Live Mic Classic Books

Listen as American writer, Jennifer Egan, talks to music and book journalist, Garvia Bailey, about the process of writing historical fiction and creating characters that are real and believable - whether they are a woman diver bucking conventions in 1920s New York (Manhattan Beach) or a 1980s rock and roll executive in A Visit from the Goon Squad. This event was recorded on Monday, October 30, 2017, in the Toronto Public Library’s Bram and Bluma Appel Salon. In this 18 minute discussion, Egan talks about how she creates these characters from the past, what research she does and how the issues from her own life are subtlely embedded in her work.

Jennifer Egan is the author of five previous books of fiction: A Visit from the Goon Squad, which won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; The Keep; the story collection Emerald City; Look at Me, a National Book Award Finalist; and The Invisible Circus. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, Granta, McSweeney's, and The New York Times Magazine.

Garvia Bailey is a regular host for TPL's Bram and Bluma Appel Salon series, having interviewed Roxane Gay, Dave Bidini and others, and is the former host of Good Morning Toronto on JazzFM. She is currently working on a forthcoming podcast series with the Toronto Public Library featuring some of Canada's best-known writers and their views on the Harlem Renaissance.

Interview transcript

Listen as novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson (one of Barack Obama’s favourite writers and author of the essay collection What Are We Doing Here?) talks to author and journalist, Rachel Giese (Boys: What It Means to Become a Man). This event was recorded on Wednesday, March 14 in the Toronto Public Library’s Appel Salon. In this 18 minute discussion, Robinson talks about American Fear.

Marilynne Robinson is the recipient of a 2012 National Humanities Medal, awarded by President Barack Obama, for "her grace and intelligence in writing." She is the author of many works, including Gilead, winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and Home, winner of the Orange Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and a finalist for the National Book Award. Her first novel, Housekeeping, won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award.

RACHEL GIESE is an editor-at-large at Chatelaine and a regular contributor to CBC Radio. Her award-winning journalism has appeared in Toronto Life, The Walrus, TheGlobe and Mail and Today’s Parent and on NewYorker.com. She lives in Toronto with her wife and son. Her book, Boys: What It Means to Become a Man.

Click here for a transcript of this episode.

Cannabis. Pot. Marijuana. Whatever you call it, Canada called it legal on October 17, 2018. More and more, the topic is going to come up; at your place of work, your place of worship, your hangouts and most importantly, your home. Toronto Star has assembled dedicated journalists and outside experts to help walk you and yours through this major cultural shift in our day to day lives.

In conjunction with the Toronto Star/TPL series, Star Talks, join Star Editor Irene Gentle and a panel of experts as they start the cannabis conversation and how it will impact your family, your health and your community.

This event was recorded on October Monday, September 17 in the Toronto Public Library’s Appel Salon, a part of our ongoing series, On Civil Society.

Panelists:

Irene Gentle: Editor, Toronto Star

Trina Fraser: co-managing partner at Ottawa business law firm Brazeau Seller Law, and head of the firm’s CannaLaw group. Her area of expertise is cannabis law. In addition to acting for licensed producers and (soon-to-be) licensed retailers of cannabis in Canada, Trina advises cannabis industry participants such as clinics, software/application providers, service providers and investors.

Dr. Melissa Snider-Adler: chief medical review officer for DriverCheck and a Board-certified addiction medicine physician. She teaches residents at Queen’s University’s Family Medicine department about addiction medicine and also provides expert opinions and assessments of health-care workers who may be struggling with substance use. With the upcoming legalization of cannabis, Melissa has been speaking at conferences and to companies across Canada about the impact of legalization on the workplace.

Mitchell Osak: managing director of Business Consulting at Grant Thornton, one of Canada’s largest advisory and accounting firms. He has extensive experience consulting to the cannabis industry including licensed producers, investors and governments. Mitchell is also a cannabis thought leader, speaking and writing extensively on global cannabis industry trends, regulatory issues and consumer behaviour.

Click here for a transcript of this episode.