ORILLIA — Dr. Sarah Olutola is an associate professor of writing at the Lakehead University Orillia Campus.
She is known by the Lakehead University community for teaching primarily Black Anglophone literature, critical race studies, and writing fiction and non-fiction.
Olutola aims to develop courses that look at writing through the lens of activism and social justice.
She teaches with special real-world knowledge, being a published author.
“It's funny because I started writing when I was in my when I was doing grad school at McMaster, and it was just something that I was doing on my own, but it did prime me for this job of teaching creative writing.
“I write young adult books,” Olutola said.
Her latest book is called The Queen’s Spade. She also has two trilogies: The Bones of Ruin and The Effigies.
Olutola’s pen name is Sarah Raughley, which separates her academic work from her fiction writing.
“Raughley is a nickname that I was given by my family,” she said.
At Lakehead University, the goal is not only to teach, but to prime students for the real world, she added.
“I've been working in the real world. I know what it's like to publish short stories and longer works. I can help them transition from learning how to write well to learning how to publish,” she said.
“My goal is to inspire. Not just to get a job or to become successful as a writer, but to use their voices and to have fun discovering their unique special voices.”
As an associate professor, Olutola reiterates that individuals do not need a university or college degree to write.
“I want to encourage people, and I don't want people to think that if they missed out on going to college, if they missed out on going to university, they can never be a writer.
“Some of the best writers that I've read write from their own experiences and their own lives. Maybe they did go to university, but they have a completely different degree.
“I think that if you can't go to creative writing classes, that's fine. I don't want people to think that only certain people can write. Absolutely not. If you have the passion for it, go for it,” she said.
Olutola said her advice for writers is to do a lot of reading for pleasure.
“I know that's tough when you're a student.
“The more you read, the more you get a sense of other people's styles, and the more you get a sense of how other writers tell their stories.
“I think it's really difficult to be a writer unless you're also a reader and somebody who loves stories, so I would say when you have the time, even if it's something short, read something for fun, and just keep reading and absorbing words and seeing how to use those words to your advantage.
“Just know that it's definitely possible,” Olutola said.
