October 25, 2012 - 3:37am
Nanaimo, BC - Matthew Hooton, award-winning author of the novel Deloume Road, will read selections of his work at Vancouver Island University Oct. 29.
Deloume Road, Hooton’s first novel, was awarded the inaugural Greene & Heaton Prize for the best novel of the Bath Spa University Masters in Creative Writing program in England.
Hooton, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of Victoria and a Masters from Bath Spa University, has written creative non-fiction for the CBC, Geist, Reader’s Digest, and Monday Magazine. He is the second visiting author in VIU’s Fall 2012 – Spring 2013 Poets on Campus series.
“In a time when much fiction seems concerned to push the reader’s buttons in a fairly predictable way… Hooton’s tone immediately goes for something deeper--as if from the very first paragraphs the prose sets deep bells ringing,” said Marilyn Bowering, Creative Writing professor at VIU.
Vancouver Island is the setting of Deloume Road. Set during the Gulf War, the novel reveals the intertwined lives of a small rural community. It celebrates the differences and connections between the Korean and English languages, between losing a loved one to war and pulling the trigger, and about summer along a country road.
International critics have praised Hooton’s novel, calling it a “delicate meditation on the cyclical nature of history, and the strength of communities” (The Observer, UK).
A review in the Globe and Mail stated, “Matthew Hooton’s risky first novel pays off … the risk-taking is refreshing … not only for creating a magnificent boy antihero, but for artfully sustaining a tale of misplaced honour and a resulting sorrow as old as the woods.”
Students with an interest in fiction, non-fiction, graduate studies, and all forms of creative writing, and anyone with an interest in portraits of local communities, will find something of interest in Hooton’s presentation.
The reading takes place from 5 to 6 pm on Monday, Oct. 29 in building 365 at VIU’s Nanaimo campus, 900 Fifth Street (the log cabin). Admission is free and everyone is welcome. Snacks and drinks will be available.
Hooton worked as an editor and teacher in several cities in South Korea. After years of working freelance, Hooton returned to Vancouver Island where he now teaches part-time at the University of Victoria.
“This year, we’ve invited authors to read during the Poets on Campus series who have deep roots on Vancouver Island,” said Bowering. “They are establishing reputations not only as poets, but as non-fiction writers, novelists, teachers, editors, journalists and travel writers.”
The series continues with readings by celebrated authors including John Barton and Yvonne Blomer on Nov. 26, Steven Price on Jan. 28, and writer Rhea Tregebov on March 11.
“Poets on Campus offers students, faculty and staff and the community an opportunity to be inspired by living literary writers of our day,” said Bowering.
Poets on Campus is sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts, the League of Canadian Poets, the Department of Creative Writing and the Dean of Arts and Humanities.
For more information, including a schedule and location map, visit www.viu.ca/poetsoncampus.
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Tags: In the Community
