ALASKAN AUTHORS INTERVIEW: WILLIE HENSLEY

Coming soon (January 2009) from Inupiat elder and activist Willie Hensley is Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People . We caught up with Willie as he's preparing for his first book tour.

Deb: Fifty Miles from Tomorrow is your first book. What inspired you to write it?

Willie: I wrote Fifty Miles from Tomorrow, in part, to inspire our own people to tell their story and to convey their knowledge of culture, history and the natural universe--that we didn't need our story to be filtered through people from the Outside.

Deb: Tell us how the process of writing was for you. What were the greatest challenges, and how did you overcome them?

Willie: I was fortunate to have a good editor who took my early writing and described what she thought would be a successful way to write for me. My sentences tended to be too long and I didn't realize how much my early cultural upbringing affected how I wrote. It is very hard for an Inupiaq to take credit for anything due to our understanding that it takes many people to create success. I didn't find the writing too difficult and I did very little rewriting. I tried to describe the images in my life and my feelings and recollections of the various stages and efforts in my life.

Deb: Memoir is a tough genre, because you end up telling truths that may cause some discomfort for people you love. How did you resolve these issues when crafting your story?

Willie: Very early on I realized there were painful experiences that our people felt uncomfortable in expressing. We have lived in a harsh universe and for over ten thousand years, we learned to suffer through difficult circumstances without becoming whiners. To me, it was important that I not only try to describe our way of life before great changes began to occur--it was also important for us to expose the human toll of government and missionary policies and practices on our people. Before I started the book, I called my relatives to let know that I was going to write a book and they encouraged me--painful subjects and all.

Deb: What has been most rewarding about seeing your project through to completion?

Willie: The reward is the result. I never in my wildest imagination thought that I could write. The thought that I could write something that others will find worth their time and money is exhilarating. Also, I wanted our own people to know that despite my college degree and succession of good jobs and experiences, I also had to deal with my own adjustments to difficult circumstances that we all have faced due to forces beyond our control. I also am proud of that fact that other Americans and the world will have a book that sheds some light on a part of America that people know virtually nothing about.

Deb: What creative work has engaged you since finishing the book?

Willie: I had to work on the book at night, weekends, holidays and on planes--as I had not retired at the time I was writing. Since then, I have retired and tried to learn to be less driven--now beginning the effort to help my publisher publicize the book. I will spend most of January and the first quarter on the road. If the book sells reasonably, my publisher has first option on another book. I have not decided what the subject might be but I have some thoughts. I am not like most writers who are "driven" to write. I would like to try a novel.

(Deb’s note: For a schedule of Willie’s book tour, including stops in Seattle, Portland, California, Washington DC, and Anchorage, go to http://us.macmillan.com/Tour.aspx?id=246)