Meet Glenn Clifton, Professor (Literary Studies and Creative Writing)
Dr. Glenn Clifton is excited to join Sheridan after 4 years living abroad in the States, where he taught at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis and West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. He has an M.A. in Playwriting from Boston University and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Toronto, where he studied literary Modernism. He has published academic articles on Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw, and Henry James, all related to his doctoral project on modernism and aging.
(Photo: Glenn Clifton)
Glenn writes plays and prose; he is working on a novel about campus culture in the United States and a play about a veteran of the Iraq War. His one-act play Paul and Erin go to Bed was staged by the M.T. Pockets company in West Virginia, and he’s had short pieces staged in a variety of venues. He enjoys acting as well, and got the opportunity to play a part in the premiere of a reconstruction of Shakespeare’s “lost” play, Cardenio, in Indianapolis.
A native of Mississauga, Glenn is thrilled to be back in town working at an institution that offers him the opportunity to connect with people who share so many of his interests in creative writing and the arts!
Glenn Clifton answers Alchemy’s Proust Questionnaire:
Favourite virtue: Humility.
Most overrated virtue: The vaguely smug quality of “Canadian-ness.”
Most important lesson I learned in kindergarten: Be careful: people can get used to almost anything.
My favourite qualities in a student: Genuine curiosity. A willingness to be surprised.
My idea of perfect happiness: “Be patient, for the world is broad and wide.” (Friar Laurence, Romeo and Juliet)
In my opinion the secret to success is: Be genuine. And remember there is no such thing as a boat to miss.
My favourite word: Fudgsicle.
My favourite quotation, motto, or phrase: “Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind, the second is to be kind, and the third is to be kind.” (Henry James)
If I weren’t a teacher I’d be: A script-doctor.
A country/place I’d like to visit: Poland.
My favourite historical, literary, or cinematic
character(s): Leopold Bloom and Stringer Bell
My favourite singer/musician and song: Leonard Cohen, “True Love Leaves no Traces”
The most embarrassing song/album in my iTunes or music collection: I bought the Bon Jovi song “It’s my Life” by accident. Twice. I guess my wallet, like Bon Jovi’s heart, is an open highway.
