Giller Prize-nominated writer and Genie-nominated filmmaker David Bezmozgis has been appointed head of the Humber School for Writers, taking over from current director Antanas Sileika who is leaving the post in July, it was announced Tuesday.
While his most recent stints have been in filmmaking and TV writing, most recently for Orphan Black, Bezmozgis says he is returning to his first love, which is literature. The film and TV work “really brought home for me what my true love and great focus really should be.”
There’s “nothing like prose writing,” he says, particularly in a time when “the value of the written word . . . seems to be under some kind of assault.” He sees the program as an opportunity to mentor students and reinforce the importance of writing — which he had been doing to some extent already as a part-time teacher in the program.
The idea is to prepare students for a career in the writing arts — and more. “I think the written word is incredibly valuable from an artistic and also a civic standpoint,” something he feels the program taps into.
“When you look at what people are reading, the length of what people are reading, the amount of context that’s available to people,” he says, “I think both for your own sanity and the health of your soul and also for developing a civic/civil discourse you have to read longer and you have to read deeper.
“There’s nothing like the written word, whether creative non fiction or fiction, to gain a better understanding for people who are unlike you.”
Bezmozgis says one of his aims is to drive forward more integration with other Humber programs, including TV writing, comedy writing and theatre. “If you can tell a good story, if you understand the craft behind it, it’s a transferable skill and one that’s much in demand,” including to tap into opportunities he sees in film and television, as well as interactive writing.
The spine of the program — the correspondence course and summer workshop — will continue, but they will look at rolling out other programs and initiatives, including a potential podcast.
Humber also announced Tuesday that Giller-shortlisted writer Alissa York is joining Humber as full-time faculty. Her appointment, says Bezmozgis, is “a real decision by the School for Writers to invest in the best talent that we can find to move the program forward.”
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