Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski
Author Interview - Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski
Author of Wilderness Mother
Revised and updated 30th anniversary edition of the wilderness classic of raising a young family in the remote wilds of northern Canada. In 1978 Deanna met her hermit husband in Northern BC while she was working as a forestry lookout attendant. For the next thirteen years she led the life of a pioneering mother in the wilderness. Over a hundred miles from the nearest paved road and cut off from most contact with the outside world, Deanna and her husband Jay built a life and raised their children in the stunning beauty and staggering isolation of the Ningunsaw Valley. She describes the family's remarkable self-sufficiency in constructing their home, growing and harvesting their own food and eventually building a small dam to generate electricity. But the unrelenting work of a pioneer life is balanced with her deep love and connection to the natural world that surrounds them. Deanna has been a naturalist her whole life and nature breathes as a character in each of her books.
This new edition includes chapters that expand on her relationship with Jay, his mental health challenges and the break-up of their marriage. Thirty years ago, these subjects were less discussed but in this new edition Deanna candidly addresses the personal challenges they faced in their marriage.
Author Interview - Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski
Author I draw inspiration from:
Sebastian Barry, a contemporary Irish writer. I loved them all but these titles stand out for me: Annie Dunne, The Secret Scripture & Days Without End
Author Interview - Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
My favourite place to read a book is on the family beach at Shuswap Lake, especially fifty years ago, when behind me was a rarely travelled dirt road while the lake ahead remained unravaged by gasoline-driven engines, and the loudest sounds were the cry of the osprey and the lapping of waves.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
I would choose Shealagh Fielding from Wayne Johnston’s “The Colony of Unrequited Dreams.” When Shealagh Fielding steps into the elevator she towers over me. I step back a bit to make way for her cane. I tell her that I’m a great fan of her newspaper columns. She eyes me skeptically and asks me what on earth there is to like about them. I say I admire her sharp wit and sense of irony, and how brave she is standing up to authority. Now she looks pleased. But it must have been hard being in love with Joey Smallwood, I suggest. She flashes me a warning look and it is clear she doesn’t want to discuss this.
Author Interview - Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
The moment I knew I wanted to become a writer is impossible to identify since I’ve had a love affair with words my whole life long. By grade three I was class librarian and not long afterwards I created my first book of poetry, printed by hand, and sewn together with red wool. Further, I’ve kept hand written journals for fifty-four years, a writing practise that keeps my hand moving between book projects.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardback, I love. There is something sacred about them, they are like a precious gift waiting to be opened. It is like the difference between a framed picture and one wrapped in cellophane. There is nothing I don’t like about them.
Paperback, I love these too. They are still a book that you can hold in your hands, take with you wherever you go and they can be produced beautifully. Sometimes nowadays the covers are of poor quality and tend to curl and I’m disappointed when I encounter this.
E-books are a foreign land to me. I have no interest in reading books on a device. As a writer I spend enough time on a computer and don’t wish to absorb other creative works in this manner.
Audiobooks I love as well. Right from childhood when we lived in my grandmother’s house, without electricity or plumbing, but a beautiful house anyway, I would have my ear glued to the radio as soon as a story began. I like audiobooks, especially read by the author of the work because I find this more authentic than choosing a voice actor from the outside who can only lack the emotional awareness and resonance that comes with knowing the story from the inside.
The last book I read:
At Home In the World by Joyce Maynard
I found this to be an eye opening and riveting account of Joyce Maynard’s experiences with the American author and icon, JD Salinger. Her name was maligned for many years and with the release of her book comes stunning revelations about this reclusive writer, his many quirky ways and very warped treatment of women. Joyce Maynard comes from a place of honesty and also fairness, including the trauma that damaged Salinger. She is a talented and prolific writer who ultimately couldn’t be controlled by him, no matter how hard he tried.
Author Interview - Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I prefer pen and paper and much of my writing life happened before computers came on the scene. I love the silence of the page! I will never forget living far out in the woods and staying up late after my husband and kids had gone to bed. I wrote 1500 pages of memoir from my travel years while the fire crackled and an owl hooted somewhere in the darkness. Each of my ten books has been handwritten initially because in the creative process I prefer the brain/hand connection without the intrusion of a machine.
Computers have their purpose and certainly simplify the editing process so I respect them too, so long as I am controlling them and they aren’t controlling me.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
I think I would be good friends with Kaya from “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Deliah Owens. Through no choice of her own she was an outsider where society was concerned. I have felt much the same way throughout my life even though I didn’t grow up alone. And we also share a deep connection with nature albeit in different forms. For me it is the woods, for Kaya it was the bayou. Her knowledge and celebration of her surroundings was an aspect of her story that I very much related to. It taught me a lot about a very different world. And I felt for Kaya who suffered a great deal due to the ignorance of society. What appealed to me most about the book was the nature writing and the murder/mystery component provided a good framework to hang the lyricism on but for me that wasn’t the most important part.
Author Interview - Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I’ve always loved to dance and studied it for a few years. I would be a dancer or a foreign correspondent or a nomad in the mountains of Tibet.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Place I’d most like to travel:
Ireland. My great-grandmother, Nancy McKnight, left Ireland during the potato famine of the 1800’s. She ended up on a rock farm in Northern Ontario where she married, had six children and died young. I want to make a pilgrimage back to her homeland in Southern Ireland and see what I can learn about her family. And also, to breathe in the place, to absorb it through my pores.
My signature drink:
I like a glass of red dry wine before dinner.
Favorite artist:
I could never render this down to one artist but Leonard Cohen comes to mind. I’ve carried the poetry of his lyrics in my mind and heart for most of my life. They’ve offered me both comfort and joy.
Number one on my bucket list:
I look forward to witnessing the day when humanity wakes up to the sacredness of the earth and understands that we are part of nature and completely dependent on it. This will not likely happen in my lifetime but I can still dream about it because nothing happens without a dream.
Anything else you'd like to add:
Thank you for these stimulating questions. They were a joy to answer.
About Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski:
Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski is the author of nine books and numerous magazine articles. Her life has been the subject of two CBC television documentaries as well as numerous magazine articles. In 1992 Deanna and her children returned to the Shuswap where her roots reach back over one hundred years. In 1996 she joined her new partner, Eric, on Garland Gracesprings Farm and it has been home ever since. She is a popular workshop presenter and has given over one hundred public readings. Deanna, a grandmother now, continues to live close to the earth and to defend it when she can.
