Two-time National Magazine Award Honourable-Mention honouree Arno Kopecky has written a book about the impact of mining among indigenous communities in South America.
The Devil’s Curve (Douglas & McIntyre), follows politicians, native communities, mining companies and anti-mining activists through a series of events, protest movements and harrowing experiences that culminated in the deaths of dozens of Peruvian natives in a place called The Devil’s Curve in June 2009.
From D&M’s site:
“Arno Kopecky picks up the story where the news left off. Travelling to Peru and Colombia, he follows radical left-wing politicians on the campaign trail, discusses black magic with villagers, winds up in gunfights and hallucinates in dark huts. Superbly crafted and full of complex and captivating characters, The Devil’s Curve is a story that speaks to universal themes of the dislocation of Aboriginal people, the inequitable distribution of wealth globally and the abdication of responsibility from governments to corporations. Kopecky’s remarkable debut is a haunting tale, brilliantly told, of how affluent Western lifestyles impact distant societies.”
Kopecky has been nominated for two National Magazine Awards for his writing in The Walrus. He’s also been published in The Tyee, Maclean’s and Foreign Policy. This is his first book. You can check out a review of the book in the fall issue of Maisonneuve, Canada’s Magazine of the Year.
