Terence M. Green
Encyclopedia
Terence Michael Green is a Canadian science-fiction and fantasy
writer. He has published short stories and novels, among the best received of which is Children of the Rainbow (1992). His works focus on characterization and explore the complexity of social relationships.
, an MA from University College, Dublin, and a BEd in 1973 from the University of Toronto.
.
Green’s first novel was Barking Dogs (1988), an expanded version of one of his short stories. Set in the future when people have portable lie detectors ("barking dogs"), it explores how justice and social relationships change as a result of knowing the truth.
Four years later, Green published the more highly acclaimed Children of the Rainbow (1992). It is a time travel novel
, which combines elements of Mutiny on the Bounty
, anti-nuclear protests, and Inca religion
. Douglas Barbour of Canadian Forum
wrote that Green was "very good at showing the psychological disruption the time shifts create in his two central characters".
In Shadow of Ashland (1996), an expanded short story, Green drew on his own life and that of his family to write about a son’s search for his dying mother’s brother. Malachy Duffy of The New York Times Book Review
praised the novel’s "dedication to exploring its underlying themes of redemption, resolution and homecoming". This novel has been described as "closer to 'magic realism
' than to traditional science fiction". Green wrote two sequels to Shadow of Ashland that continued to explore these familiar themes: A Witness to Life (1999) and St. Patrick’s Bed (2001).
The year after Shadow of Ashland, Green published Blue Limbo (1997), a futuristic thriller. At the center of the novel is the "Blue Limbo" technique, which allows the dead to be brought back consciousness, and "a rogue cop"'s desire to avenge the murder of his partner.
Green’s style has been described as "quiet" and "restrained". The St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers contends that his "science fiction is quintessentially Canadian, with its graceful focus on characterization, its rhetorical understatement, its placing of characters in a complex social environment, as well as its refusal to explore technology for itself alone."
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
writer. He has published short stories and novels, among the best received of which is Children of the Rainbow (1992). His works focus on characterization and explore the complexity of social relationships.
Early life and education
Green was born in Toronto, Ontario to Thomas and Margaret. He received a BA in English in 1967 from the University of TorontoUniversity of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, an MA from University College, Dublin, and a BEd in 1973 from the University of Toronto.
Career
Green has published both short stories and novels. His first Canadian publication was "Of children in the foliage", which was included in Aurora: New Canadian Writing 1979, and his first US publication was "Till death do us part", included in the December 1981 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
.
Green’s first novel was Barking Dogs (1988), an expanded version of one of his short stories. Set in the future when people have portable lie detectors ("barking dogs"), it explores how justice and social relationships change as a result of knowing the truth.
Four years later, Green published the more highly acclaimed Children of the Rainbow (1992). It is a time travel novel
Time travel in fiction
Time travel is a common theme in science fiction and is depicted in a variety of media. It simply means either going forward in time or backward, to experience the future, or the past.-Literature:...
, which combines elements of Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty (novel)
For the actual event described in this book, see Mutiny on the Bounty.Mutiny on the Bounty is the title of the 1932 novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, based on the mutiny against Lieutenant William Bligh, commanding officer of the Bounty in 1789. It has been made into several films...
, anti-nuclear protests, and Inca religion
Inca religion
In the heterogeneous Inca Empire several polytheistic religions were practiced by its different people. Most religions had common traits such as the existence of a Pachamama and Viracocha...
. Douglas Barbour of Canadian Forum
Canadian Forum
The Canadian Forum was a left-wing literary, cultural and political publication and Canada's longest running continually published political magazine.It was founded in 1920 at the University of Toronto as a forum for political and cultural ideas...
wrote that Green was "very good at showing the psychological disruption the time shifts create in his two central characters".
In Shadow of Ashland (1996), an expanded short story, Green drew on his own life and that of his family to write about a son’s search for his dying mother’s brother. Malachy Duffy of The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
praised the novel’s "dedication to exploring its underlying themes of redemption, resolution and homecoming". This novel has been described as "closer to 'magic realism
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
' than to traditional science fiction". Green wrote two sequels to Shadow of Ashland that continued to explore these familiar themes: A Witness to Life (1999) and St. Patrick’s Bed (2001).
The year after Shadow of Ashland, Green published Blue Limbo (1997), a futuristic thriller. At the center of the novel is the "Blue Limbo" technique, which allows the dead to be brought back consciousness, and "a rogue cop"'s desire to avenge the murder of his partner.
Green’s style has been described as "quiet" and "restrained". The St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers contends that his "science fiction is quintessentially Canadian, with its graceful focus on characterization, its rhetorical understatement, its placing of characters in a complex social environment, as well as its refusal to explore technology for itself alone."
Personal life and current
In 1968, Green married Penny Dakin, whom he divorced in 1990; they have two sons, Conor and Owen. He married Merle Casci in 1994, with whom he has one son, Daniel. Green has retired from teaching English at East York Collegiate Institute, where he worked since 1968, and now teaches creative-writing part-time at the University of Western Ontario.Awards
- Canada Council grants in 1983 and 1992
- Ontario Arts Council Grants in 1991, 1992, and 1993
Selected list of works
This selected list of works is taken from Contemporary Authors Online:- The Woman Who Is the Midnight Wind (1987)
- Barking Dogs (1988)
- Children of the Rainbow (1992)
- Shadow of Ashland (1996)
- Blue Limbo (1997)
- A Witness to Life (1999)
- St. Patrick's Bed (2001)