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J. Michael "Mikey" Yates, author of LINE SCREW (McClelland & Stewart) 1993, strikes a pose for photographer Mario Bartel, near Deer Lake, Burnaby. The old prison was completely demolished 20 years ago, to make way for a massive condominium development.
I was pleased that J. Michael Yates made the front page. Mikey is not only my favorite "Oakie" but his book LINE SCREW, written after leaving B.C. Corrections, is the best account of the prison published so far. That comment is not meant to in any way diminish other books, such as Earl Andersen's narrative history of the prison (which is indispensable), but simply to acknowledge that Yates is a cut above in terms of his prose and analysis of the Oakalla experience - on both sides of the bars. Of course most of the names in LINE SCREW are pseudonyms, but let's lay the blame at the feet of M&S's lawyers, where it belongs.
Ms. Chow also included a few paragraphs on our ongoing project. The Oakalla documentary is a labour of love, like child rearing, but I trust will not consume so many of my remaining years. One final note, as I am a stickler for accuracy. I am quoted as saying "300,000" inmates and staff worked inside of Oakalla fences during its nearly 80 years of operation. Yes, I said it. Ms. Chow is accurate, as usual. But the number was 130,000 according to a 1991 press handout. My only excuse is that my poor brain was still befuddled by Kinmen Kaoliang, a fiery Taiwanese liquor. I made merry the night before the interview at a late-night Chinese New Year party. The stuff is very potent, and I still recall a few parties in Taiwan where I consumed a litre or more of it, combined with Shaoshing Wine. It usually took 10 - 12 hours to recover, and my throat always felt like it had been cut.
It's really unfortunate that a great deal of the stories told in Line Screw were not Mr. Yates' to tell. In fact, there are a couple stories that he tells as his own that he was never there for at all. He merely heard the stories and recreated them as his own.
ReplyDeleteThe book was well written, I give him that. But shame on him for trying to pass off stories as his own when he was never part of the action in the first place. He lied in his book & he lied in his interview when he told Miss Chow that he never had any real training at Oakalla. When he started at Oakalla, there was already a training program in place for all new recruits. To say that he learned through his "wits & common sense" is a complete lie.
It's truly unfortunate that he felt the need to glorify his past by using the stories of the people he worked with.
I agree with Tori, I worked at Oakalla from 1975-1984 and know Mike well and having just perused his book there is considerable poetic license and fiction specially considering by his own account he was only at Oakalla for 2 years tops. Truly a shame.
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