51吃瓜

Carol Bruneau is Dalhousie's writer in residence. (Danny Abriel Photo)

Future great Canadian novelists at Dal have reason to rejoice: Carol Bruneau is settling in as Dalhousie鈥檚 first writer-in-residence.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great honour, it鈥檚 fabulous. It鈥檚 so much fun to be surrounded by such creative people,鈥� says Ms. Bruneau, who will hold the writer-in-residence position until March 20.

The acclaimed author of five books is a born-and-bred Atlantic Canadian. She did her BA and MA in English at Dalhousie, and her most recent book, Glass Voices, came out last fall. She also holds an MA in journalism and worked for a time as a photo editor in Toronto. Of course, Ms. Bruneau couldn鈥檛 hold out against the lure of creative writing鈥攐r her Maritime roots鈥攆or long.

鈥淲hat I鈥檝e always wanted to do is write creatively鈥� I think I鈥檓 just addicted to narrative.鈥�

So what exactly does being 鈥渨riter-in-residence鈥� entail? Ms. Bruneau spends about half of her time at Dal on her own writing but she鈥檚 available to students and staff alike for consultation on personal writing projects, in person or via email. She also teaches two workshops at Dalhousie: one for beginning writers, and one for those further along their creative journey.

Frustrated undergrads take heart: the bulk of Ms. Bruneau鈥檚 creative writing emerged during her post-university years. 鈥淚 wrote when I was a kid, and I wrote when I was a teenager鈥� (at university) so much energy was spent doing analytical writing, and thank goodness for that. To write a book, you have to have both those faculties.鈥�

Ms. Bruneau鈥檚 advice for aspiring authors is down-to-earth. 鈥淪tart where you need to start,鈥� she says matter-of-factly. 鈥淣o one ever starts (by saying), 鈥極h, this is going to be the beginning.鈥欌�� Also, 鈥淚鈥檓 a big stickler for writing in pen.鈥� (That is, writing in longhand rather than in front of a glowing computer screen.) 鈥淭his kind of writing鈥� in many ways, it鈥檚 similar to drawing鈥� As soon as I鈥檓 in front of a screen, I become much more analytical. More self-conscious.鈥�

She also offers advice which is, by now, a proverb鈥攚ould-be writers must read. 鈥淵ou see what they do, and then figure out what you鈥檒l learn from it,鈥� says Ms. Bruneau, who cites Alice Munro鈥檚 work as a personal favourite.

Ms. Bruneau can be consulted Tuesdays through Fridays, 1 to 4 p.m. in her office in the McCain building. Material can be dropped off via email or in the English department.

鈥淎t this point, I鈥檇 like to talk to as many people as possible. Even just to drop by for a chat,鈥� she says. 鈥淲riting is such an isolating thing鈥� you鈥檙e all in your head鈥� It鈥檚 nice to be with other people who are likeminded.鈥�