Satirical commentator Drew Hayden Taylor to speak  

When Drew Hayden Taylor brought his play Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth to Harrison Hot Springs in 2002, audiences couldn't get enough of his satirical humour - the shows sold out. Taylor will be back in the Fraser Valley on Wed., Sept. 24, this time as a speaker in the University College of the Fraser Valley 's President's Lecture Series, at 7 p.m. in the Chilliwack Theatre.

The theme of the 2003-04 series is The Power of Diversity. Taylor, a noted author, playwright, public speaker, and an Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario , will present his views on Portaging the White Waters of Native Humour.  

Taylor is well known for his humorous approach to the serious issues of identity, politics, and racism. He has written a three-book series on the subject, launched by Funny, You Don't Look Like One: Observations of a Blue-Eyed Ojibway. His plays, which have received numerous awards, include The Buz'gem Blues, The Bootlegger Blues and AlterNatives.  

Shirley Hardman, UCFV Aboriginal access coordinator, is one of the people responsible for inviting Taylor to speak. "I saw his play in Harrison , and it was just awesome," she says, adding that one of the reasons Taylor 's work is so funny is because it strikes a chord that rings true. "He tells the story of life for many First Nations people, a very real story."  

That's also why Hardman says she enjoyed Taylor 's book, Funny, You Don't Look Like One. "It was just hilarious, and it was also the truth," she says. "As a First Nations person, you sometimes do get people saying to you, 'Oh, I didn't know you were one.' It makes you wonder, what picture is it in their mind that you're 'one' of?"  

 John Moffatt, an English instructor at UCFV who teaches Taylor 's work in some of his courses, says he has found that students respond well to the writer's good-humoured approach to issues. "Taylor has a way of presenting difficult and controversial issues that is humorous and lighthearted, but still gets audiences, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal alike, to think in new ways," says Moffatt.  

Drew Hayden Taylor is the first speaker in this year's President's Lecture Series. Sponsored in part by the Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation, the series is open to the public and admission is free. For more information on Drew Hayden Taylor, as well as a list of upcoming speakers in the President's Lecture Series, visit www.ucfv.ca/lectures

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