Rankin Inlet (Nov 20/06) - You can't help but join in the children's laughter as Michael Kusugak rolls back his head and barks like a seal.

The popular children's book author from Rankin Inlet held a modest gathering of young people spellbound at the John Ayaruaq Library earlier this month as he officially launched his new book, The Curse of the Shaman, in the Kivalliq.

Rankin author Michael Kusugak uses a number of tricks he learned from his uncle, Qulliq, who he says was one of the greatest storytellers he has ever known. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

Kusugak has been in demand lately, travelling the country telling stories, facilitating writing workshops and introducing southerners to Inuit culture.

The Curse of the Shaman, Kusugak's ninth book, is doing extremely well, putting a smile on his face that's even wider than his regular infectious grin.

After successful tours of the west and Pacific regions, Kusugak is off to attend various events in Ontario to mark Children's Book Week.

Kusugak said he never felt any trepidation about writing a book dealing with shamanism, although he did give it a bit of thought.

He decided qablunaaq write about their shamans all the time, so why can't Inuit?

"Harry Potter, really, is about qablunaaq shamans, and you might say that series has met with a fair amount of success," he said with a laugh.

"I've always had a problem with people saying we can't talk about shamanism, because some of the most wonderful people I have ever known were shamans.

"I don't like the idea of not being able to talk about every aspect of your culture. It's devastating, not only to your culture but to your self-identity as a person, not to talk about these things. It turned out I had great fun writing this book."

Kusugak was met with an overwhelming response during stops in Calgary and Vancouver.

He completely sold out his shows at Calgary's WordFest, another in Vancouver, and drew the largest crowds ever seen for a storyteller at the Banff Public Library.

Kusugak said while the shows were wonderful, perhaps more interesting was his trip to Port Hardy, at the north end of Vancouver Island.

He'd do a writing workshop with high school kids every morning and then spend the rest of the day at smaller communities in the area.

"I actually travelled to one by water taxi and there were only eight kids in the school from Grade 2 to Grade 9, which was amazing.

"There were only nine students registered at another school in Echo Bay, on an island off the coast of Vancouver Island. Four of them came to my show, so it was strange to be at a school where the adults outnumbered the kids.

"On the way back, we ran into four humpback whales and about 120 dolphins or porpoises, which made my trip even more memorable."

The Curse of the Shaman was short-listed for an aboriginal children's book award in Saskatchewan, and received excellent reviews in both the Quill & Quire and the Canadian Children's Book Centre's newsletter, which placed it on the recommended reading list.

Kusugak said he's enjoying the exposure the book's success has been bringing him.

He said that, to him, the world's two greatest storytellers are his uncle, Qulliq, and the author of The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer.

"I always loved that book, and read it like I read the Bible. You never really have to start at the beginning. You can start anywhere and still get something out of it.

"With my uncle, it was the way he made a story come alive. When he told a story, it was like you were right there in it and I try to do that when I tell stories."

Kusugak said one of his uncle's best tricks was to question how people could do things in the stories he told.

He'd interact with his audience by asking, "How could he do that? I can't do that? Can you do that?"

"There's a scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where they're on a hill being pursued by a posse and one of the characters says, "How can they do that? I can't do that? Can you do that?

"That's exactly what my uncle would do in making a story come alive."

Kusugak has begun work on the sequel to the Curse of the Shaman, which he plans to write into a trilogy.

The first book is set in a time before Inuit had any contact with the outside world.

"Really, to us at that time, there was nobody else in the world except Inuit. The second book is set after contact with the outside world is established. I had the contract for the second book before I put a word down, so I must be doing something right."