To meet Brian Canever (’15) is to meet a friend. His enthusiasm for connecting with people is evident from the first handshake, and he is unapologetically transparent about who he is and what he thinks. Communications is a natural fit for his exuberant personality.
After graduating college in New Jersey he moved to Knoxville and, in 2013, began earning a master’s degree from the College of Communication and Information as a way to channel his interest in writing into a career.
Since graduating, he has worked at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in different capacities, including as a digital content manager for the UT Center for Sport, Peace, and Society, a brand writer for the UT Office of Communications and Marketing, and now as content marketing manager for the Global Supply Chain Institute in the Haslam College of Business. In 2017, he was invited to lecture in the School of Journalism and Media, and he has since taught courses in both that school and the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations. In addition to his roles at the university, he co-hosts the Knox Soccer Podcast and has been a chronicler, public announcer, and color commentator for the professional soccer club One Knoxville SC.
But while writing for others has its fulfilling moments and comes easily to Canever, it isn’t the same as writing for oneself. Promoting a brand or another person’s story can be limiting for a creative person who has their own stories to tell.
Canever knew he wanted to write his own stories, but he was stuck in a rut.
“I always wanted to write a book,” he said. “But I just don’t have a novel in me. My style is somewhere between reflection and rambling. After the pandemic, I was really dissatisfied with what I had achieved professionally. I’d been able to tell really good stories but I knew they weren’t mine.”
In 2021, Canever’s wife was pregnant with their second child and his everyday responsibilities were consuming him. Creative expression took a backseat in his life. He needed a nudge from someone else to remember his writing could also be a gift to others. In this case, that push came from Canever’s friend and fellow UT employee, Christopher Echols.
“Chris asked me out to lunch and said, ‘Why aren’t you publishing stories and writing books? I told him that I already write for work, I’m tired, and I’m about to have two kids. He told me those were just excuses and gave me a book called Show Your Work by Austin Kleon, which says, whatever you do, do it in public, do it for the world,” Canever said. “I realized I did have stories I wanted to write. I could carve out the time if I stopped going fishing or to the movies or having any kind of fun and started writing instead.”
And start writing he did. He started a Substack under the name Storytime with Big Head and published 50 stories over the course of three years. He picked his favorites and decided to compile them into a book he could self-publish. All he needed was a good editor, which he found in another friend and UT colleague, Donna Spencer, senior editor for the UT Office of Communications and Marketing. That’s how Canever’s first book, Big Head on the Block, was conceived. He said Spencer’s editing added a professional touch and legitimacy to the book, and credits her with its existence. For her part, Spencer said it was her pleasure to play a role in bringing that book into the world.
“Brian is a fabulous writer who’s deeply talented, serious about the craft, and one of the hardest-working people I know. This collection is a lot like Brian himself—funny and thoughtful and enthusiastic and full of heart, with the most interesting takes on all kinds of topics,” Spencer said.
While being a father initially made writing for himself a challenge, it took on different meaning as Canever reflected about what telling his life stories could mean for his children. Not only was Big Head on the Block a venue for his creativity, it also became a legacy for his own family. His stories range from his love of sports—particularly soccer—to what it was like growing up in an Argentinian immigrant family in New Jersey or fables, such as the one about the time he caught a stomach bug from his kids and learned a lesson in gratitude.
Canever certainly isn’t writing for the money. He readily gives his book away to anyone who wants it but can’t buy it. He set a goal of selling 100 copies, and he’s getting close to achieving that goal just a few months after its publication. Mostly, he just wants people to have the opportunity to enjoy a slice of his life and creativity. Big Head on the Block is also available on YouTube and various audio-streaming platforms including Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon Music.
“These are stories of nostalgia, childhood dreams, grown-up regrets, coming to terms with who I am, and hopefully a little bit of humor,” he said.
At the book’s end are acknowledgements, including one for Echols—the person who Canever said was the catalyst for Canever to reawaken his pursuit for a life of writing.
“I was flipping through the book to see how it was self-published because it was so professional and then I saw my name, I didn’t know he put that in there,” said Echols. “I wasn’t trying to encourage Brian to do any of the specific things he’s done, those were all Brian’s ideas. All I did was just encourage him to show his work.”
That encouragement awoke the “punk rock spirit” Canever had when he was younger and writing sappy emo songs for his high school band and blogging on LiveJournal. Now that he has resurrected that spirit and found a way to fulfill his thirst for creative writing, he isn’t stopping any time soon. He doesn’t know what’s next, but for those interested in seeing what that might be in real time can do so on Substack and Instagram.
