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Internationally-Renowned Canadian Author Trent's 2002-2003 Ashley Fellow
Alistair
Macleod, an Ontario author with Cape Breton roots, will arrive on campus
this month as the 2002-03 Ashley Fellow.
Mr. Macleod is perhaps most celebrated for his 1999 novel No Great Mischief, a work that was published following two internationally-acclaimed collections of short stories, The Lost Salt Gift of Blood (1976) and As Birds Bring Forth the Sun (1986). In 2000 Mr. Macleod’s short stories were gathered together with two new stories and published in a single-volume book entitled Island.
"I am a great fan of Alistair’s work," comments Orm Mitchell, professor of English literature at Trent. "He could be described as a modern day ancient mariner."
Prof. Mitchell has known Alistair Macleod for much of his life. His father, W.O. Mitchell, was a friend and colleague of Mr. Macleod. When asked what element of Mr. Macleod’s work he enjoys most, Prof. Mitchell notes the depth and resonance of Mr. Macleod’s prose. "When Alistair talks to students about creative writing," Prof. Mitchell explains, "he says ‘you want to write about what you deeply care about and take the reader into your story and make them stay there. You want to really move them and make them feel, when they turn the last page, that they have been changed.’ That is what his work is like."
Prof. Mitchell notes that Trent was one of the first universities to put Mr. Macleod’s work on course reading lists. Since the early 1980s his short stories have been read by students in English 265.
"Home has always been Cape Breton for Alistair," explains Prof. Mitchell. "One of his short stories is called The Tuning of Perfection and it is about celtic music in Cape Breton. Celtic music has played a major role in Alistair’s life and in his imaginative world and creative process."
While in Peterborough Mr. Macleod will explore the relationship between celtic music and his writing at one of the Rooke lectures, to be held at the Peterborough Public Library on November 21 at 7:30 p.m. His talk, entitled "The Tuning of Perfection," will include a reading of the short story by the same name.
The Rooke lecture is free and open to the public. Seating is guaranteed only for ticket holders. Tickets are available only in person after November 7 at the Information Desk (Children's Department) of the Peterborough Public Library.
While at the University in November, Mr. Macleod will also lead some creative writing workshops with Trent students. He will return to Trent in the new year for four to five weeks and that visit will include additional visits to English classes and public readings.
The Ashley Fellow is a visiting scholar who gives public lectures, resides on campus and participates in the academic and college life of the university. Those who wrote passionate submissions in favour of MacLeod's nomination remarked that, as one of the major sensations on the Canadian and international literary scene, he would greatly enrich the academic and creative experience of students at Trent.
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Last updated
November 15, 2002
