John Christian Hopkins

John Christian Hopkins (born 1960) is a Narragansett journalist, author, poet and public speaker who resides in Tuba City, Arizona, United States. After having grown up in Westerly, Rhode Island, Hopkins graduated from the University of Rhode Island with degrees in journalism and history in 1987.

Journalism
Hopkins spent time as a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist for the Gannett News Service, and has also written for USA Today, The News-Press, The Pequot Times, The Westerly Sun, Indian Country Today Media Network, News from Indian Country and Native Peoples magazine. His work has received recognition from the Gannett Awards and the Native American Journalists Association Awards (NAJAA). In 2003, he became the first member of the NAJAA to receive awards in four different writing categories during the same year (news, features, sports and columns).

Publications
Hopkins has published five books: Carlomagno in 2003, Nacogdoches in 2004, The Pirate Prince Carlomagno in 2011,  Twilight of the Gods in 2011,  and Rhyme or Reason: Narragansett Poetry in 2012.

While Hopkins has been in the journalism business for twenty-plus years, he also delved into writing novels over the last decade. His first book, Carlomagno, is based off King Philip's War, fictionally elaborating on the story of King Philip's captured son, whom he names "Carlomagno." Hopkins’s long love of westerns is apparent in Nacogdoches, which follows “The Rango Kid,” as he impersonates a sheriff and finds himself forced to stand up to a criminal. The Prince of Carlomagno continues to tell a story of a young Native American’s struggles to elude slavery. In Twilight of the Gods, Hopkins explores the science fiction genre by writing about the supernatural coming to life, based on the Mayan calendar’s predictions. Most recently, Hopkins published Rhyme or Reason: Narragansett Poetry, which touches on Narragansett tribal history.

In 2011, Hopkins told The Chariho Times' Anthony Arusso about his drive in becoming a writer:

“I don’t know if you believe in fate, or that someone is born to do something,” Hopkins said, “but there’s never been anything else I’ve ever wanted to do but write.”

Writing Style
Hopkins's writing style varies depending on the medium in which he is writing. The following excerpt depicts his humorous tone as a nationally syndicated columnist:

— ”My Past Lives Relived for You,” Indian Country Today Media Network
 * I never planned to be a failed journalist or a hack writer. Seriously, in my youth, I had big plans that included wealth, women and worldwide fame.
 * Now I’d settle for a Twinkie and a Diet Coke.
 * I’m not one of those quacks that hope to better his or her life by climbing Mount Everest or learning to make origami swans. Instead, I am devoted to Self-Hypnotic Introspection Therapy. (You figure out the acronym for that).
 * I’m not one of those quacks that hope to better his or her life by climbing Mount Everest or learning to make origami swans. Instead, I am devoted to Self-Hypnotic Introspection Therapy. (You figure out the acronym for that).
 * I’m not one of those quacks that hope to better his or her life by climbing Mount Everest or learning to make origami swans. Instead, I am devoted to Self-Hypnotic Introspection Therapy. (You figure out the acronym for that).