The fascinating life of a bookseller

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This article was published 20/04/2022 (1622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KELSEY JAMES

STAFF REPORTER

A Whyte Ridge resident has made his directorial debut with a documentary about his uncle.

Arthur MacKinnon chose to profile award-winning Canadian independent bookseller John Oleksiuk, 77, in his upcoming film, Johnny O & the Book Biz.

“He had such a great way of listening to people that came into the bookstore, and it’s incredible the number of personalities he met,” MacKinnon, 31, said.

Oleksiuk shares stories of his encounters with famous writers, actors, politicians and musicians, including Neil Young, Margaret Atwood and Lord Snowdon. The film initially began its life as an episode-length project, but MacKinnon expanded it into a feature documentary because he had “so much great content.”

“John described a time and a place when we walked into a bookstore for an experience, not just a transaction,” MacKinnon said. “He recounts his journey through the book biz and all the authors, actors and musicians he crossed paths with.”

Something that’s been lost during the pandemic is human interaction, MacKinnon said. Readers used to get a coffee and go into a bookstore to browse or talk to people, but now we’re ordering online with little to no face-to-face interaction.

“There’s no communication there, and that’s something that’s missing, but I think John Oleksiuk describes so well that was really happening throughout the ’60s (to the) ’90s,” MacKinnon said. “It’s part of what the film is about and the story he tells.”

While MacKinnon knew his uncle had a lot of stories about the Canadian writing business, it wasn’t until he pursued the project that he was able to hear them all.

“Something that he describes in the film is the personalities that a bookstore had,” MacKinnon said. “I was just blown away by how many little surprises there were along the way.”

Oleksiuk worked at a bookstore in Osborne Village called Mary Scorer Books. He started working there in 1973, went on to own the business years later and eventually won a Canadian independent bookseller of the year award.

“It’s a trip down memory lane for baby boomers, and then for millennials it’s almost like a history lesson in Canadian literature and book-selling,” MacKinnon said. “Every story is really unique, so even if you don’t know who the person is, the story is so well told that it takes you right into who they are.”

Now that his first full-length feature is complete, MacKinnon plans to continue focusing on local Canadian stories.

“There’s a lot of great Canadians and Manitobans, and I really like documentary as a medium because it’s a neat way to tap into who someone is and what their story is, and for other people to be able to learn from it,” MacKinnon said.

Johnny O & the Book Biz premiered on March 27 but tickets by donation, which get you a link to view the film, are still available at www.gofundme.comf/tickets-for-digital-premiere-by-donation