Essay On Timothy Findley

In one of his speeches, which later appeared in the Journeyman: Travels of Writer, Timothy Findley noted that myths are not lies. They are truths told in the context of size twelve shoes, as they have wider gestures, with voices projected deeper, as well as, bolder features that reality cannot dare contrive. True to his word, Timothy Findley lived to produce one of the most pieces of intelligent storytelling and writing that were deemed mythical by many yet structured in a manner that reflected the actual troubles that human beings face as depicted by the characters in his story. In writing such intelligent literature, his was explorative in his writing, never constricting himself to one writing genre, but exploring different forms of writing,

(Roberts and Macdonald, 56-67). The culmination of his life’s accomplishments and achievements, as discussed in this made him one of the most prolific writers that found himself inducted in Canada's Walk of Fame in year 2002 (Reznowski, 145-154).
According to Athabasca University, Timothy Findley’s early life since the time of his birth in 1930, October 30th surprises many, as it shows how he took a drastic turn from being an actor into becoming a writer.

Although coming from a rich background, his health during childhood very poor that his interest and attendance in school became erratic leading to his failure in finishing his tenth grade. Nonetheless, with resilience he pursued an arts career where he studied acting and dance from which he became a successful actor prior to switching to a writing career. He rose to charter membership of the 1953’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival, played The Matchmaker, a play at Edinburgh Festival and Sunshine Sketches, which was aired by CBC Television. In 1953, while working together with Alex Guinness, he had accepted his offer to attend Central School of Speech and Drama based in London, thus becoming a surprise for many when he shifted from his early life’s focus in drama to take a career in writing in his adulthood life (Roberts and Macdonald,

166-187).
Timothy Findley life in adulthood, from thirty years onwards was characterized by an immense shift from his acting career to a successful writing career. While in London, he was privileged to meet playwright Thornton Wilder and Ruth Gordon during the 1954 The Matchmaker tour that motivated him to join a career in writing and publish his first story, About Effie that was accepted in 1956 in The Tamarack Review. Even though he continued acting, he took up minor roles during his acting tours in Europe and North America. He shifted his focus on building his writing career by writing for stage, television and radio from which he earned his living. By late 1970s, he had managed to build a solid career as a writer by publishing an addition of eight novels, two memoirs and three short-story collections. Even after retiring from writing, he remained an active member of Canadian writing community where he chaired in Writers' Union of Canada and English-Canadian P. E. N. International,
Among the most remarkable contributions in Canadian and world literary history that led Findley to Canada's Walk of Fame was his efforts in founding The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) and inspiring other writers by defying literary classification to show that a writer can be versatile, flexible with no need to focus on specific genre of literature.

Findley helped found the TWUC to help elevate writing profession by advocating for writers’ economic well-being, freedoms and rights. The union has in Canadian history been instrumental in addressing copyright legislation, public lending rights, freedom of expression and public lending lights among other issues that affect and derail the writers’ progression. In addition, Finley changed the face of Canadian and world literature in a manner inspiring other writes by tampering with traditional conceived assumptions of genre and history where he bases his setting in past, as in the case of Second world war in Famous Last Words but employs modern literary genes, including speculative fiction, mystery and fantasy. In this light, he inspired writers by challenging them to break the norms, avoid focusing on a specific genre, but instead become versatile by defying classification to combine different genres and make them work (Brydon,

99-123).
In brief, Timothy Findley did not start as a successful writer, but rather a child stricken by health issues. Nonetheless, he managed to raise above his health concerns and shift from his acting career to become a successful writer. Of particular importance is the role of his intelligent writing skills and his passion for writing, which culminate into immense achievements, which as discussed let to his entry in the Canada's Walk of Fame. These are in reference to defying writing classifications and being a founder of The Writers’ Union of Canada. In this light, it is apparent that he has left footsteps from which other writers can garner inspiration and emulate to become successful.