Four Examples of Writing from Interviews

  1. Writing in interview style with questions and responses
    This example of writing in the interview style is from Travelling and Surviving on Our Land by George Agiaq Kappianaq and Cornelius Nutaraq.3 The editors have chosen specific selections from the interviews and organized them into topics within chapters. An introduction gives background information, but the rest of the book is written in question and response format.

    Agiaq: Recollections of the Past

    Can you tell us more about your first catch?
    Agiaq: My first real catch was important to me, and I will always remember it. It was a large bull caribou. My father helped me get it. It was so close to me that I could see it chewing. I could see its eyes moving. It was no surprise that I killed it.

    What was your second kill?
    Agiaq: It was a nurraq, a caribou calf.

    Do you remember when you got your first seal?
    Agiaq: Yes, I was still a boy then. Although I was very proud of it, I cannot remember if it was male or female. Perhaps, because it was not my first kill, I didn’t take note of this.

    So these were your first kills?
    Agiaq: Yes, my first kill was a big bull caribou. We were living in an area where there were no caribou then. I was a little bit older when we moved to where the caribou were.

    Was it only after you had your first catch that you were able to get a wife?
    Agiaq: It was long after my first kill that I got married. I did not get married when I wanted to get married. I had a prearranged marriage, and my wife started living with us. She was an orphan. My mother looked after her.