Kinsella was hugely critical of writers in the academy who had full-time salaries and wrote fiction on the side, said Braz. 'He was trying to make a living as a writer, as opposed to someone who teaches at university or has some other job, so his writing is different for that reason.' 'It wouldn't surprise me if, once there is more distance, he becomes more accepted, because his writing is unique. 'I have a feeling that his day is likely yet to come, because of his readability and humour,' said U of A English professor Albert Braz. Now that he's gone, the question is, will people continue to read his work or will he be remembered only for his cultural transgressions? Will his humour and his capacity to entertain redeem him? And will his stories at least be appreciated for what they reveal about white projections and stereotypes of a bygone era? Last month, the novelist and short-story writer died at the age of 81. The phrase, 'If you build it, he will come' is now firmly entrenched in the common lexicon. Born and raised in the Edmonton area, he's known chiefly for his 1982 magic-realist baseball novel Shoeless Joe, which was later adapted into the Hollywood movie Field of Dreams. If you consider only sales figures and movie deals, Kinsella is arguably the most successful author Western Canada has ever produced. If I can annoy someone like him, I've got motivation.' 'I wasn't going to write any more Indian stories. 'Basically, I don't give a f- for the whole writing establishment, but when someone attacks the way I make my living, then I'm mad.

'Fiction writers can write about anything they damn well please,' said Kinsella. The two even faced off in a now-famous segment on CBC's Morningside with Peter Gzowski. He called Wiebe an 'idiot' and 'a petty, jealous, academic drone' who has 'no idea what successful writers actually do.' He accused Wiebe of creating the controversy to ride the coattails of his own success. Wiebe went so far as to urge the community, now called Maskwacis, to sue Kinsella for misrepresenting its people as 'asses, fools and buffoons.'

Kinsella of ridiculing Indigenous people-and misappropriating their voice-in his 'Hobbema' stories. The sparks began to fly when the University of Alberta's own Rudy Wiebe, two-time winner of the Governor General's Award for Fiction and professor emeritus of English, accused popular author W.P. It's one of the most acrimonious feuds in Canadian literary history.

Wp kinsella