Changing Minds with Literature

Guy Gifford began teaching at Mairehau High School in Christchurch, New Zealand but steadily moved north to Whanganui City College where he teamed up with David Dowling in the English Department. His most productive and enjoyable teaching experiences were on two exchanges to Canada where the lack of uniforms, semester timetabling and emphasis on graduation appealed. An amateur musician and DIY builder, he has constructed several boats and houses, some of which survive to this day. He is retired in Whanganui and struggles to keep up with his several grandchildren.

Dr David Dowling currently teaches and writes in British Columbia, Canada. He has taught in New Zealand at Rotorua and Hamilton Boys’ High Schools, and English at Massey University. He was Chair of English at the University of Northern British Columbia. A former editor of Landfall, the New Zealand literary quarterly, he has written books (published in the UK and USA) on Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner and modern literature, and also edited books on Bruce Mason, New Zealand dramas and short stories.