Writer in Residence 
March 1, 2022
Writer in Residence
THOMAS HALL
When you ask Dr. M.T. (Jean) Dohaney, a professor who spent over 20 years teaching at the University of New Brunswick, who she had aspired to be like when she grew up, she will say, without hesitation, ‘Lois Lane’. Ms. Lane was a fictional character who appeared in Superman Comics and was an awardwinning journalist for the Metropolis Newspaper, The Daily Planet. Admiration for this character’s writing expertise rubbed off on Dohaney.
In 1988, her first novel was published, The Corrigan Women: It dealt with three generations of Newfoundland women and the effect that World War 1, World War 2 and Confederation had upon their lives. She went on to write six more novels, mostly Newfoundland-based.
Dohaney wrote a screenplay – Come Back Paddy Riley – which became one of two screenplays that were selected by the Nova Scotia Film Board as winners in the Atlantic Film Festival. The story is about her uncle from Newfoundland who went to war at a young age and like many others lost his life.
Today, you can find Dohaney at her computer keeping up with current events. However, she is always readily available with words of wisdom for today’s generation and can delight anyone with her storytelling.
Thank you to Dr. Dohaney for penning this piece for us for this issue of Connections.
Dr. Dohaney was recognized by the Thomas H. Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award in 1995 for her novel, A Marriage of Masks. She also received the Lieutenant’s Governor’s Award for High Achievement in English Language/Literature Arts in 2012 in New Brunswick.
