LAY MTS

ko eel Ge ph mmr mt gol ce fn a

A mie Be eee ee Oe Oe

~ ea wey 7

VN

ee

   

spatta seas A a lnc y oft ee fer he ee

AH MINEAK/])

Pk ns eT ae ee
Tt aah II ON TT TT pa en

(604) 520-5400 700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster, B.C.
Mailing Address: P.0. Box 2503, New Westminster, B.C. V3L 5B2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writer Questions the Curse of Conformity

 

 

Eye Adams Richards is not the kind of
novelist who takes the easy route to the be-

stseller list.

And that is precisely what makes Richards,
who presents a public reading at Douglas College
on March 7, one of the most acclaimed, and con-

troversial, writers in Canada.

Why all the clamour? Through six novels set
in small-town New Brunswick, Richards asserts
the right of people to make their own decisions in-
stead of constantly knuckling under to this year’s
notion of what is ‘politically correct’. Richards’
characters hunt, get drunk, argue, make mistakes
and sometimes became involved in domestic
violence. But while actions are sometimes socially
unacceptable, Richards rails against the notion of
smug outsiders judging the behaviour of others.

“There is a notion and idea in our society to
believe people should be empowered externally,
as if through some global generosity people can

 

 

 

 

 

be better or richer, but of course they can’t be. The
only way to be empowered is to look inwards,”

 

sive INSIDE

March 5, 1991
War Talks Planned 2
Royals Poised for Playoffs 3

President’s Commission
Wrops Up. ee ee 8

Dance in My Shoes:
International Day events to

tackle racism
CareerFal
Black Comedy 10

 

 

 

said Richards.
Just as
his work
champions the
imperfect in-
tegrity of in-
dividualism,
Richards
suspects the mo-
tives of those
who coerce

others to change.

In his latest
novel “Evening
Snow Will Bring
Such Peace”, the
hero Ivan
Basterache is a
simple and
decent man, but
also one capable

Novelist David Adams Richards will give a public
reading on Thursday, March, 12:00 in room 1814.

of violence when manipulated by family or friends.

“While Ivan might be violent at times, he is not
malicious or mean, which is far less destructive in the
real sense of the word. If he is a violent man, he is
more sinned against than sinned.”

While prying into human imperfections arouses
some detractors, the passionate honesty of his charac-
ters has also earned praise. Richards was named one
of Canada’s 10 Best Fiction Writers in 1986’s “45
Below” competition and was selected as one of 12
Canadians whose “accomplishments made a dif-
ference” in 1989 by Maclean's magazine.

Still, the detractors are there, often picking at set-
ting instead of substance.

“People in central Canada tend to criticize my
work as being too ‘regional’ because no one in Toron-
to wants people in New York to know that people in

continued on page 2