Welcome to our newest faculty member – Fr. Pat Hannon! Although Fr. Pat just joined the English department this year to teach Intro to College Writing, Intro to Literature, and Advanced writing, he and his brother, Mike, both attended the University of Portland for their undergraduate degrees.
Fr. Pat began UP in 1982 and graduated four years later with a degree in Political Science. He recently went back to school to get his MFA in Creative Writing, which is why this year he is transferring from the Theology Department to the English Department.
Fr. Pat’s interest in English originally stemmed from his father’s love of literature. He remembers that his dad always had a large stack of books next to his bed and was always reading. Thus, Fr. Pat loved to read as a child. At UP in 1982 he studied under Dr. Masson and his love of literature grew. In adulthood, Fr. Pat prefers to read non-fiction books. When asked about his favorite author Fr. Pat could not choose one, and instead had to choose five; Flannery O’Connor, Nabokov, Virginia Woolf, Mark Twain, and Herman Melville. Fr. Pat’s book recommendation for students is A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers, a book that he is currently reading himself and is set in Saudi Arabia.
Fr. Pat is excited to teach all of his new classes, but says that he is most excited about his Advanced Writing class because students will be learning the elements others’ stories and using them to tell their own true stories. So far he says that he loves it. Fr. Pat’s office is in BC 375; please feel free to visit him and say hello!