Mean Boy

I just read an intriguing Globe and Mail review of Lynn Coady’s new novel, Mean Boy. I’ve never read any of Coady’s work but this book seems to be right up my alley! The story follows the adventures of Lawrence Campbell, a young man in love with the idea of being a “poet”. He leaves his home in Prince Edward Island to study creative writing at Westcock University where he meets, befriends, and is taught by a larger-than-life poetry professor. From then on, many coffee house discussions and drunken poetry readings at pubs ensue.

Westcock University is apparently a thinly veiled Mount Allison (my alma mater) and of course, being somewhat enamored with the idea of living the life of a writer and a poet, I can relate to the main character’s situation. When I was at Mount A though, the university didn’t have a creative writing program – I would have been thrilled if they did – but I’m fascinated by the idea of reading a novel that deals with teaching and writing poetry. It just seems to be a rarely tackled subject in works of fiction.

Here’s a link to the review: Globe and Mail review of Lynn Coady’s Mean Boy