Harrowsmith Fall 2019 | 115SMALL PONDSSMALL PONDSYour name?
Eden Robinson
Home (or adopted) town?
Kitamaat Village, B.C., a reserve
that is 11 kilometres from Kitimat, a
town built in the late ’50s and early
’60s that was confusingly named
after us.
Population?
700
Years in residence?
1968–1986; 2003–present
Where do you live now?
In Kitamaat Village, across from the
Haisla Nation band office.
Local school attended?
Mount Elizabeth Secondary School
Class of 19- -?
1986
Local jobs you held?
Archival assistant. Novelist.
Your pastimes there?
Reading Lainey Gossip,
commiserating on the weather,
nominating cousins to band
council when they’re out of town.
Favourite hangouts?
Shoppers Drug Mart on Senior’s Day.
Best french fries? Sunrise General
Merchandise—the curly fries!
Favourite nature walk?
Gazebo trail.
Best date spot?
The Octopus Beds, which can
now be reached by the wooden
boardwalks near the government
docks.
Best place to get in trouble?
Chilly and Dancer’s Pub.
Your town’s claim to fame
(before you)?
Kitimat was the town that Alcan
Aluminum built for their workers:
the city of the future. I think we’ll
go down in history as the birthplace
of the rapping duo Snotty Nose
Rez Kids.
Unofficial/suggested town
slogan?
“Snow days are for sissies.”
What part of this place do you
wish you could bring with you on
the road?
Resident humpback mother and
baby who casually wander the
Douglas Channel, and their pod
that breaches and makes bubble
nets to catch herring in Bishop Bay.
Listening to the wolves howling
in the canyon behind my reserve.
Watching a mama grizzly get
annoyed with her three cubs. Daily
contact with wildlife reminds me
we’re not alone in the universe.
How has this place contributed to
your career?
Most of my novels are set here. My
career is largely based in this place.
Why do/did you like living there?
Or what do you like about this