Warren Cariou facts for kids

Warren Cariou is a Canadian writer and a professor at the University of Manitoba. He is known for his books, especially Lake of the Prairies, and for his unique photography using oil.

About Warren Cariou

Warren Cariou was born in 1966 in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. He grew up on a farm there, which inspired his writing. He studied at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Toronto. He earned a PhD in English from the University of Toronto in 1998.

His Career and Teaching

After finishing his studies, Cariou became a writer and a professor. He teaches Aboriginal Literature at the University of Manitoba. He is also the director of the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture. This center helps people learn about writing and storytelling.

Cariou is married to Alison Calder, who is also a poet and literature professor. Before becoming a professor, he worked in different jobs. These included being a construction worker, a technical writer, and a political advisor.

Warren Cariou's Books

Warren Cariou has written several books. His first book of short stories, The Exalted Company of Roadside Martyrs, came out in 1999.

Lake of the Prairies

In 2002, he published his memoir called Lake of the Prairies: A Story of Belonging. A memoir is a book about a part of the author's own life. This book became very popular and helped him reach more readers. It won the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize in 2002. It was also considered for the Charles Taylor Prize in 2004.

Films and Photography

Warren Cariou has also worked on documentary films. He has explored a special type of photography.

Documentary Films

In 2009, Cariou worked with Neil McArthur on two documentaries. These films are called Overburden and Land of Oil and Water. They talk about how the production of tar sands affects Indigenous communities. Tar sands are a type of oil deposit found in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Petrography: Photography with Oil

After making these films, Cariou started a new project. He began using the thick, dark oil from tar sands to create photographs. He calls this unique art form "petrography."

How Petrography Works

Petrography means "petroleum-photography." It involves making images using sunlight and bitumen. Bitumen is the heavy oil found in the Athabasca tar sands region of Canada. Cariou experiments with this material to create his art. He even got help from Dr. Dusan Stulik, a scientist at the Getty Conservation Institute.

Awards and Recognition

Warren Cariou has received several honors for his work.

• In 2002, he won the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize for Lake of the Prairies.
• In 2005, he was a Canadian Studies Fellow in Residence at the University of Greifswald in Germany.