Canadian “contemporary Crusoe” to teach masterclass at Tasmanian Writers and Readers Fes
Amber Wilson Communications Officer, www.taswriters.org
An eminent poet and teacher of literature, Professor Brent MacLaine, will bring his expertise all the way from Canada’s Prince Edward Island to local writers next month at the biennial Tasmanian Writers and Readers Festival.
Prof MacLaine, the head of the English department at the University of Prince Edward Island, has been selected as the 2015 Canadian writer to come to Tasmania for the Tasmania and Prince Edward Island Writer’s Exchange. The exchange is held in partnership between the University of Prince Edward Island, the University of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Writers’ Centre and aims to exchange talent and ideas with islands around the world.
Prof MacLaine will arrive in September in time for this year’s Tasmanian Readers and Writers Festival. His project while in Tasmania is entitled Margins All Around, based around the experience of “islandness”.
He will teach a masterclass at the upcoming Tasmanian Writers and Readers Festival – See What I Mean: The Power of Description – a three-hour session on Friday September 11.
Prof MacLaine said Tasmania was the ideal location to explore the “poetic space” of another island, giving him the opportunity to discover what it means to be an islander.
“The contemporary Crusoe and ‘castaway narrative’ is one of many possible starting points,” he said.
Tasmanian Writers’ Centre Director Chris Gallagher said Prof MacLaine’s upcoming arrival in Hobart would be an exciting international addition to the Tasmanian Writers and Readers Festival.
“We hope Tasmanian writers will benefit from Prof MacLaine’s perspectives and ideas about islandness to help inform their own work,” she said.
Prof MacLaine will stay in Hobart for three weeks. Other than his masterclass at the festival, he will give readings, workshops and manuscript assessments across the state.
In 2016, a Tasmanian writer will be selected to visit Prince Edward Island as part of a reciprocal residency. Callouts for applications will be in November this year.
The Tasmanian Writers and Readers Festival will be held at Hadley’s Orient Hotel, September 11-13.