Interview with Tanis Rideout

Climbing to New Heights: Tanis Rideout discusses her debut novel Above All Things

(This article first appeared in On the Danforth magazine, Summer 2012)

Better known for her poetry, Danforth writer Tanis Rideout is making her prose debut with her novel Above All Things. The protagonist is what Rideout calls, “the last great British gentleman explorer.” In 1924, George Mallory and his team departed on an expedition to climb Mount Everest. By some accounts Mallory reached the summit, but he never came home.

Above All Things has two narratives: the rousing adventure of Mallory's climb and the patient domesticity of his wife. “[It became a] sort of a love triangle between him, the mountain, and his wife,” Rideout explains. The wife's narrative provides the best insight into Mallory's character. Her role helps to show a more personal and intimate side of Mallory and to cut through the hero mythology that surrounds him.

Rideout grappled with the fine line between fact and fiction when she wrote “Arguments with the Lake”, an unpublished collection of poetry about Marilyn Bell's swim across Lake Ontario. “I got an email from her daughter shortly after the poems were on the CBC. That sort of drove that home to me... There's a person out there and I've taken their name and something that they've done and proceeded to use it for my own ends... there is an anxiety and discomfort around that.”

When writing Above All Things, the distance of time makes fictionalizing Mallory easier but she still strives to be true to the character. “What I'm doing is fiction... I don't know these people and I won't know these people so they kind of have to take on their own life and sometimes in order to do that you have to turn toward fiction.”

Rideout's inspiration for Above All Things came when she worked at an outdoor equipment store after she graduated university. One of her co-workers was an Everest fanatic and showed her a video about Mallory's expedition. Rideout was instantly captivated by the physical and obsessive nature of the journey.

“What is it that makes a person do something that extreme and that dangerous and that physically impossible? ...You don't just decide to do it; you have to keep deciding to do it.”

“There's a similar drive around writing,” she added. “You have to be obsessed to bother.” It was that drive that kept Rideout going during the long process of getting Above All Things to the bookstores. After collecting documents and researching Mallory's life, Rideout wrote the first draft over the course of a summer six years ago. Three drafts and several revisions later, McClelland and Stewart picked up the manuscript for publication. With the book set to be in stores in June, Rideout can finally relax. “It's becoming a very real thing now... it's starting to feel like there will be a book as opposed to this stack paper that's been following me around.”

Spot the differences

Let's play a game. The title links to the article The Varsity published entitled "Do more than donate' The following is the the second draft of the artcile I wrote. Let's see if you can spot the differences.

***

I cannot pretend to be impartial. My heart grows heavy as news from Haiti filters in. The Haiti I heard about growing up, the Haiti of my parents' childhood was "La pearle de les Antilles.". The Haiti of today is much battered but still resilient. Every image compels me to do something, to take action, to get involved.

Luckily there is no shortage of response here at U of T. Following the quake, President David Naylor issued a statement and held an event in solidarity. UTSU, in conjunction with both the Scarborough and Mississauga campuses, has formed a coalition of student, faculty, and community members to launch a campaign in support of Haiti. Other student groups have hosted (and continue to host) smaller events that shed light on the crisis in Haiti.

One such event was "Haiti up against Neoliberalism." Hosted by the Women and Gender Studies Student Union on Wednesday January 27th, the event was an important part of the re-emerging discourse on Haiti. In an email, Savitri Persaud, Co-President of WGSSU, highlighted the many dimensions of Haiti's social and political history: "The events in Haiti are directly linked to the WGS curriculum because this interdisciplinary program asks its students to critically assess and engage with world issues, and to analyze them as issues that are apart of a much larger web of interlocking multiplicities, whose matrix is connected to matters not only concerning gender, but race, colonialism, imperialism, globalization, and poverty to name a few."

The event was part film screening, part discussion. First was "Aristide and the Endless Revolution", a film that examined the coups d'etat in 1991 and 2004 that removed Haiti's president, Jean Bertrand Aristide. The second film, "Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy" explored the experiences of a group of Haitian women and how neoliberal policies (what is known as the Washington Consensus) has affected them.

The heart of the event was the discussion facilitated by Dr. Rachel Gorman, a professor in the Women and Gender Studies program whose courses include WGS385: Gender and Neoliberalism. More than anything, the event was successful in creating a space for learning. Sitting on couches and pulled-up chairs, munching on pizza and other snacks, students were able to share their thoughts, insights, and knowledge surrounding the current events in Haiti, the many factors that precipitated it and and the implications it has for the future. More than anything however, they were able to ask their questions. The key here was that they were not experts, nor were they expected to be. The students genuinely wanted to learn more about a situation that affects everyone.

What was conspicuously absent from this event was a donation jar. When asked why, Persaud answered, "It was a conscious decision not to collect donations. ‘"Haiti up against Neoliberalism’" was intended to educate. Ultimately, the decision to donate is a personal one and our hope is that through awareness raising, people will make informed decisions about where to donate should they choose to do so."

The earthquake itself may be a natural disaster, but Haiti is going through a man-made catastrophe too. Understanding the underlying issues requires time, energy and a conscientious effort. Haiti's problems did not begin on January 12th 2010. They can be traced much further back to political instability, foreign occupation, unequal terms of trade, resource extraction, imperialism, colonialism, slavery and beyond. I challenge everyone to attend an event with depth—one that will reshape your conceptions of the country the ignorant so often write off as "the poorest in the Western Hemisphere." Such events are not hard to find, especially now. If your group or organization is not already planning something about Haiti, tell them to.

By no means do I frown upon donating money; Haiti needs as much money as the can get. But sometimes giving money is not enough. With collection jars popping up everywhere and the words "proceeds will help Haiti" appearing anywhere, it is easy to lose sight of what is at stake. A Sex and the City theme party does not help Haiti. Haiti has reached a tipping point. Whether this earthquake becomes an opportunity for Haiti to start fresh or a chance for the exploitation and strangulation to become more complete will depend not on how much cash is raised, but by how many people stand to defend Haiti and work to see her rise as the Pearl of the Antilles once more. L'union fait la force—In unity there is strength.

***

 

Needless to say I am unhappy. My next post will explain why.

The Many Faces of Janusz

Writing this article really solidified why I like to write for Arts (and Entertainment): you don't have to be an expert to appreciate it.

I started this article before even going to the exhibit. Quite simply I wrote down the questions I had about the collection and made it my perogative to find the answers. My questions weren't elaborate. They were 'Who is this guy?' and 'Why should I go look at a bunch of pictures of him?'

Once I visited the exhibt, writing was easy. The last time I was so excited about an article for the Varsity was for my review of the ROM's Diamond Exhibit (also in this portfolio).

As always the title links to the article printed in the Varsity. But this time I'm giving a visual sneak peek:

Michael Merrill, Janusz in Bedlam, 1984, acrylic on canvas. Collection of Janusz Dukszta.

A survival guide to the new semester

The latest article I got published. Just goes to show you that sarcasm can make any article fun - no matter how lame the topic. Many thanks to my friend Hope for proofreading, contributing and staying up with me as I finish :)

Do the Ten Commandments still matter?

Today's lesson: Writing an opinion/comments article is not equivalent to writing whatever you want. It involved substantiating your arguments and at least in part engaging with the discourse that already surrounds the topic.

I don't think this article was entirely successful because it began as my using it as a platform and trying to be funny. As the editing process wore on the "funny" was stripped out of it and we're left with an article that, though satisfactory, does not address all facets of the issue.

But still it was a learning experience.

Spite the Power

Hooray for more articles! This one was covering a talk by Reena Katz at the University of Toronto Art Centre. It was a learning experience for multiple reasons.

First, I had the opportunity to be exposed to a critical subject matter about which, I must admit, I was very ignorant. The talk got me thinking about the issue and willing to learn more about it. I am even considering reading Said's book in my spare time.

Second, the article was very difficult to write. I was out of my element. It wasn't a review so I couldn't simply give my opinion and the subject matter did not lend itself to witticisms. But with the help of the section editor, I think I wrote a decent piece.

As always the title links to the article.

Note 1: I didn't come up with the title. I only wish I were so clever!
Note 2: Someone commented on my article on the website! My article is spurring discussion! Woot!

This is our Jerry Springer moment

You know that shocked emote? Not the jaw-dropped one, the bug-eyed one. Y'know... this one: O_O

That was my face throughout the entire play. Wait, no. That's not true. There was lots of this XD too.

I was shocked by how explicit and unabashed the play was as a whole. But what was even more surprising was how not offended I was. I mean the tag line was "Prepare to be offended all over again" and yet there I was LMAOing away not stopping to think "This is so wrong." Or worse. Maybe I did no it was wrong but simply didn't care. Jerry Springer: The Opera appealed to the train-wreck watcher in me that was so busy watching the disaster unfold that she never even wondered if anyone was hurt.

Perhaps that was the message of the play: to force ourselves to wonder what kind of people watch shows like Jerry Springer (or for that matter any of the reality shows on TV) day after day and yet still cling to this delusion that they are above it all.

The title links to the theatre review I wrote of Hart House's production of Jerry Springer: The Opera. Enjoy!

Season Preview: Being Erica

This is my first article for the Varsity this year. I watched the season premier on Tuesday and was not at all disappointed. It really is great show. I encourage EVERYONE to watch it.

Girl's Best Friend Visits the ROM

I got another byline. Except there is no "WOOT" this time. Sure that's my name at the top, but that's not my article. At least not the way I wrote it.

My assingment was to cover the new exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum, The Nature of Diamonds, in 500 words. After going to media event I realized it was impossible. I had spent 2 hours at the exhibit and still had not seen everything. There was no way I could pack it all into 500 words. So I sent the editor an email proposing 4 smaller pieces: a quick brief on exhibit itself and 3 artist spotlights. This idea was shot down for space issue. Totally legitimate. As a compromise, the editor gave 1000 words.

I spent an entire weekend writing and proofing and editing and pulling my hair out to make it work. Finally I got down to a piece that was 998 words and that I was completly happy with. I emailed it as I was supposed to. Come Monday moring it wasn't published. That's fine. The deadline for Monday's issue is the Friday before; I had sent my piece Sunday. So I waited for the Thursday issue. There was none. I email the editor to ask what the deal is. After all I wasnt the only one waiting for this article to come out. Apparently they had taken that week off. But lucky for me, he had looked my article over and, although it had to be cut down for space, it was quite good. Again, no big deal. The paper has alot to cover so I understand.

So I wait. And on Monday when the paper finally hits the stands, I tear it open to see my name in print. And there it is. Stark against the gray of the newspaper, the byline is beautiful. But as I begin to read I don't recognize the words. Paniced, I turn on my laptop and cross reference my copy. I mean it had been a rough week. It's possible that I forgot what I wrote... But no. The differences between what I wrote and what was published were obvious. They did more then edit the length of my article. They completly stripped it of my voice. Without the byline I would not have recognized it as my own. And that hurts.

So as always you can click on the title of this post to read the latest published article that bears my name. Woot.

America Votes 2008 Debates

I got published again! This time I got a full page complete with color graphics! Nothing can ruin this day! The two articles cover the US presidential debate and the US vice presidential debate. Once again, the title links to both. Thank you and enjoy.

My First Byline(s)

Yay! My work has been printed in the September 2008 issue of The Varsity Magazine, a division of my university's campus newspaper. The two blurbs (they're not long enough to be called full fledge articles) appear on like the bottom of the seventh page but still! I am very proud of them! They are titled "In An Absolut World" and "A New Flagship for European Excellence" and discuss a lower drinking age and the European Institue of Innovation and Technology, respectively. The title links to both. Enjoy!