Robert H. Boyer: A Brief Biography

By: Bob Boyer

 

Writers are expected to update their bios periodically, and I have recently done that. When I fi nished and reviewed the update, I was pleasantly reminded of how important my Philippines connection has become. That connection stretches back more than thirty years, and I thought readers of this column might fi nd it of some interest (Please note the “Brief” in the title). The timing for this update is a new edition of a recent (2017) book. Here is the updated bio as it appears in my Goodreads Author Profi le.

“At present I am completing work on the “Second and Enhanced Edition” of “The Magic Necklace of Al-Andalus,” my fi rst novel. It will be out early in 2021, with a limited number of pre-publication copies available for Christmas, 2020. The following biography highlights my personal and professional background from which this novel and my earlier work spring.

“Reading, writing, travelling, and teaching have always attracted me. Being a teacher has enabled me to combine all four activities, with my fi rst love being teaching. When I was a freshman at La Salle High School in my hometown of Philadelphia, I decided that I wanted to be a teacher. I have never looked back since.

“I retired in 2005, after forty-four years of teaching: four years in high school, three years as a graduate teaching assistant, and the last thirty- six years teaching English at St. Norbert College in Northeastern Wisconsin. I still enjoy teaching occasionally, most recently in the Learning for Life Program at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. I remain connected with St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.

“Teaching has afforded me opportunities for travel, often with my family. I have taught in Canton, Ohio, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in Phoenix, Arizona, in Philadelphia, and in Northeastern Wisconsin. I was fortunate to earn a fellowship to study at Oxford University in England, with my wife and four children along. Later on, courses that I taught, or research that I did, took me to Nicaragua (during their civil war), to El Salvador (just after their civil war), twice to Spain, and six times to the Philippines. I spent two sabbatical semesters in Spain (my thanks to St. Norbert College) and I was a Visiting Professor in Manila, at the University of the Philippines, for a memorable semester. Friends began referring to me as “an adventurer”.

“Teaching and travel have resulted in a number of books. Prior to “The Magic Necklace of Al-Andalus,” my most recent book was “Sundays in Manila” (2010), a travel memoir based on my experiences in the Philippines. That country and the many friends and acquaintances I have made there keep drawing me back. I also write a monthly column for “VIA TIMES Newsmagazine,” a Philippine-American publication out of Chicago. You can fi nd me, including a recent picture, on their web site (www.viatimes.com). All of my earlier books are edited collections of Fantasy Literature or are about Fantasy Literature and some of the people who write it. You can fi nd many of these books listed in my Goodreads Author Profi le or on Amazon.

“‘The Magic Necklace of Al-Andalus’ is my fi rst work of fi ction. It is a Historical Fantasy Novel set primarily in medieval Spain during the height of the Arab Ascendancy there, from the 10th through the 12th Centuries. The story has been percolating in my mind and imagination ever since I was a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania and studied Medieval European Literature, which then covered mainly British literature and its Italian and French infl uences.

I continued to enjoy and later to teach medieval literature but with a growing sense of uneasiness with its antisemitism as well as the bitter crusading against Islam. The antisemitism was more disturbing than the confl ict with Islam; Islam was a foe, sometimes even cast as a noble foe in a war in which its heroes could occasionally be victorious. Once, in a moment of perhaps guilty frustration about these matters, I visited a medieval history friend and colleague and asked him, “was there ever a time when Jews, Muslims, and Christians actually got along together?” His answer: “Yes, medieval Spain during the Arab Ascendancy. You should go there.” I did, and “The Magic Necklace of Al-Andalus” is the result.”

Embracing and being embraced by others, especially Filipinos in my case, has made me realize that appreciating others is simply a way of understanding one’s self.

Bob Boyer welcomes comments at Robert.boyer@snc.edu.