Ian McLachlan (writer)

Ian McLachlan
OccupationPlaywright, novelist, academic, art collector.
NationalityBritish
Alma materSt Edmund Hall, University of Oxford.
Period1960 - present
Notable workThe Seventh Hexagram

Ian McLachlan is a Canadian writer and academic from Peterborough, Ontario. He is best known for his novel The Seventh Hexagram, which was co-winner with Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter of the inaugural Books in Canada First Novel Award in 1976[1] and a finalist for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 1976 Governor General's Awards.[2]

After earning a Master of Arts at Oxford University in 1960,[3] McLachlan established the department of comparative literature at the University of Hong Kong before joining the faculty of Trent University in 1970.[3] Before his retirement, McLachlan served as the chair of Cultural Studies department for over 14 years. After The Seventh Hexagram, he published a second novel, Helen in Exile, in 1980.[4]

He has been a prominent figure in the arts and culture of Peterborough, Ontario.[3] His activities have included founding the local publishing company Ordinary Press,[3] serving on the boards of the city's Artspace and Union Theatre,[3] and founding and programming for the Canadian Images Film Festival.[3] With the film festival, he was fined in 1983 for screening A Message from Our Sponsor, a documentary film about subliminal advertising, without approval from the Ontario Censor Board.[5]

As a playwright, his works have included Pioneer Chainsaw Massacre, Postscript, Lear One/One, Frankenstein Meets the Recession, The Orchard,[6] Doctor Barnardo's Children[7] and Wounded Soldiers.[7] His non-fiction works have included Shanghai 1949 and In the Margins of the Empire: Reading Cambodia.

Works

  • The Seventh Hexagram (1976)
  • Helen in Exile (1980)
  • Shanghai 1949 (1989), with Sam Tata
  • Lear One/One (1990)
  • In the Margins of the Empire: Reading Cambodia (1993)
  • The General and the Mother (1995)
  • Crow Hill (1997), with Robert Winslow
  • The Orchard (1998), with Robert Winslow
  • Dr Barnardo's Children (2005), with Robert Winslow
  • Ho Chi Minh in Prison (2010)
  • Wounded Soldiers (2013), with Robert Winslow

References

  1. ^ "Two writers will share $1,000 prize". Toronto Star, March 29, 1977.
  2. ^ "Richler and Munro are alive and well between books". The Globe and Mail, March 22, 1977.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Canada's small towns are changing". Toronto Star, January 15, 1987.
  4. ^ "Feminist novel a heroic achievement". The Globe and Mail, November 6, 1980.
  5. ^ "Three fined $900 for screening film". The Globe and Mail, March 26, 1983.
  6. ^ "Drive a little farther and add to your theatre options". The Record, May 21, 1998.
  7. ^ a b "4th Line Theatre announces 2014 summer lineup". Peterborough This Week, November 1, 2013.