An irreverent, insightful take on our First Nations’ great gift to Canada, delivered by a stellar cast of contributors.

Humour has always been an essential part of North American Aboriginal culture. This fact remained unnoticed by most settlers, however, since non-Aboriginals just didn’t get the joke. Indians, it was believed, never laughed. But Indians themselves always knew better.

As an award-winning playwright, columnist and comedy-sketch creator, Drew Hayden Taylor has spent fifteen years writing and researching Aboriginal humour. For this book, he asked a leading group of writers from a variety of fields—among them such celebrated wordsmiths as Thomas King, Lee Maracle and Tomson Highway—to take a look at what makes Aboriginal humour tick. Their challenging, informative and hilarious contributions examine the use of humour in areas as diverse as stand-up comedy, fiction, visual art, drama, performance, poetry, traditional storytelling and education. As Me Funny makes clear, there is no single definition of Aboriginal humour. But the contributors do agree on some common ground: Native humour pushes the envelope. With this collection, readers will have the unforgettable opportunity to appreciate that for themselves.

Ojibway writer Drew Hayden Taylor is from the Curve Lake Reserve in Ontario. Hailed by the Montreal Gazette as one of Canada’s leading Native dramatists, he writes for the screen as well as the stage and contributes regularly to North American Native periodicals and national NEWSpapers. His plays have garnered many prestigious awards, and his beguiling and perceptive storytelling style has enthralled audiences in Canada, the United States and Germany. His 1998 play Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth has been anthologized in Seventh Generation: An Anthology of Native American Plays, published by the Theatre Communications Group. Although based in Toronto, Taylor has travelled extensively throughout North America, honouring requests to read from his work and to attend arts festivals, workshops and productions of his plays. He was also invited to Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute in California, where he taught a series of seminars on the depiction of Native characters in fiction, drama and film. One of his most established bodies of work includes what he calls the Blues Quartet, an ongoing, outrageous and often farcical examination of Native and non-Native stereotypes.

Drew Hayden Taylor's profile page

• Winner, First Americans in the Arts - Outstanding Achievement in Literary Works

Me Funny

Me Funny is an anthology of eleven essays written by Aboriginal humourists explaining and defining the indigenous sense of humour. Each essay is interspersed with hilarious examples. The authors depict the social functions of humour within Aboriginal communities. The book explains the need for humour to alleviate daily problems and put life into proper perspective. Within Aboriginal cultures and traditions, humour is a teaching tool, giving instruction about living and life experiences. The ability to laugh at oneself demonstrates pride and a strong self-assurance.

An award-winning playwright and columnist, Drew Hayden Taylor has spent fifteen years writing and researching Aboriginal humour.

Caution: frequent use of the word “Indian” throughout the book. The racial satire and related culturally stereotypical humour may be offensive to some. Some jokes contain sexual content.