creative writing / en Students from 茄子直播 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 茄子直播 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">茄子直播 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 University of Toronto 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;茄子直播 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>鈥淭he goal is to create a transformative experience that changes students鈥 lives.鈥</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 茄子直播鈥檚 School of Continuing Studies, but the 茄子直播 Mississauga class&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;offered as a&nbsp;<a href="https://utm.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/eng377h5">special topics in creative writing</a>&nbsp;course&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;is the first credit course in spoken word offered at that campus.</p> <p>鈥淭here aren鈥檛 a lot of spoken-word courses being taught [anywhere] as credit courses,鈥 Thompson&nbsp;says. 鈥淚 was really excited about this, and so were the students.鈥&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>鈥淚 hope it鈥檚 a recurring course at the university,鈥 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 茄子直播 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>鈥淎 lot of us were nervous at first,鈥 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>鈥淵ou want to use everything in your physicality,鈥 she says. 鈥淵ou use stance breaks, line breaks, word choice 鈥&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 what鈥檚 in your head and heart&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;and on the page&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;and make that come alive.鈥</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 茄子直播'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">茄子直播'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,鈥&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>鈥淩eaders can come to this book not knowing about its predecessor and be totally fine, and just engage with this story.鈥&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 Dante鈥檚 path to God.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Prin, the main character in&nbsp;<em>Dante鈥檚 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>Dante鈥檚 Indiana</em>&nbsp;is&nbsp;Purgatorio, 鈥渁nd then we'll see what happens when I write the third novel in terms of&nbsp;Paradiso,鈥 Boyagoda says.</p> <p>In&nbsp;<em>Dante鈥檚 Indiana</em>, Prin is a middle-aged Sri Lankan-Canadian professor of English from Toronto who finds himself in a type of personal purgatory. He鈥檚 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>鈥淪ince graduate school, people have been telling me I can't do both, that I can't have this creative life alongside my academic life,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 very fortunate, in that I've always been able to do it.鈥</p> <p>Unlike some writers, Boyagoda says he doesn't require much sleep or structure to write. It鈥檚 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>鈥淲hatever I鈥檓 doing in my life and work as a university administrator and professor,鈥 he says, 鈥淚鈥檓 also, somewhere inside, always still imagining, still writing, still telling a story.鈥</p> <p>The inspiration for Boyagoda's trilogy came to him unexpectedly 鈥&nbsp;while cleaning his car.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淚 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>,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e studied and read and taught it, but I wouldn鈥檛 say it had a significant relevance to my life and work before that moment.鈥</p> <p>Listening to that broadcast, Boyagoda was struck by the narrator鈥檚 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>鈥淚 took for granted the physicality of the poem,鈥 says Boyagoda. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I realized, 鈥榊ou know what we all need? A hiker鈥檚 guide to Dante.鈥</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 Dante鈥檚 journey.</p> <p>鈥淏ut then at some point, the hustling novelist in me took over from the respectable scholar,鈥 says Boyagoda. 鈥淎nd I thought, 鈥榠magine this is a theme park.鈥欌</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. 鈥淎nd Dante鈥檚 vision of human experience, in ordinary and ultimate ways together, seemed like a perfect way in to write about America right now,鈥 he says.</p> <p>That examination of American life focuses on the town鈥檚 opioid crisis paired with economic struggles.</p> <p>In&nbsp;<em>Dante鈥檚 Indiana</em>,&nbsp;the son of the packaging company鈥檚 owner realizes there鈥檚 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>鈥淚t's a perfect business plan, a high-demand product that keeps everybody employed,鈥 Boyagoda says. 鈥淚t also seems like a perfect 鈥楧antean situation'. The premise and ensuing problems let me explore all of the genuine and very serious human struggles of the novel鈥檚 characters.</p> <p>鈥淭he 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?鈥</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>鈥淥ne of the great things about Dante is that no matter who you are, you can find yourself in the poem,鈥 Boyagoda says. 鈥淚t famously begins, 鈥業n the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself, in a dark wood where the direct way was lost.鈥欌</p> <p>鈥淵ou've likely had that moment of feeling lost in the middle of your life, and you look for help 鈥 we all do,鈥 Boyagoda says.</p> <p>鈥淢y novel is very much informed by Dante, but it isn鈥檛 an homage to Dante. Instead, it鈥檚 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>Dante鈥檚 Indiana</em>, I hope readers find themselves in this story in ways they didn't expect.鈥</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 鈥嬊炎又辈 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">鈥嬊炎又辈 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, 茄子直播 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">茄子直播 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;茄子直播 are winners of the International Festival of Authors鈥 inaugural Lit Jam 鈥 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>鈥淟it Jam is like <em>Chopped</em>, the cooking competition on TV,鈥 says <strong>Trevon Smith</strong>, a fourth-year student in 茄子直播 Scarborough鈥檚 journalism program. 鈥淲e鈥檙e given ingredients on the spot and then tasked with making something out of them.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>茄子直播 Scarborough鈥檚 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>鈥淚 was sweating bullets before I went onstage,鈥 says Smith. 鈥淭hen everything clicked when I got up to the mic. I looked out at the audience. The lights were so bright. I couldn鈥檛 see faces, but I knew friends, family and professors were in the audience, and I knew they were rooting for us.鈥</p> <p>Immediately after selecting the story prompt, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 with the soap?鈥 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>鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to turn heads,鈥 says <strong>Andrew Westoll</strong>, assistant professor, teaching stream&nbsp;from 茄子直播 Scarborough's department of English.&nbsp;鈥淭his is an important moment in the development and evolution of our creative writing program.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>Established three years ago, there are currently 50 students in the program at 茄子直播 Scarborough, which is unique for being the only program at 茄子直播 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 Radio鈥檚 <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>鈥淭he real prize is getting published and getting our names out there,鈥 says Monk, a third-year major in music and culture. 鈥淭he whole thing is absolutely mind-blowing. We were up against published people, people with awards.鈥</p> <p>Smith, Monk and MacDonald first met in Westoll鈥檚 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 weren鈥檛 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>鈥淭he person who is not talking is saying, 鈥業 have an idea. Let me in, or I鈥檒l lose it.鈥欌</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, 鈥淟eft Turn Man鈥&nbsp;because Smith&nbsp;鈥渆njoys taking stories in another direction to keep things exciting.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淎fter a while we could read each other well enough to know when to step in,鈥 MacDonald says. 鈥淭rust was our greatest strength as a team.鈥&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 Westoll鈥檚 creative writing journey /news/primatologist-novelist <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">From primatologist to novelist: Andrew Westoll鈥檚 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 University of Toronto 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">茄子直播 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 University of Toronto 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>What鈥檚 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 you鈥檝e created for these characters, it鈥檚 tremendously satisfying. There鈥檚 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>It鈥檚 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 wasn鈥檛 that adventurous. I certainly wasn鈥檛 going out hiking and camping every weekend, but I had a lot of adventures in my mind. When I could read National Geographic鈥檚 coverage of Jane Goodall I became engrossed by those stories. It鈥檚 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 can鈥檛 discount my family鈥檚 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>Stanley鈥檚 a primatologist who has been living alone in the bush for far too long. The only thing he鈥檚 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. They鈥檙e being killed off one by one and it triggers a whole bunch of turmoil from what he鈥檚 suffered in the past that he now has to deal with. So he starts out on an epic quest to figure out what鈥檚 happening to his monkeys.</p> <p>The setting of the novel is a fictional country but it鈥檚 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 that鈥檚 where it ends. Stanley has suffered a great trauma, and I certainly didn鈥檛 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 it鈥檚 a form of escapism. I鈥檝e 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. They鈥檙e not always the people who love being surrounded by others, going to parties and playing the social game. They鈥檙e usually solitary and almost always idiosyncratic, to put it lightly.</p> <p><strong>Is the inner turmoil Stanley is grappling with something you鈥檝e 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 he鈥檚 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 didn鈥檛 want to spend the rest of my life 鈥渦nraveling the rainbow鈥 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>I鈥檝e 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 wasn鈥檛 strictly doing science 鈥 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. That鈥檚 the little personal battle I fought as a young man and it鈥檚 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