Prominent contemporary writer and Writing Seminars graduate Lawrence Hill spoke about social equality and racial justice in Hodson Hall on Tuesday to kick off the second annual President’s Reading Series.
Hill began his talk by drawing on his unique personal experiences and tying them to literature.
“Not every work of art has to do the same thing — there are so many ways to get at the beatings of our heart,” Hill said.
Hill specifically addressed the personal identity struggle of African Americans in a racially segregated milieu.
Born of a black father and white mother during the era of the Civil Rights movement, Hill grew up in the predominately white suburb of Don Mills, Ontario in Canada. His writing is greatly influenced by the social and racial climate that he experienced during this time period. Because both of his parents participated actively in social justice activism, Hill grew up constantly pondering questions of racial equality and identity.
During his talk, Hill also read excerpts from his books and displayed distinctive voices in each of his characters. Some of his novels are fictionalized slave narratives, and they touch upon sensitive issues.
“Because it was so painful, I had to think of how to tell the story,” Hill said. “How do you tell a story that is so painful without upsetting the reader?”
Since the content of his books is so controversial, Hill has had his fair share of negative responses to his writing. A group of individuals in Amsterdam burned Hill’s book and wrote him an email letting him know of their intentions.
“It really got under my skin. I wish I could say it didn’t bother me, but it did... because he and his companions were exactly the kind of people I had really hoped to reach through my book,” Hill said.
He then explained that he believed book burning to be one of the greatest human rights violations and historically linked to moments of immense oppression, from Nazi-led book burning in Germany to similar proceedings during the Spanish Inquisition.
Hill officially replied to the book burning incident by writing a short essay titled, “Dear sir, I intend to burn your book.” Although the news upset him, he tried to understand their position and acknowledged the slave history in the Netherlands.
“It was a learning experience for me,” Hill said.
In his talk, Hill detailed the process of writing historical fiction novels and fusing historical research into his novels.
“I was researching from the first day to the last,” Hill said. “But when you’re actually writing, you put all the history and research aside and just see what bubbles up.”
Hill is currently the author of nine books, including both novels and nonfiction. Much of his writing touches on issues of identity and a sense of belonging, especially in relation to ethnicity and race.
Hill’s 2007 novel, The Book of Negroes (published later as Someone Knows My Name), brought his writing to broad public attention. The novel won numerous awards, including the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book.
He recently co-wrote the script for the television mini-series adaptation of The Book of Negros with CBC. The show is currently in production in Canada and South Africa.
Hill earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Laval University in Quebec and his Master’s in Writing Seminars from Hopkins. He is currently living in Hamilton, Ontario with his wife and children.
The President’s Reading Series officially began last year as a result of President Ronald J. Daniels’s fundraising efforts. Daniels wanted to focus the series on literature of social importance. The purpose of the series is to bring in thought-provoking writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry to campus to speak about their work.
The next event in the reading series will be on Oct. 21 with acclaimed British novelist and 2004 Man Booker Prize winner, Alan Hollinghurst. On March 31, Aleksandar Hemon, recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship and frequent writer for The New Yorker, will be giving a reading. On Apr. 28, acclaimed writer Zadie Smith will conclude the series.
