Hip made us think about Wenjack : Author
Michael Barclay reading excerpts from his book Wednesday
The author of a bestselling book about The Tragically Hip will be in the city Wednesday to talk about his work.
Michael Barclay is the author of The Never-Ending Present: The Story of Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip.
He’ll be at The Garnet on Hunter St. from 8 to 10 p.m., reading excerpts and discussing the unauthorized biography of “Canada’s band.”
Melanie Buddle, Gzowski College’s principal – who also happens to be Barclay’s former university roomie – is hosting the event.
The event is part of Barclay’s coast-to-coast Canadian book tour.
A hardcover copy of the book was released in April and a paperback comes out in May. The 380-page read includes a colour photo spread.
Barclay’s inspiration stemmed from Canada’s reaction to The Hip’s final tour in 2016, following Downie’s announcement that he was dying of brain cancer.
“I was amazed and pleasantly surprised how much the story resonated with so many people and many people who weren’t even big fans of the band,” said Barclay, 46.
The response got him thinking, why does Canada care so much about this band and this man?
Three weeks after the tour ended, Downie alerted Canadians that he was releasing one last project, Secret Path. The album, video and booklet tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, an Indigenous boy who died on his walk home after escaping a Residential School.
The Wenjack Theatre at Trent University has long been named after the boy and Trent’s school of Indigenous studies was named after him earlier this year.
“He took all the goodwill and all the spotlight that had been shone on him that summer and said, ‘I’m back and now I want you to pay attention to this,’” Barclay said of Wenjack’s story.
Secret Path grabbed Canadian’s attention regarding resi-
dential schools in a way that hadn’t happened before, Barclay said.
Again, Barclay asked himself why.
He realized The Hip’s story needed to be told. No print biography had ever been written about them, and it was time – not just for the fans, but for those who were new to the story, too.
“It’s history. It’s Canadian history and it’s rock and roll history.”
What makes The Hip’s story more than just a Canadian story, Barclay said, is their uniqueness.
The band’s brotherhood was uncommon – it’s not often the same five members stick together for 30 years.
The tour that followed Downie’s news of brain cancer was also uncanny.
“No one else had done that at that level – announce that they’re dying, then go on an arena tour – that has never happened.”
Barclay interviewed 80 people over three months for the book. He then dedicated four months to writing, the majority of which was done near Buckhorn.
The outcome was two books in one, Barclay said.
It tells a chronological story of The Hip, with every second chapter exploring a theme, such as hockey, dance, poetry and music.
“These chapters examine all these things that the Tragically Hip make us think about.”
Since the book’s release, Barclay said he hasn’t heard from any Hip members, but has received feedback from Downie’s friends, people in the book, and former managers and producers, for example.
“I’ve had a lot of great feedback from people very, very close to the story so that means a lot to me.”