the bird on fire

Feature Post under The Bird on Fire’s Art Live! theme

By 8th-Grade Blogger Soleil Antle

Art comes in many different forms: painting, sculpture, drawing, etc. The Oxford English Dictionary states it’s the “expression . . . of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power” (arthistoryproject.com). There are so many artistic outlets, but there is something special about the art of writing. Through writing you can express yourself, explain logical facts, connect with your readers. I interviewed family friend Nancy Pedri, the Head of the Memorial University English Department. She recently published her comic book Town: St. John’s in Comics. She has published past works such as A Concise Dictionary of Comics. I asked her about writing and art. These were her responses. 

Soleil: What does writing mean to you?

Nancy: I try to write about three hours every day because writing is an activity that helps me relax. Writing is a way to discover what excites me, allowing me to create as I learn about and explore my thinking. I am mostly an academic writer, but although most people think of academic writing as not being creative, I feel it is very much a creative writing practice. All manipulation of language is creative. Getting information of any kind across to a reader and holding their attention is a creative act. Writing is a joy for me. I have edited some creative projects, like Town: St. John’s in Comics. These projects bring people together to explore a shared interest. In these instances, writing builds community. Writing opens your mind, and if you find the courage to explore what is in your mind and put it on paper, you will come out of the experience a changed person. 

Soleil: How do you feel you connect your emotions to your writing? 

Nancy: I choose to write on topics that interest me and that I feel make a difference in people’s lives, such as displaced people, violence, mental and physical illness, and media. When I write about these and other topics, I tend to examine questions of truth and authenticity (which is all about belief and honesty and not facts), how emotions and mental states are expressed in writing (in the study of narrative this is called focalization), and how readers are made to experience empathy for the characters they are reading about. Emotional engagement is at the core of all of these questions. It is not that I am emotional – although sometimes I do get emotional about my writing. Rather, I explore the emotions in writing. 

Soleil: What inspired you to write your recently published book? What is the background behind it? 

Nancy: I have a few recently published books. My two academic books, Experiencing Visual Storyworlds: Focalization in Comics and A Concise Dictionary of Comics (both published in 2022), were inspired by different needs. The first is co-authored and responds to a claim that our shared postdoctoral supervisor made about visual narratology (visual storytelling). The other was inspired by a colleague and now friend who, with me, agreed that the language we use to write about comics required more standardization so that readers and writers could gain knowledge from the academic work they were reading. 

My most recent book, Town: St. John’s in Comics, grew out of my absolute love for my city, St. John’s. It is a collection of eight short comic stories, each one about a particular St. John’s neighbourhood. These stories draw readers into the vibe of our city, its old streets and crooked homes. It is a book that speaks of home and of place. A book that helps you gain access to the oldest settled city of North America. And, it’s a book that speaks to the people of this city and to those who come through it on cruise ships or on vacations. 

There are few books on St. John’s in particular, and making one in the comics medium made sense to me. . . . Those who read it won’t forget those beautiful images and those engaging stories. 

Soleil: What do you think the “art of writing” means?

Nancy: The art of writing is a misnomer for me. I approach writing as a skill that can be learned and that requires much practice to perfect. . . .

Soleil: How do you think emotions are best expressed in writing?

Nancy: I feel emotions are best expressed through characters. If you can get the character’s thinking and feelings onto the page, readers will experience emotions. It isn’t an easy thing to do. Some may think plot is key to writing, but I feel character is, precisely because they grant you access to mental states: feelings, emotions, desires. Characters are the heart and soul of every good story for me. 

After talking with Nancy, I can see that she is very passionate about writing, and it is a joy for her at the end of a long day. She expresses writing as more of a “skill” than an “art” which is a very unique perspective that I wouldn’t have thought of myself. It’s one of the wonderful things about the brain. People look at the same thing and see something different which is fascinating. Writing is something Nancy connects with, something she feels and I think that people should embrace their emotions through writing.