Koffler Presents Three Conversations With Literary Luminaries

Over the course of ten days in April, The Koffler Centre of the Arts presents three literary luminaries in conversation with compelling hosts at three different Toronto venues: 2017 Man Booker Prize-winning Israeli author David Grossman appears at the Glenn Gould Studio on April 12; Governor General's Literary Award-winning Métis author Katherena Vermette - together with Coast Salish poet and author Lee Maracle - appears at CSI Annex on April 18; and author, cultural satirist, and American cultural icon Fran Lebowitz appears at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on April 21 and 22 (sold out).

"The Koffler Centre is excited to present four evenings of conversation with three incredible authors - David Grossman, Katherena Vermette and Fran Lebowitz - over ten days in April," said Cathy Jonasson, Executive Director. "While their writing is distinctly different from one another, each author offers a clear, incisive challenge to our ideas and a thoughtful address to some of the assumptions underlying contemporary society. It is a remarkable opportunity to be immersed in provocative and insightful conversations about the issues that are shaping our world."

David Grossman: In Conversation with Michael Enright

Thursday April 12, 2018 | 6:30 PM (doors & cash bar at 6 PM)

Glenn Gould Studio, 250 Front Street West

"Astounding. . . . [A] magnificently comic and sucker-punch-tragic excursion into brilliance."
- Gary Shteyngart, The New York Times Book Review

An evening of reading and ideas with award-winning novelist David Grossman, in conversation with renowned CBC radio journalist, Michael Enright. Winner of the 2017 Man Booker International Prize for fiction in translation, Grossman's latest novel, A Horse Walks into a Bar, is a poignant exploration of how people confront life's capricious battering - a searing story of loss and survival.

Presented as part of the Dorothy Shoichet Lecture Series and supported by Media Partner, the Toronto Star.

Community Partners: Centre for Contemporary Jewish Literature at Holy Blossom Temple and Ben McNally Books.

Tickets: $30 General Admission | $25 Student/Senior (w/valid ID), available through kofflerarts.org

A limited number of VIP tickets are also available, and include reserved premium seating and a copy of A Horse Walks into a Bar. A tax receipt will be issued for the maximum allowable amount. To purchase VIP tickets: 647.925.0643 x226 | lauren.ak@kofflerarts.org

In Conversation: Lee Maracle & Katherena Vermette

Wednesday, April 18, 2018 | 7 PM (doors at 6 PM)

CSI Annex (Centre for Social Innovation) | 720 Bathurst Street

The Koffler Centre of the Arts and Ben McNally Books are delighted to present Métis author and artist Katherena Vermette in conversation with iconic Coast Salish author and poet Lee Maracle. Vermette is the award-winning, bestselling author of North End Love Songs and The Break. Her most recent book, Pemmican Wars - a sci-fi graphic novel that follows a 13-year-old girl who discovers her Métis history through time travel - is the first volume in the young adult series A Girl Called Echo.

Lee Maracle is one of the most prolific indigenous authors in Canada - an award-winning poet, novelist, performance storyteller, scriptwriter, and actor.

Co-presented with Ben McNally Books.

Tickets: $15 General Admission | $12 Student/Senior (w/valid ID), available through kofflerarts.org
Talk followed by book sales/signing at 8:30 PM

Fran Lebowitz: In Conversation
Saturday, April 21, 2018 | 6 PM (doors at 5 PM)

Sunday, April 22, 2018 | 4 PM (doors at 3 PM) SOLD OUT

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema | 506 Bloor St W

"Success didn't spoil me, I've always been insufferable."
- Fran Lebowitz

The Koffler Centre of the Arts is thrilled to present two talks with author, raconteur, cultural satirist and American cultural icon Fran Lebowitz on Saturday April 21 at 6 PM hosted by Johanna Schneller, host of the CBC series The Filmmakers, and one of North America's leading freelance journalists specializing in entertainment, and Sunday April 22 at 4 PM, (sold out), hosted by the award-winning journalist and host of CBC Radio's The Current, Anna Maria Tremonti.

In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of America's most insightful social commentators, and is widely sought out for her razor-sharp commentary on everything from cigarette smoking to the Trump presidency.

For her first Toronto appearance in five years, Lebowitz will speak with her hosts about her acerbic views on current events and the media, with an audience Q & A to follow. Copies of her collected essays, The Fran Lebowitz Reader, will be available for purchase at the event through Ben McNally Books.

Presented as part of the Dorothy Shoichet Lecture Series and supported by Media Partner, the Toronto Star.

Tickets: $50 General Admission | $40 Student/Senior (w/valid ID), available through kofflerarts.org or by calling 647-925-0643

A limited number of VIP tickets are also available, and include reserved premium seating and a copy of The Fran Lebowitz Reader. A tax receipt will be issued for the maximum allowable amount. To purchase VIP tickets: 647.925.0643 x226 | lauren.ak@kofflerarts.org

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

David Grossman was born in Jerusalem. He is the author of numerous works of fiction, non-fiction, and children's literature. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker and has been translated into more than forty languages. He is the recipient of many prizes, including the French Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Buxtehuder Bulle in Germany, Rome's Premio per la Pace e l'Azione Umanitaria, the Premio Ischia international award for journalism, Israel's Emet Prize, the Albatross Prize given by the Günter Grass Foundation, and the Man Booker International Prize.

Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer from Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis nation, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her first book, North End Love Songs won the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry. Her National Film Board documentary, this river, won the 2017 Canadian Screen Award for Best Short, and her novel, The Break, won the 2017 Amazon.ca First Novel Award. She is also the author of the children's picture book series The Seven Teaching Stories and recently published Pemmican Wars, the first book in the young adult book series A Girl Called Echo. Ms. Vermette's second book of poetry, river woman, is forthcoming in the fall of 2018 from House of Anansi Press.

Lee Maracle is a Coast Salish poet and author of a number of critically acclaimed literary works, including Ravensong, Daughters Are Forever and Will's Garden (fiction); Bobbi Lee: Indian Rebel and I am Woman: A Native Perspective on Sociology and Feminism (non-fiction); and Bent Box (poetry). She has been widely published in anthologies and scholarly journals and is the co-editor of a number of anthologies, including the award winning publication My Home As I Remember. Ms. Maracle is a member of the Stó:l? Nation and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2018.

Fran Lebowitz worked odd jobs, such as taxi driving, belt peddling, and apartment cleaning before being hired by Andy Warhol as a columnist for Interview. Her first book, a collection of essays titled Metropolitan Life, was an international bestseller, as was a second collection, Social Studies. Lebowitz has also worked in television (Law & Order), film (The Wolf of Wall Street), and has long been a regular on various talk shows including those hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, and Bill Maher. She appears in various documentary films including the American Experience series on New York City, as well as Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016), Regarding Susan Sontag (2014), and Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol (1990). Public Speaking, a documentary about Lebowitz directed by Martin Scorsese, premiered on HBO in November 2010. Lebowitz lives in New York City, as she does not believe that she would be allowed to live anywhere else.

ABOUT THE KOFFLER CENTRE OF THE ARTS

The Koffler Centre of the Arts is a cultural platform that explores critical ideas and concerns of our time through exhibitions, publications, performances, conversations and digital initiatives. We examine complex issues in respectful, constructive discussions that position our Jewish identity in conversation with diverse perspectives and global voices. The Koffler Gallery and its administrative offices are located at Artscape Youngplace, in Toronto's vibrant downtown West Queen West art and design district.

David Grossman: In Conversation, and Fran Lebowitz: In Conversation are part of a lecture series generously supported by Dorothy Shoichet, and Media Partner, the Toronto Star. The Koffler Centre of the Arts acknowledges the support of the Koffler Family Foundation, Cultural Season Sponsor CIBC Wood Gundy, the Ontario Arts Council through the Community and Multidisciplinary Arts Organizations Program, our patrons and donors.

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