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The Fencepost Chronicles
All set on western Canada's Ermineskin Indian Reserve, these short Indian tales feature such memorable characters as four-hundred-pound medicine lady Mad Etta, who finagles a visit with the pope, and Frank Fencepost, the reservation stud
190 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
3 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
W.P. Kinsella
56 books233 followersWilliam Patrick Kinsella, OC, OBC was a Canadian novelist and short story writer. His work has often concerned baseball and Canada's First Nations and other Canadian issues.
William Patrick Kinsella was born to John Matthew Kinsella and Olive Kinsella in Edmonton, Alberta. Kinsella was raised until he was 10 years-old at a homestead near Darwell, Alberta, 60 km west of the city, home-schooled by his mother and taking correspondence courses. "I'm one of these people who woke up at age five knowing how to read and write," he says. When he was ten, the family moved to Edmonton.
As an adult, he held a variety of jobs in Edmonton, including as a clerk for the Government of Alberta and managing a credit bureau. In 1967, he moved to Victoria, British Columbia, running a pizza restaurant called Caesar's Italian Village and driving a taxi.
Though he had been writing since he was a child (winning a YMCA contest at age 14), he began taking writing courses at the University of Victoria in 1970, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing there in 1974. He travelled down to Iowa and earned a Master of Fine Arts in English degree through the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1978. In 1991, he was presented with an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from the University of Victoria.
Kinsella's most famous work is Shoeless Joe, upon which the movie Field of Dreams was based. A short story by Kinsella, Lieberman in Love, was the basis for a short film that won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film – the Oscar win came as a surprise to the author, who, watching the award telecast from home, had no idea the film had been made and released. He had not been listed in the film's credits, and was not acknowledged by director Christine Lahti in her acceptance speech – a full-page advertisement was later placed in Variety apologizing to Kinsella for the error. Kinsella's eight books of short stories about life on a First Nations reserve were the basis for the movie Dance Me Outside and CBC television series The Rez, both of which Kinsella considers very poor quality. The collection Fencepost Chronicles won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour in 1987.
Before becoming a professional author, he was a professor of English at the University of Calgary in Alberta. Kinsella suffered a car accident in 1997 which resulted in a long hiatus in his fiction-writing career until the publication of the novel, Butterfly Winter. He is a noted tournament Scrabble player, becoming more involved with the game after being disillusioned by the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. Near the end of his life he lived in Yale, British Columbia with his fourth wife, Barbara (d. 2012), and occasionally wrote articles for various newspapers.
In the year 1993, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2005, he was awarded the Order of British Columbia.
W.P. Kinsella elected to die on September 16, 2016 with the assistance of a physician.
William Patrick Kinsella was born to John Matthew Kinsella and Olive Kinsella in Edmonton, Alberta. Kinsella was raised until he was 10 years-old at a homestead near Darwell, Alberta, 60 km west of the city, home-schooled by his mother and taking correspondence courses. "I'm one of these people who woke up at age five knowing how to read and write," he says. When he was ten, the family moved to Edmonton.
As an adult, he held a variety of jobs in Edmonton, including as a clerk for the Government of Alberta and managing a credit bureau. In 1967, he moved to Victoria, British Columbia, running a pizza restaurant called Caesar's Italian Village and driving a taxi.
Though he had been writing since he was a child (winning a YMCA contest at age 14), he began taking writing courses at the University of Victoria in 1970, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing there in 1974. He travelled down to Iowa and earned a Master of Fine Arts in English degree through the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1978. In 1991, he was presented with an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from the University of Victoria.
Kinsella's most famous work is Shoeless Joe, upon which the movie Field of Dreams was based. A short story by Kinsella, Lieberman in Love, was the basis for a short film that won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film – the Oscar win came as a surprise to the author, who, watching the award telecast from home, had no idea the film had been made and released. He had not been listed in the film's credits, and was not acknowledged by director Christine Lahti in her acceptance speech – a full-page advertisement was later placed in Variety apologizing to Kinsella for the error. Kinsella's eight books of short stories about life on a First Nations reserve were the basis for the movie Dance Me Outside and CBC television series The Rez, both of which Kinsella considers very poor quality. The collection Fencepost Chronicles won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour in 1987.
Before becoming a professional author, he was a professor of English at the University of Calgary in Alberta. Kinsella suffered a car accident in 1997 which resulted in a long hiatus in his fiction-writing career until the publication of the novel, Butterfly Winter. He is a noted tournament Scrabble player, becoming more involved with the game after being disillusioned by the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. Near the end of his life he lived in Yale, British Columbia with his fourth wife, Barbara (d. 2012), and occasionally wrote articles for various newspapers.
In the year 1993, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2005, he was awarded the Order of British Columbia.
W.P. Kinsella elected to die on September 16, 2016 with the assistance of a physician.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 13, 2020
I was disappointed in this collection of short stories by Kinsella. I had ordered it along with a few other titles after reading Shoeless Joe, and just the other day I gave five stars to the author's first book Dance Me Outside.
This book has more short stories narrated by Silas Ermineskin, telling of escapades he had with his best friend Frank Fencepost. But the stories here were published as a collection in 1986, about ten years after DMO.
Nothing wrong with that, of course, but honestly a lot of the charm of the first volume is missing here. Our man Silas has improved his writing skills, and even talks here and there about how his work in now in magazines and how he goes sometimes to give readings. That's wonderful and certainly to be expected. Characters shouldn't remain too much the same as they progress in time, otherwise the author would be merely repeating himself.
But I missed the freshness, the sly wit, the deeper moments of the stories in DMO. Here each story unfolds like a Martin and Lewis farce, as if the author is going merely for the broad laughs that each situation could bring. The one story that I really liked was Dancing, with its truths about religion and attitudes, and some very insightful comments by our man Silas. Not to mention a brilliant way of turning the tables on people who are such bigots they cannot see the beauty in anything.
I skimmed more than a few of the selections and will not be keeping this book. I have others by Kinsella, two or three of his baseball-themed books, so when I get over my snit at the changes he made with Silas, I will start on them and see what happens.
This book has more short stories narrated by Silas Ermineskin, telling of escapades he had with his best friend Frank Fencepost. But the stories here were published as a collection in 1986, about ten years after DMO.
Nothing wrong with that, of course, but honestly a lot of the charm of the first volume is missing here. Our man Silas has improved his writing skills, and even talks here and there about how his work in now in magazines and how he goes sometimes to give readings. That's wonderful and certainly to be expected. Characters shouldn't remain too much the same as they progress in time, otherwise the author would be merely repeating himself.
But I missed the freshness, the sly wit, the deeper moments of the stories in DMO. Here each story unfolds like a Martin and Lewis farce, as if the author is going merely for the broad laughs that each situation could bring. The one story that I really liked was Dancing, with its truths about religion and attitudes, and some very insightful comments by our man Silas. Not to mention a brilliant way of turning the tables on people who are such bigots they cannot see the beauty in anything.
I skimmed more than a few of the selections and will not be keeping this book. I have others by Kinsella, two or three of his baseball-themed books, so when I get over my snit at the changes he made with Silas, I will start on them and see what happens.
April 29, 2009
These were read-aloud hilarious stories when I read them. It so happened that I was teaching in a band school on a reservation at the time, and when I quizzed band members, they too, claimed to enjoy the stories.
I'm not sure how I would rate this book today. I do still have the book, and with my 'Librarian Status', decided to upload it, and at the same time, to add the book to my collection.
If you are reading, or intend to read this, I would welcome any commments you might choose to make!
I'm not sure how I would rate this book today. I do still have the book, and with my 'Librarian Status', decided to upload it, and at the same time, to add the book to my collection.
If you are reading, or intend to read this, I would welcome any commments you might choose to make!
June 26, 2012
I loved this book of short stories! Being Native myself it was a refreshing look at our humour as opposed to the stereotypical view of a sombre, sad and angry 'Indian' of old.
October 14, 2024
Really funny stories of life among a group of young adults on an Indian Reservation in Western Canada. Example - the high school team is named "The Wagonburners." The Moccasin Telegraph is more of the same. I recommend them both.
June 30, 2012
These were some of the funniest stories I ever read and got me started on W.P. Kinsella.
January 18, 2018
Native humor at it's best, the characters are people I know in my community, LOL. If you grew up on the rez you will relate in some way and laugh right along
December 27, 2024
"It strange to think how something can make you angry, but make you laugh at the same time." -- p. 147
A fun on the surface read. You can skim along easily enough with these characters - fox-like grins, agreeable faces, silly stories. Picking it up to read one chapter at a time as you get to it. There are a bunch of fun, laugh out loud moments. It would be very easy to dismiss the contents as just comedy.
Taking each story side by side, it does a beautiful job of illustrating what frustration and forced acceptance look like... Making the best of what you get, no matter what you get. A smile on your face and a wry joke because hey, it is what it is and you cry if you don't laugh. You don't accept pity either - unless you can use it to part another dollar from them while poking fun with Frank behind their backs.
You can't help but enjoy the people even as you shake your head. Thoughtful, and provoking.
Good read.
Not something to loop repeatedly, but one to keep on the shelf for another read, a couple years on with a new angle/perspective.
A fun on the surface read. You can skim along easily enough with these characters - fox-like grins, agreeable faces, silly stories. Picking it up to read one chapter at a time as you get to it. There are a bunch of fun, laugh out loud moments. It would be very easy to dismiss the contents as just comedy.
Taking each story side by side, it does a beautiful job of illustrating what frustration and forced acceptance look like... Making the best of what you get, no matter what you get. A smile on your face and a wry joke because hey, it is what it is and you cry if you don't laugh. You don't accept pity either - unless you can use it to part another dollar from them while poking fun with Frank behind their backs.
You can't help but enjoy the people even as you shake your head. Thoughtful, and provoking.
Good read.
Not something to loop repeatedly, but one to keep on the shelf for another read, a couple years on with a new angle/perspective.
October 19, 2007
Hilarious picaresque novel.
July 28, 2011
This book, bu the Author of "Dield of Dreams" isn't baseball, and it had me laughing non-stop at its humorous description of life "on The Rez"
December 31, 2020
2020 bk 403: I don't remember who recommended this title - it was darn difficult to find a copy. The short humorous fictional essays are set around a Canadian First Nation tribe that is located in the middle of that great nation. I did laugh, well more of a snicker, at the hijinks some of the characters engaged in. By and large, well, I read it, but it isn't a keeper for me.
August 3, 2017
According to the Wikipedia entry for W. P. Kinsella, he called the term "cultural appropriation" the nonsense of Eastern Canadian academics.
Well, this book is just about as good an example of cultural appropriation as you can find; sort of the Cleveland Indians of short story writing.
One can be tempted to give Kinsella some leeway since the stories were written thirty plus years ago, but this is so blatant.
Well, this book is just about as good an example of cultural appropriation as you can find; sort of the Cleveland Indians of short story writing.
One can be tempted to give Kinsella some leeway since the stories were written thirty plus years ago, but this is so blatant.
August 9, 2013
I read these stories many, many years ago and recently revisited them. Some of these are laugh out loud stories with the sobering reality of life sprinkled in. Life on the Rez comes alive with Frank Fencepost and his community. I became a huge fan after the Miss Hobbema Pageant and have read all the books since. I highly recommend this book and Kinsella's other related books in the series.
November 23, 2025
The last book in this series worth reading; Like Dance Me Outside, this would get an extra star if it didn't suffer from the author's baked-in discrimination
October 14, 2011
Wish this was on Kindle. More tomorrow.
February 24, 2012
I laughed so hard and so loud while reading this book that my, then 6 year old, daughter said I was not allowed to read in public. She was mortified!
August 22, 2012
Hilarious antics of Indians on a reservation in Alberta. well written and a fun read.
October 14, 2015
I don't usually like short stories but these were great!
December 15, 2018
Nothing better then a W.P. Kinsella book to chase away the blahs of life.
August 18, 2020
Canadian short stories of interactions between natives and the government, natives and whites, native communities, is believe it or not Light Entertainment and a very funny read.
By today's social political climate these stories may be considered politically incorrect, slightly racist maybe but you get the impression they are poking fun at themselves for the entertainment of everyone. If you can laugh at yourself, it shows a positive level of understanding and awareness of your position in the world and acceptance and its a survival skill. For example, Their hockey team is called the Wagon Burners, they view the government programs as ridiculous as we do, the story of the Popes visit to a remote village is hilarious. What you can't change makes you more resilient, and in small town Alberta, survival in a harsh environment needs lots of humor, pranks, and ingenuity.
I laughed out loud, dont remember last book I read that gave me that. I plan to read the other 2 books in the series
By today's social political climate these stories may be considered politically incorrect, slightly racist maybe but you get the impression they are poking fun at themselves for the entertainment of everyone. If you can laugh at yourself, it shows a positive level of understanding and awareness of your position in the world and acceptance and its a survival skill. For example, Their hockey team is called the Wagon Burners, they view the government programs as ridiculous as we do, the story of the Popes visit to a remote village is hilarious. What you can't change makes you more resilient, and in small town Alberta, survival in a harsh environment needs lots of humor, pranks, and ingenuity.
I laughed out loud, dont remember last book I read that gave me that. I plan to read the other 2 books in the series
June 27, 2019
3.5 stars
My son loved these stories when he was growing up in the 1990s, often dissolving into laughter as he tried to read aloud the adventures of Frank Fencepost and Silas Ermineskin in Hobbema, Alta. This collection, The Fencepost Chronicles, won Canada's Stephen Leacock award for humour. There are sections that are still pretty funny, including stories of the rag-tag local hockey team. I'm not sure a lot of the parts have aged well, although things that W.P. Kinsella was skewering in the 1980s are still relevant, such as the politicians' historical treatment of the Cree and the ineptitude of government agencies.
My son loved these stories when he was growing up in the 1990s, often dissolving into laughter as he tried to read aloud the adventures of Frank Fencepost and Silas Ermineskin in Hobbema, Alta. This collection, The Fencepost Chronicles, won Canada's Stephen Leacock award for humour. There are sections that are still pretty funny, including stories of the rag-tag local hockey team. I'm not sure a lot of the parts have aged well, although things that W.P. Kinsella was skewering in the 1980s are still relevant, such as the politicians' historical treatment of the Cree and the ineptitude of government agencies.
October 21, 2024
I'm pretty sure I read this about 30 years ago. Reading it now, I realize how our 'settler' language has changed when talking about indigenous people.
However, I went to school with indigenous friends and a member of my family married an indigenous man and I recognize the 'Indian' humour and it still makes me laugh. Kinsella's stories reflect some of the ways that Canadian indigenous people make fun of 'white' Canadians.
However, I went to school with indigenous friends and a member of my family married an indigenous man and I recognize the 'Indian' humour and it still makes me laugh. Kinsella's stories reflect some of the ways that Canadian indigenous people make fun of 'white' Canadians.
August 9, 2019
WP Kinsella has an entertaining sense of humor that makes his short story telling very fun for the listener/reader. The Fencepost Chronicles is especially funny as the characters move in and around their reserve near Edmonton, Canada.
November 23, 2020
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this anywhere near as much as I did. The whole question of cultural appropriation worried me; but at base, they're just really good, well-written stories. And the Queen comes out looking pretty good...
January 5, 2021
It's amusing and also
October 1, 2021
Culturally inappropriate, forced humor, and stories that barely hold together. Only a famous name could get these published. I wish he hadn't.
December 25, 2022
I had forgotten just how much I enjoy reading W.P. Kinsella. These short stories, set on a Canadian Native reservation, are hilarious.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews