Okanagan icon John lent to give lecture on creative writing
What: Sharon Thesen Lecture
Who: UBCO Creative Writing Program
When: Thursday, November 19 at 7 p.m.
Where: Online via Zoom
UBCO is hosting its inaugural Sharon Thesen Lecture with Vernon-based author John Lent.
The creative writing program at UBCO is hosting its inaugural Sharon Thesen Lecture with Vernon-based author John Lent. Lent, a professional writer, editor, singer and songwriter, will give a virtual talk titled, Aspects of Poetics in Contemporary Fiction and Poetry: a practical logic of legacies, a working arc of continuance. His presentation is based on a writer’s and teacher’s journey through the power and promise of modernism and the teaching of creative writing.
Sharon Thesen, a renowned Canadian poet and editor, was the first full professor in the department of creative studies and is now a UBC professor emerita.
“The UBC creative writing program wants to honour all that she contributes to British Columbian and Canadian literature, and all that she did to establish the creative writing program at UBC Okanagan,” explains Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Professor Nancy Holmes. “In her honour, a different writer each year will give a lecture that tackles key issues of contemporary writing, poetics and Canadian literature. By recording each lecture, we will create a wonderful resource of contemporary thinking by writers.”
Lent has taught creative writing and literature courses at Okanagan College for over 30 years. He has published 11 books and edited 35 volumes of poetry, fiction and non-fiction for publication. His latest publication, A Matins Flywheel, is a book of poetry.
“John is a terrific writer, a master teacher of fiction and poetry, an in-demand editor and someone who pretty single-handedly created the contemporary literary culture in the Okanagan,” says Holmes. “We are honoured to have him as the first lecturer in our Sharon Thesen series.”
The lecture is free and open to the public. It will take place on November 19 starting at 7 p.m.
For further information, visit fccs.ok.ubc.ca/visiting-author
About UBC’s Okanagan campus
UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in 2005 in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose territory the campus resides. As part of UBC—ranked among the world’s top 20 public universities—the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley.
To find out more, visit: ok.ubc.ca
