KevinHutchings.ca

Ontario bound

Kevin — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:04:32 +0000

I’m busy preparing for a visit to Ontario, where lots will be happening. I’ll present a paper with my research assistant, Blake Bouchard, at the Humanities and Social Sciences Congress in Waterloo; do some research at the Woodland Library of the Six Nations, the University of Toronto, and the Ontario Archives; attend a John Buchan dinner at the Royal York; and participate in the Bond Head Festival, where I’ll give some presentations on Sir Francis Bond Head–and ride in a vintage car in the festival parade. Should be fun!

Big thanks to BSU and the College of Idaho

Kevin — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:43:37 +0000

I returned home yesterday from my visits to Boise State University and the College of Idaho feeling exhilarated after a great experience. At BSU, I presented an evening talk/concert on William Blake as part of Samantha Harvey’s wonderful public lecture series on “The Idea of Nature.” The event was attended by 180 people who gave me a warm reception and responded with particular enthusiasm to my a capella performances of several songs from my William Blake CD. At the College of Idaho, I had the opportunity to meet and chat with six impressive senior undergrads in Sue Schaper’s Capstone English course; I hope they enjoyed my visit to their class half as much as I did. Here’s sending my warmest thanks to the good folks at BSU and the College of Idaho for their kind hospitality!

Idaho Bound

Kevin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:18:22 +0000

On Sunday, April 29, I’ll be heading to Idaho to give guest lectures at Boise State University and the College of Idaho. At Boise State I’ll be giving a public lecture on April 30th entitled “Romanticism, Blake, and the Politics of Nature”; and the next day I’ll be visiting Professor Schaper’s Capstone English class at the College of Idaho to share my thoughts on the English discipline and to reflect on my career as a scholar and musician. This will be my first ever trip to Idaho, and I’m greatly looking forward to it. But now back to work–I’ve got a couple of lectures to finish writing!

An excellent new book on Robbie Burns

Kevin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:21:22 +0000

I’m excited to announce that a new book has just been published in the Ashgate Series in Nineteenth-Century Transatlantic Studies, the book series I co-edit with Julia Wright of Dalhousie University. Entitled Robert Burns and Transatlantic Culture and co-edited by Sharon Alker, Leith Davis, and Holly Faith Nelson, the collection features fourteen splendid essays by some of the world’s most prominent Burns scholars. Check out the details of this fine new publication by visiting the Ashgate website.

Grahame Davies’s new royal appointment

Kevin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:38:31 +0000

My friend and favourite songwriting collaborator, the Welsh poet Grahame Davies, has just been appointed to work as Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Check out the official royal press release on the Prince of Wales website. Grahame has sent me several poems to set to music during the past few years, including “Homecoming” (the best song on my CD Light to Shine) and “Midwinter” and “Benediction” (from On the Bridge You Were Burning). I wish Grahame all the best as he prepares to assume his prestigious new job.

CBC Radio Appearance

Kevin — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:57:38 +0000

My interview on CBC Radio’s “North by Northwest” has now been scheduled for Saturday March 3rd just after the 8:00AM news, and instead of being taped it will be broadcast live. The show’s host, Sheryl MacKay, will be asking me about my research on John Buchan and playing a Buchan-inspired song from my latest CD Light to Shine. Should be fun! For more information, please read my previous blog post.

Interview on CBC Radio’s “North by Northwest”

Kevin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:37:22 +0000

On Friday, March 2nd, I’ll be heading to the CBC studio in Prince George to talk about John Buchan, First Baron Tweedsmuir, with Sheryl MacKay, host of the Vancouver-based weekend radio show ”North by Northwest.” While British Columbians are generally aware of Tweedsmuir Park, most of us have forgotten its namesake. Buchan was not only the governor general of Canada from 1935 to 1940; he was also a literary man who wrote over 100 books, including about 30 thriller novels (one of which, The Thirty-Nine Steps, was made into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock). Tweedsmuir Park was named after Buchan (who spent a couple of weeks camping there in 1937) because he was an avid hunter, angler, mountaineer, and vocal advocate of wildlife conservation in Canada. He was also well-known for his literary writings on nature. I look forward to talking with Sheryl about this fascinating man and his contributions to our national and environmental history. We’ll be taping the interview on Friday for future broadcast. Once I know the date of the broadcast, I’ll place a notice here.

A shout-out in Maclean’s magazine

Kevin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:30:56 +0000

This week’s issue of Maclean’s magazine features an article on Canada’s northern universities, for which I was interviewed. Entitled “Small schools, big advantages: Canada’s northern universities have arrived,” the online version can be found at http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2012/02/13/small-schools-big-advantages/. It’s good to see the national press shining a light on great universities like UNBC!

Broken bones

Kevin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:20:59 +0000

Yesterday I slipped on the ice, fell, and broke my wrist, and I’m already tired of telling people what I did to put my forearm in a cast. So–prepare for some name-dropping–my friend Tanya Huff, the wonderful million-selling fantasy novelist, emailed me the following story to tell my students and colleagues when they see me this week:

“What happened? I was doing parkour around the campus and assumed the edge of the roof was six feet back from the snow overhang but it was only four and although I got my feet under myself in time to leap off the dumpster and double backflip onto a passing Prius I lost my footing when the driver insisted on braking for a freshman.”

Now this is a much better story, no? Thanks, Tanya!

Back to the books!

Kevin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:43:40 +0000

After a relaxing holiday break, I’m back to work feeling energized and exuberant. Last night I taught my first class of the term–a new seminar course I’ve developed on “Ecocriticism and Environmental Literature”–and I’ll be heading to the lecture hall in a few minutes to teach the first class of my “Introduction to Romantic Literature” course. With courses like these ones, I’ll be teaching everything from William Blake and Mary Wollstonecraft to Salman Rushdie and Eden Robinson. Although I hold a research chair appointment, teaching is my favourite part of my job. Look out students–I’m stoked and ready for some interesting literary fun!