creative writing / en Students from 91勛圖 Mississauga's first spoken-word course take the mic for live performance /news/students-u-t-mississauga-s-first-spoken-word-course-take-mic-live-performance <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Students from 91勛圖 Mississauga's first spoken-word course take the mic for live performance</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1178057545-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=990Elrv_ 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1178057545-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=bVgsJHkJ 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1178057545-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=h7jBJMDC 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1178057545-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=990Elrv_" alt="A microphone in front of an audience."> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-04-10T14:22:12-04:00" title="Monday, April 10, 2023 - 14:22" class="datetime">Mon, 04/10/2023 - 14:22</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/ali-raza" hreflang="en">Ali Raza</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/current-sudents" hreflang="en">Current Sudents</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/facutly-staff" hreflang="en">Facutly &amp; Staff</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-writing" hreflang="en">creative writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/poetry" hreflang="en">Poetry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/school-continuing-studies" hreflang="en">School of Continuing Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">91勛圖 Mississauga</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Students at the 91勛圖 Mississauga had the chance to take a unique course&nbsp;this past semester, learning all about the art of spoken word.</p> <p>The course, taught by poet and&nbsp;91勛圖 Mississauga lecturer&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.andreathompson.ca/">Andrea Thompson</a></strong>, aims to cultivate students' skill in the "empowering art form," Thompson says.</p> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <p><img alt="Andrea Thompson" src="/sites/default/files/2023-04/AT%20Fall%202020.png" style="width: 250px; height: 250px;"><br> <em>Andrea Thompson</em></p> </div> <p>The goal is to create a transformative experience that changes students lives.</p> <p>The students in the third-year course are set to show off what they learned&nbsp;at a showcase at the MiST Theatre on April 11.</p> <p>Thompson&nbsp;had previously&nbsp;taught&nbsp;spoken word&nbsp;at 91勛圖s School of Continuing Studies, but the 91勛圖 Mississauga class&nbsp;&nbsp;offered as a&nbsp;<a href="https://utm.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/eng377h5">special topics in creative writing</a>&nbsp;course&nbsp;&nbsp;is the first credit course in spoken word offered at that campus.</p> <p>There arent a lot of spoken-word courses being taught [anywhere] as credit courses, Thompson&nbsp;says. I was really excited about this, and so were the students.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Sumyia&nbsp;Hashmi</strong>, who will be performing at the showcase, says&nbsp;the course has enhanced her writing and poetry skills.&nbsp;</p> <p>I hope its a recurring course at the university, says Hashmi, a fourth-year student studying English with a minor in creative writing.&nbsp;</p> <p>Hashmi had been writing short stories and prose since Grade 9, but didn't become interested in poetry until coming to 91勛圖 Mississauga. After taking a series of courses on poetry and literature, including Thompson's spoken-word class, Hashmi says she's "come out of her shell."</p> <p>The course taught her not just how to write poetry and recite it, she notes, but also to collaborate&nbsp;with other students, develop critical thinking and articulate her ideas.&nbsp;</p> <p>Instead of a&nbsp;typical lecture format, Thompson gives her students weekly assignments and writing prompts, encouraging them to work interactively and share their work in open discussions before they perform their poetry.</p> <p>A lot of us were nervous at first, Hashmi says, adding that after hearing Thompson read from her own work and inviting discussion, the students became more comfortable with spoken word as an art form.</p> <p>A spoken-word performance involves much more than reading words on a page, Thompson says. There is a dramatic element to reciting the poem that involves body language, word choice, pauses, gestures&nbsp;and more.</p> <p>You want to use everything in your physicality, she says. You use stance breaks, line breaks, word choice &nbsp;all these tools."</p> <p>Thompson, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/main-news/utm-lecturer-explores-lineage-faith-and-black-history-new-spoken-word-album">recently released her own spoken-word album</a>,&nbsp;<em>The Good Word</em>, says she's excited to see her students' takes on performing the work they developed in the course.</p> <p>"Your voice is the number-one&nbsp;tool to take whats in your head and heart&nbsp;&nbsp;and on the page&nbsp;&nbsp;and make that come alive.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 10 Apr 2023 18:22:12 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 301047 at 91勛圖's Randy Boyagoda discusses his new novel, inspired by Dante and set in small-town Indiana /news/u-t-s-randy-boyagoda-discusses-his-new-novel-inspired-dante-and-set-small-town-indiana <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">91勛圖's Randy Boyagoda discusses his new novel, inspired by Dante and set in small-town Indiana</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Randy%20Boyagoda-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=nesBFHnc 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Randy%20Boyagoda-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=HGJbQhcI 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Randy%20Boyagoda-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=BSvPmvVT 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Randy%20Boyagoda-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=nesBFHnc" alt="Randy Boyagoda"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-09-20T10:40:48-04:00" title="Monday, September 20, 2021 - 10:40" class="datetime">Mon, 09/20/2021 - 10:40</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(Photo by Derek Shapton)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/sean-mcneely" hreflang="en">Sean McNeely</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-writing" hreflang="en">creative writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/department-english" hreflang="en">Department of English</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/jackman-humanities-institute" hreflang="en">Jackman Humanities Institute</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Though 700 years have passed since the death of the great Medieval poet Dante Alighieri, author of <em>The Divine Comedy</em>,&nbsp;<strong>Randy Boyagoda</strong>&nbsp;believes the poem&nbsp;still has the power to connect with anyone who has lost their way.</p> <p><em>Dante's Indiana</em> is Boyagoda's second book in a planned trilogy following <em>Original Prin</em>, a satirical novel published in 2018. "It's a loose trilogy,&nbsp;says Boyagoda, a professor in the department of English&nbsp;in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science&nbsp;and&nbsp;vice dean, undergraduate.</p> <p>Readers can come to this book not knowing about its predecessor and be totally fine, and just engage with this story.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/dante%27s-indiana-inside-crop.jpg" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; width: 300px; height: 466px;"></p> <p>The trilogy loosely mirrors the three parts of&nbsp;<em>The Divine Comedy:&nbsp;</em>Inferno&nbsp;(hell),&nbsp;Purgatorio&nbsp;(purgatory) and&nbsp;Paradiso&nbsp;(heaven),&nbsp;charting Dantes path to God.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Prin, the main character in&nbsp;<em>Dantes Indiana</em>&nbsp;is an English professor&nbsp;who consults on a Dante-themed amusement park.&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Original Prin</em> was in a sense&nbsp;Inferno.&nbsp;<em>Dantes Indiana</em>&nbsp;is&nbsp;Purgatorio, and then we'll see what happens when I write the third novel in terms of&nbsp;Paradiso, Boyagoda says.</p> <p>In&nbsp;<em>Dantes Indiana</em>, Prin is a middle-aged Sri Lankan-Canadian professor of English from Toronto who finds himself in a type of personal purgatory. Hes stuck, distanced physically and emotionally<strong>&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;from his wife and kids, and in need of work, money and purpose.</p> <p>He accepts an offer to consult on a Christian amusement park in Terre Haute, a rust belt Indiana city. The park is the retirement project of a wealthy packaging company owner and the only profitable business in town.</p> <p>Prin quickly becomes involved in the complicated lives of his co-workers and in the wider struggles of their opioid-ravaged community while trying to reconcile with his family and his own religious beliefs.</p> <p>Boyagoda says he still finds time to write despite having a busy academic career.&nbsp;</p> <p>Since graduate school, people have been telling me I can't do both, that I can't have this creative life alongside my academic life, he says. But Im very fortunate, in that I've always been able to do it.</p> <p>Unlike some writers, Boyagoda says he doesn't require much sleep or structure to write. Its not uncommon for him to wake at 4 or 5 in the morning and write before the school day begins. He also doesn't need to stick to a specific routine to be creative.</p> <p>Whatever Im doing in my life and work as a university administrator and professor, he says, Im also, somewhere inside, always still imagining, still writing, still telling a story.</p> <p>The inspiration for Boyagoda's trilogy came to him unexpectedly &nbsp;while cleaning his car.&nbsp;</p> <p>I was vacuuming potato chips out of our car on a September morning in 2016 and I was listening to a BBC Radio adaptation of&nbsp;<em>The Divine Comedy</em>, he says. Ive studied and read and taught it, but I wouldnt say it had a significant relevance to my life and work before that moment.</p> <p>Listening to that broadcast, Boyagoda was struck by the narrators heavy breathing while reading the Inferno, portraying Dante as he made his way down through hell, traveling down an inverted mountain, passing over boulders and lakes of fire.</p> <p>I took for granted the physicality of the poem, says Boyagoda. Thats when I realized, You know what we all need? A hikers guide to Dante.</p> <p>He proposed this idea as a&nbsp;<a href="https://humanities.utoronto.ca/research/scholars-in-residence">Scholars-in-Residence project</a> at the Jackman Humanities Institute. The following year, he worked with five Arts &amp; Science students who joined Boyagoda in poring over old manuscripts and early visualizations. The result was a map of Inferno unlike any other, with detailed locations and descriptions of Dantes journey.</p> <p>But then at some point, the hustling novelist in me took over from the respectable scholar, says Boyagoda. And I thought, imagine this is a theme park.</p> <p>As a professor of American literature, Boyagoda spends a lot of time thinking about modern and contemporary American literature, culture and public life. And Dantes vision of human experience, in ordinary and ultimate ways together, seemed like a perfect way in to write about America right now, he says.</p> <p>That examination of American life focuses on the towns opioid crisis paired with economic struggles.</p> <p>In&nbsp;<em>Dantes Indiana</em>,&nbsp;the son of the packaging companys owner realizes theres only one way to keep the family business afloat: By packaging opioids for local distribution, although many of the families who work there have opioid-addicted children or have lost children to overdoses.</p> <p>It's a perfect business plan, a high-demand product that keeps everybody employed, Boyagoda says. It also seems like a perfect Dantean situation'. The premise and ensuing problems let me explore all of the genuine and very serious human struggles of the novels characters.</p> <p>The big question of the novel then becomes, which one is going to save this town? The Dante theme park or the opioid-packaging local company? And how does Prin help the people around him, either way, and at the same time find his way home to his family?</p> <p>When readers find the answers to these questions, Boyagoda hopes they are able to identify with the story, like they do with&nbsp;<em>The Divine Comedy</em>.</p> <p>One of the great things about Dante is that no matter who you are, you can find yourself in the poem, Boyagoda says. It famously begins, In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself, in a dark wood where the direct way was lost.</p> <p>You've likely had that moment of feeling lost in the middle of your life, and you look for help we all do, Boyagoda says.</p> <p>My novel is very much informed by Dante, but it isnt an homage to Dante. Instead, its part of a larger writing project of mine which, in this case, is very much about what it means to find yourself in a story where you weren't expecting to find yourself. With&nbsp;<em>Dantes Indiana</em>, I hope readers find themselves in this story in ways they didn't expect.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 20 Sep 2021 14:40:48 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 170434 at 91勛圖 creative writing team wins improv competition by combining laughs with storytelling /news/u-t-creative-writing-team-wins-improv-competition-combining-laughs-storytelling <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">91勛圖 creative writing team wins improv competition by combining laughs with storytelling</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-02-08-litjam.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=vbs_JUhr 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-02-08-litjam.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=pIpBhIiG 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-02-08-litjam.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=XMXjycKx 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-02-08-litjam.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=vbs_JUhr" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-02-08T12:52:42-05:00" title="Wednesday, February 8, 2017 - 12:52" class="datetime">Wed, 02/08/2017 - 12:52</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">From left to right, 91勛圖 Scarborough students Cassandra MacDonald, Trevon Smith and Janet Monk are winners of the International Festival of Authors' Lit Jam (photo by Ken Jones)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/heather-beaumont" hreflang="en">Heather Beaumont</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Heather Beaumont</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/literature" hreflang="en">Literature</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/english" hreflang="en">English</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/competition" hreflang="en">Competition</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">91勛圖 Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-writing" hreflang="en">creative writing</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Three talented creative writing students from&nbsp;91勛圖 are winners of the International Festival of Authors inaugural Lit Jam a timed, improvisational contest that matches storytelling teams against each other. &nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://ifoa.org/events/lit-jam">Lit Jam </a>asks student teams to create a story entirely on the spot based on an opening phrase. Each team is given three minutes to develop their story backstage, then has to alternate improvising and developing their story onstage for another five minutes.&nbsp;</p> <p>Lit Jam is like <em>Chopped</em>, the cooking competition on TV, says <strong>Trevon Smith</strong>, a fourth-year student in 91勛圖 Scarboroughs journalism program. Were given ingredients on the spot and then tasked with making something out of them.&nbsp;</p> <p>91勛圖 Scarboroughs team, which competed against the University of Guelph, Ryerson University&nbsp;and the Humber School of Creative and Performing Arts, consisted of Smith and fellow students<strong> Janet Monk</strong> and <strong>Cassandra MacDonald</strong>. The competition was judged by a panel of published authors.</p> <p>I was sweating bullets before I went onstage, says Smith. Then everything clicked when I got up to the mic. I looked out at the audience. The lights were so bright. I couldnt see faces, but I knew friends, family and professors were in the audience, and I knew they were rooting for us.</p> <p>Immediately after selecting the story prompt, Whats with the soap? the team exchanged knowing looks. They recognized the potential of a generic prompt and began developing an intriguing story arc about two inept killers before going back onstage. Their story had the audience in stitches.&nbsp;</p> <p>Were starting to turn heads, says <strong>Andrew Westoll</strong>, assistant professor, teaching stream&nbsp;from 91勛圖 Scarborough's department of English.&nbsp;This is an important moment in the development and evolution of our creative writing program.&nbsp;</p> <p>Established three years ago, there are currently 50 students in the program at 91勛圖 Scarborough, which is unique for being the only program at 91勛圖 that allows students to earn a minor in creative writing. Westoll says he proud of the team, and the students'&nbsp;efforts reflect&nbsp;the talent coming out of the creative writing program. &nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> In addition to winning $1,500, there are plans for the team to be interviewed for CBC Radios <em>Here and Now</em>, and a polished version of their improv story is to&nbsp;be published in <em>NOW Toronto</em>.&nbsp;</p> <p>The real prize is getting published and getting our names out there, says Monk, a third-year major in music and culture. The whole thing is absolutely mind-blowing. We were up against published people, people with awards.</p> <p>Smith, Monk and MacDonald first met in Westolls fiction class&nbsp;but really got to know each other and their different storytelling styles during weeks of one-hour practices before the Lit Jam competition.</p> <p>At first, they werent sure how to hand the story off to each other to keep the flow going&nbsp;so they developed a finger-snapping strategy. When a teammate snapped his or her fingers, it was a signal to help out, explains Monk.</p> <p>The person who is not talking is saying, I have an idea. Let me in, or Ill lose it.</p> <p>With each practice, the trio&nbsp;became more aware of their individual strengths, adds Monk&nbsp;</p> <p>MacDonald, a third-year mental health studies student, calls Smith, Left Turn Man&nbsp;because Smith&nbsp;enjoys taking stories in another direction to keep things exciting.&nbsp;</p> <p>After a while we could read each other well enough to know when to step in, MacDonald says. Trust was our greatest strength as a team.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 08 Feb 2017 17:52:42 +0000 ullahnor 104624 at From primatologist to novelist: Andrew Westolls creative writing journey /news/primatologist-novelist <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">From primatologist to novelist: Andrew Westolls creative writing journey</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Andrew_Westoll_English-81.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=LxaT-IDf 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Andrew_Westoll_English-81.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=TOQEh1-C 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Andrew_Westoll_English-81.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=IywVpa75 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Andrew_Westoll_English-81.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=LxaT-IDf" alt="Andrew Westoll sits in the classroom"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lavende4</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-08-24T15:12:28-04:00" title="Wednesday, August 24, 2016 - 15:12" class="datetime">Wed, 08/24/2016 - 15:12</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Andrew Westoll teaching creative writing at the 91勛圖 Scarborough (Ken Jones photo)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/don-campbell" hreflang="en">Don Campbell</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Don Campbell</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-writing" hreflang="en">creative writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">91勛圖 Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong><a href="http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/engdept/andrew-westoll">Andrew Westoll</a></strong> has always been fascinated by stories about the natural world. As a child he would escape to the far reaches of the globe through the articles about Jane Goodall in the pages of National Geographic.</p> <p>Westoll, who teaches creative writing at 91勛圖 Scarborough, started out as a primatologist. He spent a year in Suriname studying capuchin monkeys and it was there that he realized his true calling to become a writer. The experience inspired his first book <em>The Riverbones: Stumbling After Eden in the Jungles of Suriname.</em> He followed that up with <em>The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, </em>a biography of a family of chimps who were rescued from a research laboratory to live in an animal sanctuary near Montreal that earned him the 2012 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary non-fiction.&nbsp;</p> <p>His new book <a href="http://www.harpercollins.ca/9781443441858/the-jungle-south-of-the-mountain"><em>The Jungle South of the Mountain</em></a>&nbsp;(HarperCollins)&nbsp;marks his first foray into fiction. Writer <strong>Don Campbell</strong> spoke to Westoll about the novel and the inspiration for the protagonist Stanley, a researcher who has clearly been living alone in the bush for far too long.</p> <p><strong>What inspired you to try fiction?</strong></p> <p>It goes back to when I first started writing seriously because I started out wanting to write fiction. I was an aspiring fiction writer before I really knew about non-fiction. When I took a non-fiction course as an undergrad my mind was blown open by the possibilities, so I forgot about fiction for a while. Two years after <em>The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary</em> came out I was looking around for my next project and I had a couple of non-fiction ideas, but then this character Stanley, a monkey researcher, occurred to me. Once Stanley appeared in my mind and I understood what his predicament was, it was too compelling not to follow through with it.</p> <p><strong>Whats the most satisfying part of writing a novel compared to non-fiction?</strong></p> <p>I think the world-building that comes along with a novel. Not only the world you get to create but the character development as well. Those things are just as hard as they are satisfying. It also becomes a marathon of work, but when you get through it and discover the world youve created for these characters, its tremendously satisfying. Theres also satisfaction in developing a respectable plot. You need to have a plot where you can imagine it happening even if your story has elements of fantasy in it.</p> <p><strong>An interest in the natural world, and of primates in particular, is a familiar thread in your work. Where did that interest originate?</strong></p> <p>Its hard to discount the influence Jane Goodall and National Geographic had on me. I grew up in Oakville and had a fairly suburban childhood. I wasnt that adventurous. I certainly wasnt going out hiking and camping every weekend, but I had a lot of adventures in my mind. When I could read National Geographics coverage of Jane Goodall I became engrossed by those stories. Its that arm-chair travelling to the far-reaches of the globe where these extraordinary animals are living in full societies that just astounded me.</p> <p>I also cant discount my familys history because my grandfather was a fairly well known paleontologist who taught at Harvard. My dad is also a geologist. Science has always been in my family and early on I had an aptitude for science.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__1758 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/y648.png?itok=IIMJOa3p" style="width: 301px; height: 453px; margin-left: 6px; margin-right: 6px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Tell us about Stanley. Did you draw on any of your experience working as a primatologist in developing him? </strong></p> <p>Stanleys a primatologist who has been living alone in the bush for far too long. The only thing hes been doing for the past seven years has been studying and living among capuchin monkeys. The reason being is that seven years ago he and his wife split. His wife used to be there with him but they suffered a profound loss together in the forest. And their boss, Professor Collymore, suffered a breakdown and disappeared in the bush. He also has to start dealing with the trauma of his monkeys dying. Theyre being killed off one by one and it triggers a whole bunch of turmoil from what hes suffered in the past that he now has to deal with. So he starts out on an epic quest to figure out whats happening to his monkeys.</p> <p>The setting of the novel is a fictional country but its heavily based on my experiences in the jungles of Suriname. The site where Stanley does his research is heavily based in Raleighvallen, where I lived for a year in Suriname. The setting is certainly autobiographical but thats where it ends. Stanley has suffered a great trauma, and I certainly didnt when I was there, but I can appreciate and understand what it might be like psychologically to have some of these things happen to you while alone in the bush.</p> <p><strong>It seems like Stanley is obsessed with his work. Does that speak to a certain level of commitment unique among field researchers, that they can become so immersed in their work at the expense of other things? </strong></p> <p>Stanley is 100 per cent obsessed with his own work for a number reasons, mainly because its a form of escapism. Ive noticed an interesting similarity among the people I know who have spent a lot of time alone in the bush doing science. Many are not the most socially adjusted people. Theyre not always the people who love being surrounded by others, going to parties and playing the social game. Theyre usually solitary and almost always idiosyncratic, to put it lightly.</p> <p><strong>Is the inner turmoil Stanley is grappling with something youve experienced in your own life, either as a writer or a scientist?&nbsp; </strong></p> <p>Stanley has always been obsessed with collecting data and hes a highly rational thinker. In many ways the novel explores rationalism and what we believe to be true about the world. About halfway through the novel the story takes a turn into the magically real. Stanley has to start dealing with another way of looking at the world and this is a source of real trauma for him. The stuff Stanley eventually has to grapple with is similar to the stuff I grappled with as a young scientist when I discovered I wanted to be a writer. I came to the conclusion that I didnt want to spend the rest of my life unraveling the rainbow as Richard Dawkins would say. What I prefer to do is tell stories about the world and try to uncover certain truths through narrative rather than do it through the collection and analysis of data.</p> <p>Ive always had the science and the arts battling for space in my mind. These are two at times opposite ways of looking at the world, but the power of narrative and storytelling has always affected me. When I was a young scientist in the bush in Suriname I wasnt strictly doing science I was writing a story. I was sitting out there scribbling character sketches in my data paper. I had lost faith in science as something that could explain everything to me and I fell back on literature and storytelling. Thats the little personal battle I fought as a young man and its fundamental to this novel.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 24 Aug 2016 19:12:28 +0000 lavende4 100252 at