Working with other writers
Published Monday November 10th, 2008
To help hone their craft, writers utilize an array of resources, from computer programs to writing groups. Another resource available locally is one of the human variety - the writer-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick.
"In terms of public function, he or she are here to work with writers in the community, helping them edit their poetry, fiction, non-fiction, whatever it might be," says Ross Leckie, director of creative writing with the department of English at UNB.
"They are here to work with the students, of course, but also with anyone who is interested. They get a lot of people from around Fredericton and from around the province coming to see them."
The writer-in-residence also travels to other areas of the province to meet people, he says.
"Another part of their role is to give public lectures and readings from their work, and introduce people to writing in that way and certainly to their writing."
To choose someone to work as writer-in-residence, an eight-month term that runs from September to April, the university first looks at what kind of writer it would like, says Leckie.
"Obviously we want somebody who is very good with the public, very good working one-on-one with other writers," he says.
Those coming to see the writer-in-residence may be a high school student or retiree working on their first poems, or they could be writers who have published books and are looking for more editorial perspective on what they are doing.
"I know I always have my work edited by friends I admire and respect," says Leckie. "And I have used the writer-in-residence myself. ... I have shown them work I'm doing to get their feedback."
The writer-in-residence should have good experience in this area, he says, as well as a lively personality.
"We also like to think about genre, we like to mix that up. We've had non-fiction writers, playwrites, poets, fiction writers and we've had people that do more than one genre," says Leckie.
The current writer-in-residence, Gerard Beirne, falls in that last category.
"He's an internationally respected novelist, but is also a very fine poet and has written some non-fiction as well."
Leckie says they also look for a writer with substantial public persona with a fairly extensive prestige in the community at large.
"Because if people are going to come see a writer-in-residence, they want to have confidence in that writer's experience and ability."
They usually look at writers from outside New Brunswick, as they like to bring writers to the province who can give a different perspective and a different way of thinking about things.
Though Beirne has been a local resident for two years, he is originally from Ireland and lived for a number of years in Manitoba before coming to Atlantic Canada.
"He's a multiple award-winning Irish writer who now lives in Fredericton," says Leckie, calling his poetry expressive and intelligent.
"We're just really pleased to have him here. It's a wonderful thing to have a writer of international stature living right in Fredericton."
Beirne is pleased to be here as well, as the city has become home to he, his wife Eilish and their four children, James, Luke, Sorcha and Cormac.
"We moved from Ireland about 11 years ago and went to live up in northern Manitoba. The idea was to have a bit of an adventure before we settled down," he says.
The family moved to a Cree community, as he was interested in learning more about Cree writing.
"The other thing I was very interested in over the years was polar bears, snow and ice," he says.
When he realized how close this community was to Churchill, it made the move even more attractive.
The plan was to stay for a year or so, but they enjoyed northern Manitoba so much that they stayed for three years, then moved to a community east of Winnipeg, "... where the boreal forest meets the prairies. It's just beautiful."
They decided to move to Fredericton, as they were looking for a community that had all of the facilities of a big city without having to move to one.
When the position of writer-in-residence came up at UNB, he applied.
"I publish poetry and fiction predominantly, but I'm working on a non-fiction account of my time up north," says Beirne.
He was awarded the Sunday Tribune/Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year Award in 1996. His novel, The Eskimo in the Net was shortlisted for The Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award in 2004 and was selected as Book of the Year by The Daily Express (UK) literary editor. His collection of poems, Digging My Own Grave, won second place in The Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award.
His short story, Sightings of Bono, was adapted into a short film in 2000 featuring Bono of U2 and was released on DVD in 2004. His theatrical composition, Hum!, commissioned by the Irish Chamber Orchestra in collaboration with contemporary classical composer Siobhan Cleary, toured Ireland to critical acclaim.
While living for three years in a Cree community in northern Manitoba, Beirne interviewed elders and edited an anthology of those interviews for publication. He also published a children's book, Jocelyn's Island, set on a northern reserve.
He is a former domestic appliance design engineer and has previously lived in Sierra Leone, West Africa where he worked in a remote region as a volunteer hospital administrator.
Since taking over the position of writer-in-residence at UNB, Beirne has been pleased by the response from both the university and the surrounding community.
"You're supposed to do your own writing as well, and you're based at the college, so there is a commitment to the university and a commitment to the community," he says. "It's balancing all of that so it doesn't become overwhelming and you're not giving people proper service."
He has some ideas for projects he'd like to do, but is waiting to see what will work best for this area.
"Something I would like to do is allow the community to come into the college," says Beirne, through writing events, workshops and more.
The goal is to break down the boundary that sometimes exists between universities and the surrounding communities.
Since day one, he has found the local writing community to be really welcoming.
"I've been pleasantly surprised. Very often writing communities are very hard to break into as an outsider, but here I've found people are welcoming of any new writer into the community."
Beirne wants people to know that the writer-in-residence is committed to helping people that are interested in writing become better writers.
Through his own experiences, he's learned the importance of having the support of a writing community.
"It's important to have the energy of other writers around you."
To get in touch with UNB's writer-in-residence, e-mail gbeirne@unb.ca or call 453-4676.
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