Eden Robinson

"Robinson is one of the most exciting, talented and fearless writers of her generation."

Biography

Eden Robinson is an Indigenous Canadian author born on January 19, 1968 in Kitimaat, British Columbia (1). With a Heiltsuk mother and Haisla father, Robinson is a member of both the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations, and the influence of those cultures shines through in much of her work. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Victoria in 1992 and moved to Vancouver to work odd jobs while she focused on writing (1). After her first story's success, she enrolled in and later graduated from the creative writing master's program at the University of British Columbia (1). She considers her main literary influences to be Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe (1). 

Publications and Awards

Robinson published her first story "Traplines" in the literary magazine Prism International while in her final year of her undergraduate program in 1991, just before she graduated with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria. That story then evolved into Traplines, a collection of three short stories and a novella published in 1996 (1). 

In 2000, she published her first novel, Monkey Beach, which is set in Kitimaat and follows a young girl's investigation into her brother's disappearance at sea. Monkey Beach was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award and the Giller Prize, and it won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize (1). 

Her 2006 novel Blood Sports occurs five years after its predecessor, "Contact Sports", one of the short stories in the 1996 Traplines collection. In 2011, Robinson released The Sasquatch at Home: Traditional Protocols & Modern Storytelling (1). 

The Trickster Trilogy

Her most recent work, The Trickster Trilogy, published between 2017-2021 is an “Indigenous coming-of-age trilogy [that] features beloved protagonist Jared, as he grapples with the magic of his inheritance and the complications of his broken family" (2). The series is deeply entwined with Indigenous mythology from Haisla and Heiltsuk oral storytelling, connecting with Robinson's heritage and offering readers myths and creatures not often represented in popular media. 

The British Columbia Review features a review by Daniel Gawthrop of The Trickster Trilogy: "Charmed by the Haisla/Heiltsuk novelist’s storytelling gifts, I found myself going along with all the shape-shifting—the talking ravens, the lethal attacks by coy wolves, the ghosts and dolphins coming out of walls—until I realized that I’d read the entire Trickster Trilogy and found it irresistible" (4). In his review, Gawthrop delves into the plot, character relationships and identities, the often sarcastic dialogue, the use of magical realism, and other elements of Robinson's writing. He states, "Eden Robinson takes what appears to be a coming of age story and turns it into something much greater. In exploring the tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures, rural and urban life, substance use and recovery, individual freedom and community living, and the will to forget versus the imperative to confront the past, the Trickster Trilogy has become a Canadian—and British Columbian—classic" (4). 

The first novel of the trilogy, Son of a Trickster, got a television adaptation that premiered on CBC Television in 2020. It was initially renewed for a second season, but those plans were cancelled after questions and controversy arose regarding the Indigenous heritage of the show's director and creator, Michelle Latimer (5).

Reflection

Eden Robinson really grabbed my attention because of the biographical information offered about Robinson on Penguin Random House Canada's website, which is this: "Eden Robinson has matriarchal tendencies. Doesn’t have a pressure cooker, but knows how to jar salmon. Her smoked salmon will not likely kill you. Hobbies: Shopping for the Apocalypse, using vocabulary as a weapon, nominating cousins to council while they’re out of town, chair yoga, looking up possible diseases or syndromes on the interwebs, perfecting gluten-free bannock and playing Mah-jong. Be warned, she writes novels and tends to be cranky when interrupted" (3). Her sense of humor and the personality that come through in this snippet made me want to learn more about her life and her writing. 

Robinson's works, especially The Trickster Trilogy, seem really interesting and will definitely be added to my TBR list. I'm really interested in various mythologies and love learning about ones that are new to me, such as the Haisla and Heiltsuk legends Robinson weaves into her writing. I'm excited to read about them.

Works Cited

1: Lewis, Jules. “Eden Robinson.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 6 Sept. 2007, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/eden-robinson. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.

2: Robinson, Eden. “The Trickster Trilogy.” Penguin Random House Canada, www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/series/1TT/the-trickster-trilogy. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.

3: “Eden Robinson.” Penguin Random House Canada, www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/authors/25830/eden-robinson. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.

4: Gawthrop, Daniel. “1828 a Trickster for Our Times.” The British Columbia Review, 21 June 2023, thebcreview.ca/2023/06/21/1828-gawthrop-robinson/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

5: “Trickster (Canadian TV Series).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Feb. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickster_(Canadian_TV_series). Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.