Reading in Tamagawa Garden

Keith Harrison, Academic Emeritus

Keith Harrison

Departments of English and Creative Writing & Journalism

B.A. University of British Columbia (Honours English)
MA University of California at Berkeley
PhD McGill University, Dean's Honours List

Harrison's novels "Furry Creek" and "Islands West"

Keith's teaching experience has been wide-ranging, from McGill University to Leclerc Penitentiary. His teaching philosophy is that "a word is a bridge thrown between myself and another" (Valentin Voloshinov). He has taught a variety of courses and workshops at Vancouver Island University over the past twenty-five years, with an emphasis on creative writing, Canadian literature, Shakespeare, and film.

His two dozen scholarly essays cover a range of topics - Malcolm Lowry, narrative theory, Lord Byron, Samuel Hearne, Jean-Luc Godard, the use of allusions, Michael Ondaatje, documentary movies, Leonard Cohen, Ian McEwan, and comics. Forthcoming is a book, Shakespeare, Bakhtin, and Film: A Dialogic Lens.

Keith has edited the anthology, Islands West: Stories from the Coast, and also has written a work of short fiction, Crossing the Gulf. His five novels include Eyemouth, Furry Creek, and Elliot & Me. He has been shortlisted for Best First Novel Books in Canada, QSPELL's Fiction Prize, and the Ethel Wilson Prize. He is a recipient of the Okanagan Short Story Award and the BC2000 Book Prize. Keith's literary papers are held in Special Collections, The Simon Fraser University Library.

Contact: keith.harrison@viu.ca