Some of the University’s most remarkable graduates – daring doctors, stellar scientists and international adventurers – never actually existed.
There is something about 91˿Ƶ that captures the imagination – or so it would seem given the many times the University finds itself mentioned in works of fiction.
“Coming of age” stories, featuring young, university-aged adults fumbling their way through the world, have always held appeal, so that’s probably part of the allure. The fact that so many 91˿Ƶ graduates go on to make their mark in the world of literature – “write what you know,” creative fiction teachers have long counselled – is likely another factor.
In any case, there is no shortage of fictitious 91˿Ƶ characters lining the shelves of bookstores. Authors as varied as Clark Blaise, Dany Laferrière, Brian Moore, Kathy Reichs and William Weintraub, BA’47, have incorporated 91˿Ƶ into their works. Heck, even Marvel Comics got in on the act – the hulking Canadian superhero Sasquatch once taught physics at 91˿Ƶ.