"; he said.
Kinsella is probably most famous for his novel, Shoeless Joe, which was filmed as Field Of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner.
"That was wonderful - they couldn't have done a better job with it than that,"; he said. "I'm one of the only writers I know who has liked a major movie made from one of their novels. Usually movie makers screw it up.";
He's also one of the few writers he knows who can stand to re-read his own writing.
"Many writers say that when they go back they want to change things,"; he said. "I'm happy with what I wrote. I laugh out loud when I read them. I don't want to change anything.";
y go back they want to change things, but I'm happy with what I wrote. I laugh out loud when I read them. I don't want to change anything.";
Two factors led to his retirement - shortly after moving to the Fraser Canyon he was in an accident in which he was struck by a car, which left him " with a certain amount of damage,"; he said.
"But I've also seen so many writers write on into their old age and end up parodying themselves - Norman Mailer and John Updike come to mind. I pretty well said all I had to say.";
Although he rarely returns to White Rock - the last time in 2007 - Kinsella has fond memories of his 15 years in the city.
"From my place above Cosmos, I used to like walking down the promenade, or to the end of the pier,"; he said. "But Sandcastle Day was horrible - we had every drunk in the country pissing in our parking lot.";
Published: June 09, 2009 12:00 PM
Told that he just may be White Rock's most famous non-resident resident, author W.P. Kinsella chuckles.
He's read so many poorly-researched online biographies that still have him living in the city, he's resigned to the fact it's part of his legend.
As spouse Barbara Turner Kinsella notes, "People still think Bill is sitting there in his apartment over Cosmos Restaurant, tapping away at his 1957 Royal typewriter.
"He still has it, but it's in our basement now. Would anyone believe that Bill has an iMac?";
In truth, Kinsella moved from White Rock 11 years ago, and now lives in a house in a 150-year-old orchard in the Fraser Canyon.
The retired author, now 75, made a very rare excursion from home to Vancouver Tuesday to receive the 15th annual George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Public Library and the Pacific Book World News Society.
In a ceremony at Vancouver's Central Library, Mayor Gregor Robertson delivered a proclamation for Vancouver Author Appreciation Day honouring Kinsella.
The award also includes $3,000 and a commemorative plaque installed in the Writers' Walk outside the library.
"I'm very pleased,"; Kinsella said Monday. "It's nice to have your work recognized, especially as a body of work over the years.";
A prolific novelist and short-story writer before retiring almost a decade ago, Kinsella has a reputation for plain speaking - and not suffering fools gladly - that was later reinforced by a stint as a newspaper columnist.
In his fiction, he's stayed true to two basic themes: the game of baseball as a form of magical metaphor, and his wryly comical stories about Frank and Silas, First Nations residents of Hobbema, Alta.
"When a writer finds something that people like, it's like a prospector finding gold - you work it for all its worth,"; he said.
Kinsella is probably most famous for his novel, Shoeless Joe, which was filmed as Field Of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner.
"That was wonderful - they couldn't have done a better job with it than that,"; he said. "I'm one of the only writers I know who has liked a major movie made from one of their novels. Usually movie makers screw it up.";
He's also one of the few writers he knows who can stand to re-read his own writing.
"Many writers say that when they go back they want to change things,"; he said. "I'm happy with what I wrote. I laugh out loud when I read them. I don't want to change anything.";
y go back they want to change things, but I'm happy with what I wrote. I laugh out loud when I read them. I don't want to change anything.";
Two factors led to his retirement - shortly after moving to the Fraser Canyon he was in an accident in which he was struck by a car, which left him " with a certain amount of damage,"; he said.
"But I've also seen so many writers write on into their old age and end up parodying themselves - Norman Mailer and John Updike come to mind. I pretty well said all I had to say.";
Although he rarely returns to White Rock - the last time in 2007 - Kinsella has fond memories of his 15 years in the city.
"From my place above Cosmos, I used to like walking down the promenade, or to the end of the pier,"; he said. "But Sandcastle Day was horrible - we had every drunk in the country pissing in our parking lot.";
Submitted on June 10, 2009 in By David.
