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The occasional writings & ruminations
of Les Merson
1990 - present
WORDS DEFINE US:
Change your story and you can change your life
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a writer: a poet, a playwright, maybe both…
That all changed in a 4th year creative writing class when my professor convinced me that I couldn’t write. A winner of some of Canada’s most prestigious literary awards, including two Governor General’s awards, he was quite cruel in his condemnation of my writing. At the time, I was in my Sylvia Plath phase exploring existential angst. He had no patience for her writing nor mine. “It’s boring,” he proclaimed. “Self-indulgent pap.”
I never wrote another line of fiction again.
But I still loved words on a page, so I became the next best thing: an editor and publication designer. After completing my bachelor’s at Simon Fraser University (SFU), I studied publication design at Selkirk College and had my first two articles published in the writing department’s W Magazine.
In 1990 I became the Managing Editor for the Institute for the Humanities at SFU. At the Institute I edited, designed and produced academic books and publications. I had the honour to work on Liberation Theology & Sociopolitical Transformation: A Reader, which included a chapter written by Guatemalan human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Rigoberta Menchú.
In 1992, I became the Managing Editor of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) student newspaper, The Link. One faculty member congratulated me for transforming The Link from a “wimpy, middle of the road rag into a thought-provoking, controversial STUDENT newspaper” and urged me to “continue to inject a little radicalism into this tired institution.”
The Link’s first ever Sexuality issue included a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual supplement that was met with considerable controversy including calls for my dismissal. Vancouver’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. John Blatherwick, provided words of support: “your courageous effort of bringing these issues out into the open will validate many people’s experiences and hopefully bring those who are uncomfortable with sexuality further along the road of self-discovery.”
Canada’s first openly gay Member of Parliament, Svend Robinson, also lent his support: “you gave your readers at BCIT an insight into the too often invisible and silent reality of our brothers and sisters, fellow students,
teachers, employers, friends and neighbours who happen to be lesbian, gay or bisexual… Thank you for your leadership on this issue. I have no doubt that it was controversial but trust that all elements at BCIT will recognize that growth only comes through education and awareness.”
Through a series of articles in The Link and a presentation to the Board of Governors, I was instrumental in stopping the planned destruction of the wildlife habitat at BCIT, now known as Guichon Creek, and forcing BCIT to develop its first environmental policy.
The Link succeeded in having sexist magazines and calendars removed from all campus stores and its inaugural Women’s Issue led to BCIT’s first sexual harassment policy. My support of striking, predominantly female, support staff at BCIT, arguing that it was an equity issue and publishing the wages of their male counterparts on the cover of The Link, changed the course of the negotiations and led to an 10% wage increase for the support staff.
After BCIT, I became a partner in a boutique advertising agency that specialized in annual reports, publications for government and corporate clientele, and marketing materials for post-secondary institutions including BCIT.
In 2003, I turned my passion for education to marketing a private healthcare college, growing it from near-bankruptcy to over $22 million in annual revenue. Believing in the power of education to transform lives and inspired by the student’s success stories I have written about or filmed, my position as Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for the past twenty-two years has been incredibly rewarding and meaningful. In particular, I have found great joy working with and mentoring a talented group of marketing and communications professionals.
In 2005 I was accepted into the Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS) program at SFU. A course I took in 2007 with Dr. June Sturrock on myths and fairy tales changed my life. For my final paper, I interviewed a young indigenous woman who had only days earlier been released from prison. Her life story became Cinderella Redux. Ironically, my dissatisfaction with my writing, which I felt was one-dimensional and didn’t adequately capture her story, led me to leave the GLS program to study documentary filmmaking at Langara College. Two years later, “Cindi” would be one of the “street sisters” in a documentary film I directed and produced in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
In 2021, I was fortunate to be readmitted to SFU’s Graduate Liberal Studies program. The following year, thanks in large part to Sasha Colby’s Life Writing course, I became a writer. Finally.
Surrounded and encouraged by an eclectic, talented and collaborative group of fellow students, I felt safe and inspired. Unlike my creative writing class years ago, my writing was workshopped by people I trusted and respected and who
genuinely cared about my work. I am proud of my finished article which was based on interviews I recorded in Mexico City 10 years earlier. Some of the feedback I received for Los Olvidados: the forgotten street children of Mexico City was that it brought “realism, integrity and emotion to contemporary issues that desperately need this level of approach.” The article is a testament to the resilience of a group of children who never really had a chance but refused to give up. Their stories are inspiring, and, in the midst of so much tragedy and sadness, remind each of us of our culpability and offer some hope.
For my final chapter, I plan to continue writing about things I care deeply about and perhaps teach others to write competently and confidently.
