UFV’s writer-in-residence program runs during the winter semester each year. Created in 2007, the Kuldip Gill Writing Fellowship seeks to allow accomplished Canadian writers to work with students and faculty in order to inspire and provide advice to writers in the UFV community. Past writers-in-residence include Kuldip Gill, whom the fellowship is named for, Anosh Irani in 2012, Jordan Abel in 2017, and Robert Wiersema in 2019.
On Tuesday, Jan. 21, UFV welcomed its newest writer-in-residence, Adéle Barclay. An established poet, she has appeared in The Fiddlehead, The Puritan, and Prism International, as well as other magazines. Her debut poetry collection, If I Were in a Cage I’d Reach Out for You, won the 2017 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. Her second poetry collection, entitled Renaissance Normcore was released in the fall of 2019. Barclay has a PhD in English from the University of Victoria, and has worked as a poet-in-residence for Arc Magazine and as an editor for Rahila’s Ghost Press.
At the welcome ceremony on Tuesday, Melissa Walter, the head of the English department, and an audience of students and faculty members welcomed Barclay with tremendous fanfare. The ceremony included an introduction made by Walter, a short speech by Barclay, and a reading of selected poems, both written by herself as well as other authors. Many of the poems included were from her most recent published work ***Renaissance Normcore, including the poem that opens the collection, “Self-Portrait of 2018” which is part of a series of poems written to a friend, and “I Wanna Get Better,” which takes its name from Bleachers’ hit song.
Following was a brief question-and-answer period, where audience participants inquired about her degree and how music interacts with her writing process. The reception was followed by coffee.
At the event, Barclay revealed she is currently working on a third collection of poetry, tentatively about eco-grief and the status of the world while it is on fire. She is also working on a series of essays as well as stories inspired by people she meets.
When asked about why she wanted to work with students through the writer-in-residence program, she said, “Writing is a beautiful act that can feel solitary.” She hopes to provide advice for aspiring writers on projects, and allow for some of the solitary nature of writing to be confronted and broken.
Barclay will be doing a number of things during her residency at UFV. First, she will be at the Abbotsford campus on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled through her email, adele.barclay@ufv.ca. She will also be hosting a workshop as well as a reading and discussion on mentorship in writer communities, neither of which have finalized dates at this time.
We would like to formally welcome Adéle Barclay to UFV, and we hope her stay is a roaring success for her, the English department, and the community at large.
Image: Nicholas Ashenhurst-Toews/ The Cascade
Photo: Adele Barclay
