Prof to read works in Deep Song series

Dr. Sam Martin, assistant professor of English at Northwestern College, will read from a selection of his works during the next session of the college’s 2015 Deep Song Reading Series on Thursday, April 9, at 7 p.m. The free event will take place in Te Paske Gallery.

Martin will read a selection from his latest work, “Odin’s Eyes.” Martin describes the novel, which is in its final editorial stage, as “a contemporary saga of human folly and persistence; of characters haunted by the ghosts of old gods driven by the desire to create something that will last.”

Dr. Joel Westerholm, English professor at Northwestern, has had the opportunity to read the draft version of Martin’s novel. “Sam has a gift for taking the kind of characters whom we would normally avoid and making them both understandable and sympathetic,” says Westerholm. “He makes us care.”

Martin began the novel in 2012 during his time as writer in residence at the Fogo Island Artist Studios through the Fogo Island Arts Corporation. He is also the author of a series of short stories, entitled “This Ramshackle Tabernacle,” and a novel entitled “A Blessed Snarl.” Martin was named a Mullin Scholar in 2013 by the University of Southern California and was awarded a $5,000 Northwestern College Endowed Research Fellowship grant in 2015 to begin work on his third novel.

A graduate of Redeemer University College in Ontario, Canada, Martin earned a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Toronto and a doctorate in English language and literature at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Prior to joining Northwestern’s faculty in 2012, Martin taught courses in short fiction, poetry, drama and the novel at Memorial University.

The Deep Song Reading Series is hosted by Northwestern’s English department for the purpose of allowing students and community members the opportunity to listen to new and established authors speak about their works and share some of their writing experiences.