Wagoosh has a vision and follows the signs south. Absalom, an escaped house slave, is running north. When the two meet, the inevitable clash of cultures leads us into little explored historical territory–and on a strange and desperate flight from Abraham, the plantation owner. Red, black, and white, eventually the men must come to grips with the things that unite them as well as those that divide them. With humour, music, and poetry, Governor General’s Award-winner Ian Ross paints a compelling picture of the complex nature of race relations in 19th-century America.
About the Author
Metis/Ojibway playwright and author Ian Ross was born in McCreary, Manitoba in 1968 and graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film and Theatre. Ross’s plays include the Governor General’s Literary Award winner fareWel, which had productions across Canada and at the Edinburgh Festival, The Gap, Bereav’d of Light, Heart of a Distant Tribe, An Illustrated History of the Anishinabe, and The Third Colour. Ross has written for theatre, film, and television, and is well-known for his radio character “Joe from Winnipeg.” Ian Ross has been awarded the John Hirsch Award (1996), the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama (1997) for fareWel, and the James Buller Award (1999). Ian lives in Winnipeg.