Ainsley Hawthorn, Ph.D., (she/her) is a cultural historian, author, and multidisciplinary artist. Raised in Steady Brook, NL, and now based in St. John’s, she earned her doctorate in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University. Her expertise includes sensory studies, Mesopotamian literature and religion, Middle Eastern dance, and the history of language. Hawthorn is a past fellow of Distant Worlds (Munich) and the Advanced Seminar in the Humanities (Venice), and she has been invited to lecture on her research at universities in Germany, Austria, Italy, Canada, and the United States. Hawthorn is passionate about using her academic knowledge to bring new ideas about culture, history, and religion to a general audience. As a public scholar, she blogs for Psychology Today, writes for CBC, and has contributed to various other publications, including The Globe and Mail, the National Post, and the Newfoundland Quarterly. She is currently completing her first solo-authored non-fiction book, The Other Five Senses.

Originally broadcast on March 1, 2023 on CHMR 93.5 FM in St. John's, and on other great stations across the country.

This episode is the eighth part of a fifty-episode Write Project sub-series celebrating the fifty-year anniversary of Breakwater Books! Breakwater Books was founded in 1973 to showcase the vibrant literary culture in Newfoundland and Labrador. Since then, we’ve continued our commitment to Newfoundland and Labrador writers while expanding our focus to feature emerging and well-known authors from across Canada and overseas. Breakwater publishes award-winning writing in all literary genres—fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, art, young adult and children’s books, as well as cookbooks, guidebooks and educational resources.

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This recording Copyright © 2023 Matthew LeDrew