CHASING PAINTED HORSES
BY DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR
ABOUT ONE BOOK ONE AURORA
OneBookOneAurora celebrates Canadian writing and builds community through the shared experience of reading and discussing the same book. We hope you enjoy this year’s selection and join us to meet Drew Hayden Taylor on Saturday, October 23, 2021.
CHASING PAINTED HORSES
When Ralph Thomas comes across graffiti of a horse in an alleyway in the early hours of the morning, he is stopped in his tracks for he recognizes this horse. A half-asleep Indigenous homeless man sees Ralph’s reaction to the horse and calls out to him.
Over the course of a morning’s worth of hot coffee on a bitterly cold day, Ralph and the homeless man talk, and Ralph remembers a troubling moment from his childhood when an odd little girl, Danielle, drew the most beautiful and intriguing horse on his mother’s Everything Wall, winning the competition set up for children on the Otter Lake Reserve.
Ralph has lived with many questions that arose from his eleventh winter. What did the horse mean — to him, his sister, his best friend, and, most importantly, the girl who drew it?
Chasing Painted Horses will enchant you and stay with you long after you close the last page. We invite you to come on a journey with us as we explore the themes of this magical book.
Drew Hayden Taylor is an Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations in Ontario. Self-described as a contemporary story teller, his exploration of the storytelling tradition has explored many boundaries.
Drew has worn many hats in his literary career, from performing stand-up comedy at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., to Artistic Director of Canada’s premiere Native theatre company, Native Earth Performing Arts.
An award-winning playwright, author, columnist, filmmaker and lecturer, Drew’s writing combines humour, passion, spirituality and hard-hitting realism.
Tap Into Your Imagination
Chasing Painted Horses by Drew Hayden Taylor has a magical, fable-like quality.
This year’s OBOA writing contest invites you to tap into your imagination and draw from elements of fantasy, fairy tale, science fiction or magic realism.
Submission Guidelines:
Prizes: Winner: $100 Gift Card | Runner-Up: $50 Gift Card
PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
Art in Unexpected Places
Street art enhances our experience of a place. Whether it’s urban graffiti, sculpture or yarn bombing, public art interrupts our daily routine, surprising and delighting passersby. This year’s OBOA photography contest invites your photos of art encountered in unexpected places.
Submission Guidelines:
Prizes: Winner: $75 Gift Card | Runner-Up: $25 Gift Card
CHALKBOARD ART CONTEST
The Everything Wall
Be inspired and transform the fencing around Library Square into the Everything Wall, an evolving community art project.
Snap a picture of your work and submit it to lfrechette@aurorapl.ca for a chance to win a prize in a weekly draw.
Entries will be posted on APL’s FB page.
Thank you for respecting community standards.
Contest dates: July 5 - 30, 2021
Inspired by the OBOA featured novel Chasing Painted Horses
by Drew Hayden Taylor.
CAROUSEL OF HORSES
Artists Sue Foerster and Archie Maghsoudloo play with pigment and form, expressing horses as symbol, power and mythology in a joint exhibit of painting and sculpture.
Enjoy the gallery experience from the comfort of your home at https://www.aurorapl.ca/content/art-gallery
MEET DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR
Meet Drew Hayden Taylor and enjoy a fascinating glimpse into the experiences that shaped this powerful book.
Presentation | Reading l Q&A
Saturday, October 23, 2021
2:00pm | Virtual Event
Tickets available August 1
Register at bit.ly/3pzC8mV
If your book club would like to borrow multiple copies of Chasing Painted Horses, please contact Reccia at rmandelcorn@aurorapl.ca. Copies will be available starting February through July 2021.
While quantities last.
Discussion Questions
Print copies are available to borrow from Aurora Public Library and online
through cloudLibrary.
We hope you enjoy the book and look forward to seeing you at the events.
Year of programming takes shape around Chasing Painted Horses
The Auroran, January 14, 2021
“Chasing Painted Horses” is 2021 One Book One Aurora pick
The Auroran, January 7, 2021
Drew Hayden Taylor & Clayton Gauthier win 2020 PMC Indigenous Literature Awards
CBC Books Sept. 28, 2020
Healing through humour: Author Drew Hayden Taylor on why laughing matters Unreserved
(CBC) May 8, 2020
Why I Write: Drew Hayden Taylor
CBC Books (2018)
Aurora Public Library would like to thank Cormorant Books and most especially Marc Coté for their generous support of OneBookOneAurora