“Can You See Me Yet?” Perspectives on Timothy Findley: An Introduction in Two Parts

Abstract

In late October 1997, Trent University dedicated a weekend to honour Timothy Findley. It was, quite deliberately, an eclectic event - part conference, part gathering of fellow writers and part celebration. There were academic papers analysing his novels, short stories and plays; there were readings by old friends and younger writers whom Findley had influenced; and there were performances by a variety of entertainers who had close personal links to the author. It was the kind of event a place like Trent does well. It hearkened back to two similar weekends celebrating another close friend of the university, Laurence. There was Margaret Laurence and Friends, held in March 1974 at which 12 Canadian writers gathered to read from their works and manifest their friendship and respect for Laurence. Over 1,500 people attended the readings that weekend. And there was a second celebratory event in March 1988, after had died, to recognize her special kinship to Trent and to the Peterborough area where she had made her home for the last 15 years of her life. Attendance was larger still with many visitors turned away for lack of room. Don't look for those events in James King's biography of Laurence; they weren't, for some reason, included. Timothy Findley wasn't one of the 12 writers who attended the first Laurence weekend. The Wars had not yet appeared and he was relatively unknown, despite some fine short stories that had been appearing in magazines and two novels, The Last of the Crazy People and The Butterfly Plague. The writing that he was undertaking for television and radio, often co-authored with Bill Whitehead, was still to be fully recognised. It was with the publication of The Wars that many of us began to see him. Shortly thereafter he began to visit Trent, either by invitation (there were many) or in conjunction with book tours. He was here often, sometimes visiting Laurence en passant, and always attracting large and enthusiastic Trent audiences to hear him read and discuss his writing. I can recall five or six such visits, one for a week in duration as writer-in-residence and one to deliver an address to the Trent Philosophical Society on My Final Hour. This piece was subsequently published in the Journal's Spring 1987 issue. I have many vivid memories of his ability to perform powerfully and gracefully, even when he was weary and under the weather. In his own particular way, living but an hour's drive from Peterborough in Cannington, he became a important presence for us here, a presence (like Laurence herself had) a writer of rare ability and personal generosity who proved a gracious and thoughtful friend to faculty and students alike. Small wonder then that we at Trent should seek to find a way to recognise Timothy Findley and his many literary achievements. Can You See Me Yet? was several years in the planning and was spurred initially by the news that he and Bill Whitehead were planning to sell Stone Orchard farm and move to the south of France where Tiff could write away from the increasing demands upon his time by charities and the literary marketplace. After some initial delays we began to plan in earnest for 19-21 October 1997 and quickly the weekend began to take on a life and energy of its own. A team of dedicated volunteers - faculty, staff and students too many to name here - worked tirelessly to make the event as free-flowing and as comfortable as possible. Without these efforts, Can You See Me Yet? could not have succeeded. A call for papers brought in a wide range of responses from as far afield as Italy, Russia, the United States, Halifax and Vancouver. We garnered financial support from various departments and colleges at Trent, from Peterborough's exemplary corporate citizen, Quaker Oats of Canada, from the T.H.B. Symons Trust, from the Frost Centre for the Study of Canadian Heritage and Development, from the Bruce Westwood agency and from HarperCollins. …