Ryan Knighton

Talk Description

When I turned thirty, I decided to do something very silly and arrogant — I decided to write a memoir. Eight years later, I'm working on my third. Heaps of stuff happens, but more happens, I've discovered, when you write about it. I'm also blind, and it makes writing hard, makes remembering imperative, makes technology my beloved curse, and makes the world — and everything my former, sighted self assumed — perversely funny. In this talk, I'm going to tell a few stories, and hopefully tell you what I think I know about memory, flesh, laughter and sentences, and how they help us navigate the world.

Biography

Ryan Knighton is a Canadian-born journalist, author, professor and screenwriter. On his 18th birthday he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a congenital syndrome that slowly blinded him over ten years. His memoir Cockeyed was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal, Canada's national award for the funniest book of the year. His next book, C'mon Papa, about the perils and pleasures of fatherhood, was also met with acclaim. In 2008 he was awarded a position at the Sundance Institute's Screenwriters Lab; Jodie Foster is attached to direct his screenplay, which won awards from the Tribeca Film Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. His journalism has appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Salon, Esquire, Men's Health and The Believer, earning a nomination for a national magazine award. He teaches rhetoric and creative writing at Capilano University and lives in East Vancouver with his wife, daughter and pug.