by Janet Smellie
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 22/97) - Some lucky Northerners will get the chance to catch the insights of one of Canada's leading journalists and authors this week.

Oakland Ross, an award-winning Globe and Mail correspondent who worked for 15 years covering wars and civil strive in both Latin America and Africa will be touring Yellowknife, Hay River, Fort Smith and Cambridge Bay.

Ross has also published two books based on his experiences travelling: Guerilla Beach, a collection of short fiction set in Latin America; and A Fire On the Mountains (Exploring the Human Spirit from Mexico to Madagascar), which takes the readers to the dozens of war-torn countries in which he was based.

"I'm really excited, especially about my visit to the Far North," Ross said from his home in Toronto last week. "I've got a really packed schedule, but I'll still have a chance to wander around. I'm like most Canadians -- I know very little about my own country."

Ross' schedule will see him arrive in Fort Smith today, Hay River tomorrow. He'll spend Wednesday and Thursday in Yellowknife before travelling to Cambridge Bay on the 26.

Currently living in Toronto, where he freelances, Ross is also the volunteer president of World Literacy Canada, a non-governmental organization that promotes literacy programs in Canada and South Asia.

His visit north is being sponsored by the Canada Council of Arts and the Yellowknife Public Library.