Why Alex Pugsley feels there needs to be more fiction set in his hometown of Halifax
Alex Pugsley is a Nova Scotia filmmaker and writer. He is the co-author of the novel Kay Darling.
His debut solo novel, Aubrey McKee is the first in a series of five autobiographical novels. Aubrey McKee tells the story of a boy growing up in 1970s and 1980s Halifax. The second novel, which follows the narrator's arrival in Toronto as a young man, is forthcoming. CBC Books named Pugsley a 2020 writer to watch.
Pugsley spoke with The Next Chapter about writing Aubrey McKee.
A writing credo
"I think that all writing is in some ways autobiographical. Alice Munro, when she was writing Lives of Girls and Women, she has this neat little disclaimer note off the top, which is, 'This book is autobiographical in form but not in fact. My family and friends did not serve as models for the characters in this book.'
I think that all writing is in some ways autobiographical.
"I'm not quoting it verbatim but it's pretty close. That became a credo for me, where you can write the novel as if it happened to you. That gives you a valence or confidence that can take you through a story or chapter."
Writing about childhood
"I began writing the book when I was the age that the narrator is at the end. I started writing it in my 20s. I wanted to write an honest response to the circumstances of my childhood. When you're a kid, you have a lot more ideas about your life than you have ways of expressing them. I was not a very articulate child and I couldn't express myself.
When you're a kid, you have a lot more ideas about your life than you have ways of expressing them.
"But when you start to think about the language of fiction, and how a novel communicates, I had a chance at expressing in an intricate and comprehensive way everything I had felt growing up say between the ages of 5 and 21."
Halifax is home
"Writing about Halifax was actually a lot of fun for me because in a lot of ways, although Nova Scotia has a very rich tradition of music and literature, a lot of it is from Cape Breton. Halifax has not been written about that often.
Although Nova Scotia has a very rich tradition of music and literature, a lot of it is from Cape Breton. Halifax has not been written about that often.
"In a lot of ways, it was wide open territory. I was happy to write about my childhood because I knew it so well. I knew the kinds of forces that were at work within Halifax.
"It was a great joy for me to write about what made me happy, what made me frustrated and what made me excited for things to come."
Alex Pugsley's comments have been edited for length and clarity.
