Literary Birthday – 25 May – W. P. Kinsella

W. P. Kinsella was born on 25 May 1935 and died on 16 September 2016.

W. P. Kinsella Quotes

1. Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get.
2. I have no interest in non-fiction. I don’t read it and don’t watch it and don’t write it, other than a little journalistic column.
3. Hardly anybody recognises the most significant moments of their life at the time they happen.
4. Heroes don’t need to talk about what they did.
5. If I have a choice between looking something up and making it up, I’ll make it up every time.
6. Find something that thrills you, and when you finish reading it for enjoyment, read it again line by line, paragraph by paragraph to see what you liked about it.
7. Read, read, read, read and then read some more.
8. I am an old-fashioned storyteller. I try to make people laugh and cry. A fiction writer’s duty is to entertain. If you can sneak in something profound or symbolic, so much the better.
9. Use your imagination. Trust me, your lives are not interesting. Don’t write them down.

William Patrick Kinsella was a Canadian novelist and short story writer. ‘Kinsella’s works often feature characters from the Ermineskin Reserve in Alberta, Canada, showcasing their wisdom and humor while navigating the complexities of life with white officials and visitors.’ (via) He is known for his novel Shoeless Joe (1982), which was adapted into the movie Field of Dreams in 1989. The novel won Kinsella the prestigious Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship. In 1993, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Source for image: https://www.wpkinsella.com/ Photo by Laura Sawchuk

by Amanda Patterson

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