BY
KEITH LACEY
The author of a memoir, which has garnered praise across North
America, says he's looking forward to returning to his roots in
small-town Ontario.
Among many other subjects, Larry O'Connor will be speaking
about his long career in journalism, his boyhood growing up in
Owen Sound, his memoir called Tip of the Iceberg, and his
recently completed novel, The Penalty Box, when he visits the
main branch of the Sudbury Public Library on Thursday.
Tip of the Iceberg is the story of a boyhood lived at the
gateway to Canada's far north. As narrator, O'Connor recalls
his youth being raised by a stern, secretive father, being
spellbound by the country that lies beyond his small town of
Owen Sound, his trip to self-discovery and coming to understand
his father and family.
Tip of the Iceberg was short-listed for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing.
The American publication Booklist praised the novel in
glowing terms.
"This is the story of a young boy growing up with a father
who loves him but can't talk to him...the weather was cold, and
so was his father, a quiet serious man of few words who never
spoke about his family.
"O'Connor weaves into his gentle memoir stories about Eskimo life and about the great Arctic explorers Franklin and Shackleton. Like those men, O'Connor, too, is an explorer, journeying deep into his father's past. What emerges is a loving portrait of a boy, his family, and life in a cold Canadian town. It's about dreams and memories that can't stay forever secret."
Speaking on the phone from his home just outside New York City,
O'Connor said he's really looking forward to returning to
Northern Ontario. He has other book signings during a brief
tour this week in Owen Sound and North Bay.
"My love of the north has never disappeared," said O'Connor,
51, who is married to fellow writer Mary Morris.
O'Connor met Morris more than 15 years ago at a writer's conference in Virginia and they have been together since.
They recently married, allowing O'Connor to obtain dual
citizenship after working several years south of the border on
a Green Card.
He's been a business editor at the New York Post the past
three years.
Before moving to the United States, he worked as a reporter
and editor at numerous Ontario newspapers, including the Owen
Sound Sun Times, Brockville Recorder and Times, Prescott
Journal and Windsor Star.
He also taught journalism at Canadore College in North Bay
in the late 1980s.
As an avid arts lover, being able to work and live in New
York City is a privilege after spending so much of his time in
smaller Ontario cities, he said.
"New York is a place of mythic proportions and being able to
work and write here has always been a goal of mine," he said.
Speaking about his difficult relationship with his father is a big part of his memoir, but O'Connor wants those who will be attending Thursday to know while their relationship was difficult, they have never severed ties and now share a wonderful relationship.
"To my mind, it's really about making connections and how me
and my father finally were able to connect," he said. "There's
never been any break in my relationship with my father."
He's very pleased with the response to Tip of the Iceberg
and hopes to gain the same kind of attention for The Penalty
Box, his first novel, where his love of the game of hockey
plays a significant role. The book is completed and he's
looking for a well-known publisher. He hopes to have it on the
market in the next few months.
Being able to write for a living has made his life rich and
rewarding, said O'Connor.
"I'm a firm believer in pursuing dreams and if you do the
right thing and pursue your dreams, you can be happy whether
you're in New York, Marathon (Ontario) or Sudbury," he said.
"My dream was to be a writer and to be able to have done so for
so many years has made my life rich."
O'Connor will be speaking at the public library's main
branch on MacKenzie Street Thursday at 7 pm in Meeting Room
One.
To register, call Kaijua Mailloux at 673-1155, ext. 210.
