Most students tackling an English major in creative writing at any college expect their professors to critique their poems and lecture a little on prosody, but writer-in-residence Audrey Thomas has life lessons to teach as well.
A full-time writer lured to Dartmouth through the Dickey Endowment to teach the introductory course in the creative writing program this Winter, Thomas provides a model of the modern writer's life, which she describes as "the most free life" one can have.
Thomas is the author of twelve books, both collections of short stories and novels. A thirteenth novel, tentatively titled, "Coming Down from Wa" deals with a young Canadian who travels to West Africa through CUSO (Canadian University Students Overseas), a Canadian version of the Peace Corps.
In the sixties, the protagonist's parents travelled to Africa in the same program, and their son returns to discover what secret event befell them and what happened to their idealism, the lack of which he deeply feels in his own life. "
Coming Down from Wa" is about "how people are not responsible for their parents' youth and is also an exploration of idealism," said Thomas. She expects to have the book revised by the end of the term.
Thomas' own philosophy of life stresses the importance of adventure and variety. While describing the merits of Masters of Fine Arts programs for writers, she also stressed that they should travel and have "as many different jobs as possible."
Though American born, Thomas makes her home on Galiano, a small island in the San Juan archipelago in British Columbia. Dartmouth is familiar ground to her because as an undergraduate at Smith she visited frequently for social and musical events.
The English 80 class Thomas currently teaches is evenly divided between the writing of poetry and of fiction.
She expressed a desire to expose her students to Canadian literature, which she feels is often overlooked, resulting in a lamentable ignorance on the part of American students.
Audrey Thomas will give a reading Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. in the Wren Room of Sanborn House. The material she expects to select will be from her short stories old and new, which include "The Wild Blue Yonder." (1990) She will also be available at 1 p.m. to conduct a question-and-answer session for students interested in writing. Again on Feb. 8, she will read as part of the "Women Writing Across Cultures" series, that includes, in the upcoming weeks, such famous authors as Buchi Emecheta and Ama Ata Aidoo.
Thomas' office hours, from 12:30 to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays in 12 Sanborn, are open to anyone who would like to discuss writing or the writing life.
