Yann Martel was thrilled to receive a letter from President Barack Obama, praising his novel Life of Pi. But the internationally-acclaimed writer points out that every accolade is special. He says, "I'm gratified that the president of the United States wrote to me, but I'm also gratified when a 16-year-old writes to me and says 'I liked your book'." And while Yann is flattered by the accolades he has received, he is quick to point out that is not what motivates him, saying "It's nice to be appreciated, but it's not why I do it." Referring to his novel Beatrice and Virgil, he explains, "I wrote a story about the Holocaust because I wanted to understand the Holocaust." Described as "one of Canada's most wildly imaginative writers," Yann did not start out to become a writer. He began writing, on the side, while studying philosophy at Trent University. "I was terrible, at first. I wrote a bunch of really bad plays and short stories. But I loved playing with language, creating a set, inventing characters," he says. "I kept at it and, slowly, I became a writer." Yann chose Trent because it was more focused on learning than some of the larger institutions. Looking back, he values the intimacy and quality of the Trent experience. "I liked the smallness of the classes and the accessibility of the professors. It was a very stimulating environment," he says. "And I loved the main campus, the Ron Thom architecture." Life of Pi has brought Yann international recognition. The award-winning novel was recently made into a motion picture that has been nominated for eleven Academy Awards. But while he is gratified by the success of Life of Pi, he stresses that writing the novel, in itself, was a joyful and deeply satisfying experience. "We all need to be creative, whether it's with gardening or cooking or building something or writing a novel. To write a novel, like composing a sonata or painting a painting, is an incredibly satisfying achievement. When you do that, you contradict King Lear: something does come of nothing. It demands everything from you—and that's rewarding in itself, to give everything you've got." Yann has also gained notoriety for his project What is Stephen Harper for Reading? Over a four year period, he sent the Canadian prime minister 100 books accompanied by an explanatory letter, in the hope of opening up a dialogue on the value of reading. "Books can change how people view their lives," he says. "If you are open to a story, it can be transformative. But if you never read, in our highly complex, highly knowledge-based society, how do you know about life, how do you understand life?" He sees the environment at Trent as being conducive to the development of broad-minded, critical thinkers. "The world needs, above all else, thinking citizens who are informed in a way that they can deal with the world's complexity. You need a mind that is supple and resilient. A good university, like Trent, can develop that." Yann is currently working on his third novel, The High Mountains of Portugal. "It's a three part novel. I've finished part one and I'm halfway through part two. I'm as excited about it as I was when I was writing Life of Pi," he says.

• published: 25 Feb 2013
• views: 351