Hugh Hood
Hugh Hood was a notable Canadian novelist, born in Toronto in 1928, whose literary career spanned several decades until his death in 2001. He is best known for his extensive New Age series, which comprises twelve interrelated novels and is considered one of the most ambitious literary projects in Canadian history. The series chronicles the life of Matt Goderich, an art historian, from his birth in 1930 to his death in 2012, exploring themes of personal and professional identity against the backdrop of Canadian culture. Hood's writing is characterized by his unique narrative style, seamlessly shifting between first-person and third-person perspectives, and displays profound insights into the complexities of the Canadian middle class.
In addition to his fiction, Hood contributed significantly to nonfiction, particularly in his exploration of the philosophy of art in "The Governor's Bridge Is Closed." His works reflect a deep engagement with cultural and spiritual issues, often informed by his devout Catholic faith. Despite his lack of international translations or publications, Hood's impact on Canadian literature has been recognized through honors such as his appointment as an officer of the Order of Canada. His innovative storytelling and encyclopedic knowledge of Canada make him a vital figure in the literary landscape.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Hugh Hood
Writer
- Born: April 30, 1928
- Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Died: August 1, 2001
- Place of death: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Biography
Canadian novelist Hugh Hood was a prolific writer, producing five stand-alone novels, twelve novels in his New Age series, and many short stories and nonfiction pieces. He was born in Toronto in 1928 and educated at the University of Toronto, where he received his B.A. in 1950, his M.A. in 1952, and his Ph.D. in 1957. After teaching for several years at St. Joseph College in Hartford, Connecticut, he became a professor of English at the Université de Montreal in 1961. He died in Montreal in 2001.
Hood’s New Age series, written over a twenty-five year period, has been called the most ambitious literary undertaking in Canadian history. Given its sheer scope, the series demands a rare tenacity to read all twelve novels. The series recounts the events in the personal and professional life of Matt Goderich, an art historian with a passion for all things Canadian, from his birth in 1930 until his death in 2012.
The Swing in the Garden and A New Athens, the first two books in the series, are set in eastern Canada. In The Swing in the Garden, Goderich is a child, and he and his older sister play a nasty trick on a neighborhood boy, Adam. In the eleventh novel, Dead Men’s Watches, this same boy, now an adult, dies of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Goderich’s arms. The third and fourth novels, Reservoir Ravine and Black and White Keys, focus on Goderich’s parents. Hood moves fluidly between first-person and third-person omniscient narration as he observes the attitudes of the Canadian middle class. The digressions within this series of interrelated novels reflect his keen interest in a diversity of subjects as well as his shrewd observatory skills. Goderich, like Hood, is a devout Catholic, and the books offer a thoughtful view of religious and spiritual matters.
Hood acknowledged the influences on his writing of similarly ambitious series written by two other novelists: Remembrance of Things Past (1913-1919) by Marcel Proust and A Dance to the Music of Time (1951-1975) by Anthony Powell. Hood takes care to change the stylistic form in each of his twelve novels, so that none of the books feels like an imitation of another. He was hailed for having encyclopedic knowledge of Canada, as adroitly demonstrated in each novel.
In Hood’s collection of nonfiction, The Governor’s Bridge Is Closed, he examines the nature of art as a philosophical stance. He invokes both the Greek philosopher, Plato, and his student, Aristotle, as they impacted Hood’s own approach to understanding the artist’s relationship to his or her craft. In his story “The Village Inside,” published in his collection Around the Mountain: Scenes from Montreal Life, the narrator becomes interested in an old farmhouse on the edge of a shopping center. Delving into its history, he discovers that it belonged to an old man, Victor Latourelle, whose children tried to get him committed for senility so they could sell his farm. The story concludes with the elderly Latourelle possibly dreaming of his father working the land. Through the plot of the story, Hood is commenting on the way the present devours the past and how new generations disregard their elders.
In recognition of his contributions to Canadian literature, Hood was made an officer of the Order of Canada. Although his works have not been translated into other languages or published abroad, Hood remains a vitally important Canadian novelist.