NOSE FOR NEWS LEADS TO NOVELS

She always had a nose for news. She was only a high school student in Edmonton when she wrote a feature that hit the front page of the Edmonton Journal.

            Hope Morritt chuckles at the recollection.  “I wrote it about a 50 year old woman who went back to high school to get her grade twelve.  At that time, older people did not go back to school, and I remember running after her ‘til I convinced her she’d make good news.”

            And that launched a career in journalism for the well-known area author who admits writing is in her blood.  From the age of 8 when she wrote poetry, Hope has gone on to pen novels, short stories, articles and plays. 

            Always ready to tackle a new experience, the tall, friendly woman exudes the prime qualities of a professional writer; she listens attentively to people and questions everything.  And her soft-spoken manner belies her writing style.  Her words are strong and firm and her opinions pack plenty of punch. 

            As a journalist, Hope worked on staff at the Sarnia Observer, and currently freelances for the London Free Press.  Yet, her most recent success – a short story in a publication by the Canadian Federation of University Women, confirms her literary talent.  The short story, Song of the Wheel, is a warm and powerful portrayal of a chance encounter between an elderly widow and a discouraged young man. 

            The sensitivity with which she handles her subjects is evident in the true and touching account of an old Indian woman who chooses to purchase her own coffin.

            Hope’s current project promises to be one of fascination for residents of this area.  It is called The Ghost House of Baldoon, a book of historical fiction based on the ghost stories of 1829 set in southwestern Ontario . 

            If she’s not writing, you might catch her in the depths of reading, swimming, jogging around Canatara Park or preparing for a writers’ conference in Dublin University , Ireland – “Where James Joyce studied,” she says with enthusiasm. 

            Certainly, Hope Morritt’s zest for living is matched only by her personal philosophy: “I think people should be positive. . .  I’m tired of negative  people.  The older I get, the more I feel that way.  You should find life challenging and exciting . . . and I do.”

                                                              Heather Rath -  The Gazette

                                                                       July 29, 1981

Hope Morritt – Novelist, Poet and Historian

Award-winning author, poet, teacher, reviewer, historian and  lecturer, Hope Morritt began her writing career in the 1940s in her birth city of Edmonton , as a reporter for the Edmonton Journal.  She moved to Sarnia in 1964, shortly after her husband had been posted to the area.

“Sarnia was a culture shock to me, coming from a big city alive with theatre and arts.  Although I went to the first meeting of a newly-formed writers’ group, I wasn’t really interested because, in my heart, I knew I wouldn’t be staying.  But life has a way of changing scenes for us and, as the year wore away, the Sarnia Creative Writers’ Club kept luring me back.

I soon found that struggling writers in Sarnia were the same as struggling writers anywhere in Canada ; they were warm, caring and fun to be with.”

In the 1970s and 1980s, Hope was busy writing and publishing three novels, two books of poetry and two books of non-fiction in England , the U.S.A. and Canada , with her work also appearing regularly in Panorama Weekend Magazine and The Toronto Star.

In 1979, Hope received her B.A. from the University of Western Ontario . She carried out her post-graduate work in Irish Literature at the University of Dublin where she often read her work at Newman House, University College , downtown Dublin .

No stranger to the media and academia, with her readings, lectures and workshops, Hope presents regularly at collages, schools and libraries, has taught creative writing . . .  and was host for a TV series in the 1990s, introducing Canadian authors.

The Detroit Magazine’s annual short-story competition awarded Hope first prize for her contribution.  Her poetry and short stories have been included in many anthologies, the most recent Women on WAR, Touchstone Books, Simon & Schuster , New York 1988.  She has also written books reviews for The Gazette and The Canadian Author & Bookman, and has had short stories and plays broadcast on CBC Radio. 

Hope Morritt is a member of The  Writers’ Union of Canada and was their membership chairperson for two years.  Hope is also a member of Women Writing the West, and a member of WIT (Writers in  Transition, Sarnia ).

Hope did decide to stay in the area, and is still as busy as ever working on her latest novel, and now lives on the shore of Lake Huron , just outside of Sarnia .

                                                                  Margaret Bird

                                                      FIX Magazine, September 2009