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Village Squire, 1976-11, Page 35ABOUT BOOKS Harold Who? overlooked in era of `sick' prose Conversations about the new Writer -in - Residence at The University of Western Ontario generally go something like this: "Who's the Writer -in -Residence this year?" "Harold Horwood." "Harold who?" The profile of Harold Horwood, or Harold Who, as he's most often called by the 'uncognoscente' on campus, is low to say the least. "I'm not surprised I've been unduly neglected. It's because I've deliberately set out to flout popular conventions. "1 won't write a book with an anti-hero in it and I'm not part of the current psychologically sick society. If you don't write sick prose in the 1960's, you didn't get any attention. "I get a fair bit of fan mail. Most of it irritates me. People usually like your books for the wrong reasons. The public is an ass. I value the opinion of other writers much more than anyone and 1 certainly don't value the opinion of the critics, although my books are consistently well -reviewed. "Why do I write? I write for a living for a start. Writing a book of popular history is one of the easier ways I know of making $8,000." Harold Horwood is a phenomenon that's about as rare as a colony of Butler's Garter Snakes - a Canadian who makes a respectable living in Canada writing books. "I'm a full-time professional writer. This is the first salaried job I've had in the 1970's. To support myself as a writer I've had to write quite a lot and a number of different things." Geography is definitely a factor in the making or breaking of a writer. Mr. Horwood comes from the province that many people regard as a national joke. A place like Beachy Cove, Newfoundland is a fine place to come from but most small-town writers find themselves pack- ing up and heading for Toronto at the first pangs of ambition, Mr. Horwood observes. CALYPSO The New Concept in holidays by Air Canada BARBADOS - 2 weeks per person ASTA APARTMENTS $579.00 E.P. PARADISE BEACH $1,029.00 M.A.P. BAHAMAS -1 week per person EMERALD BEACH $339.00 * AMBASSADOR BEACH $373.00'► Other CALYPSO' Holidays available to Bermuda and Jamaica E.P. - No Meals M.A.P. Breakfast and Dinner Daily *Continental Breakfast THE COACH HOUSE TRAVEL SERVICE 59 Hamilton St. GODERICH 524-8366 A FULLY APPOINTED TRAVEL SERVICE. Prof. Tom Collins, Chairman of Western's English department says of Harold Horwood: "He's a very accomplished man in many different areas. He's not well-known because writers from Ontario tend to get more coverage. "Evidence that he's good is his Canada Council Senior Arts Award last year. Our offer of the post of Writer -in -Residence was one of the two he had for this year." Harold Horwood resisted the temptation to move to the heart of the Canadian literary market until he was well along in his career. "Living in Toronto helps, you know," he remarks pointedly. Since 1966 he's published seven books, all of them money-makers except for "Voices Underground", a book of poetry. Generally speaking, books of poetry and short stories don't sell well in Canada, so Mr. Horwood tends to shrug off the lack of sales. 1 11 BARTLIFF'S ��fy Bakery and Restaurant You'll find BartIIII's Bakery and Restaurant...in Clinton • the town at the Country Crossroads - Enjoy lunch, a country dinner or just have a coffee In the friendly atmosphere. Try our Iresh•from•the•oven breads and pas- tries. Bartliff's bakers enjoy creating masterpieces in wedding, birthday, anniversary or special occasion cakes. For baking that's been famous for 70 years. JISO BARTLIFF'S IN CLINTON, LIMIT ST. CLINTON 4$Z-1727 . , ^--� Village Squire/No.ember 1976, 33