Boyden says writers need to be ‘careful’ when on ‘somebody else’s turf’
TORONTO — Acclaimed novelist Joseph Boyden, who has been dogged by controversy in recent months over his heritage and allegations that one of his short stories has similarities to an Ojibway storyteller’s work, says you need to be “very careful” when “you’re going onto somebody else’s turf.”
A winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Boyden was participating in a panel discussion Saturday about the challenges of writing Canadian history.
Boyden has come under fire recently after the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network questioned claims of indigenous ancestry he has made throughout his life.
The network also published a report highlighting similarities between Boyden’s 2001 short story “Bearwalker” and a 1989 work by Ojibway storyteller Ron Geyshick.