Visiting Writer
On Monday, award-winning fiction writer, Susan Juby, gave two presentations at Shawnigan—a morning lecture on the writing process, followed by an evening reading and Q & A exchange with the grade 8s and 9s. Juby, who broke out when her first novel, Alice, I Think, was adapted for the small screen by the Comedy Network, has published several novels, including two further installments in the Alice series. The students seemed particularly interested in Getting the Girl, a mystery novel in which 14-year-old Sherman Mack investigates the cruel and mysterious practice of "defyling" at his school. In introducing the novel, Juby spoke of her life-long fascination with the mystery of popularity. She also read from a forthcoming book entitled Nice Recovery, a memoir in which she examines her teenage struggles with alcohol and drugs.
In the question-and-answer portion of the evening, Juby fielded questions from students on the origins of her novels. As a humorist, she explained, she regularly explored the tension between her youthful perception of how life should be and the mundane realities she inevitably confronted. When she was hired (at 16) for her first job, for example, she was deeply disappointed to discover that her "career woman" view of herself did not mesh effectively with the demands of being a competent, responsible worker.
The visit was a tremendous success, and we hope to bring Ms Juby back to work more closely with students in the future.
– Jay Connolly
Photos by Wendy Woollven