As part of this month’s NOW x Humber Digital Residency, we’re profiling faculty and alumni from the Humber community. See all of the profiles here.
What do you do at Humber?
Professor in the Creative Writing program.
What is your industry role?
Writer.
What’s one skill students looking to enter your field absolutely must know?
Writers must read, read, read – to learn how it’s done, but also for the sheer joy of it.
What is the most memorable experience you’ve had working or learning at Humber?
I loved teaching at last year’s summer workshop in Creative Writing. I had a wonderful group, and every one of them made great strides during our week together.
Describe something that inspires you about your industry.
I take endless inspiration and solace from the idea of untold writers sitting alone in the quiet, spinning tales.
The internet and digital technology have upended many creative arts disciplines. How does your Humber program prepare arts professionals for these challenges?
Our Creative Writing by Correspondence program supports the fundamental experience of professional mentorship with an online community connected to the wider literary world. The writing itself is central no matter how readers find their way to a writer’s work, that work must be fresh and fine.
What’s your favourite Toronto festival?
The International Festival of Authors (IFOA) brings local and international writers together to discuss and celebrate literature from around the world. What could be better?
Name a person or organization in your industry who is doing work that you find innovative or inspiring.
Madeleine Thien’s fiction has long been a source of inspiration to me, in terms of both content and form.
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