Luminato’s Literary Program - Enjoy 2008’s Dynamic Line-up

Luminato, Toronto’s Festival of Arts + Creativity, invites you to 2008’s dynamic literary program. 2008 aims to bring Canadian and international authors together around literary and political themes in addition to showcasing new works. The richest discussions occur because of unexpected collaborations.

This year’s line-up includes perspectives on South Asia, a focus on war and politics through illustration, a celebration of a renowned literary master, the launch of the third installment of a city-centric anthology, as well as a festival of short stories.

Celebration of Isaac Bashevis Singer
Sunday, June 8 3pm
Al Green Theatre
Miles Nadal JCC (750 Spadina Ave. @ Bloor)






Award-winning authors David Bezmozgis and Dara Horn pay tribute to a literary legend.

Revered as a master storyteller, Nobel Prize-winning writer Isaac Bashevis Singer explored Jewish life from the landscapes of Eastern Europe to New York. Singer’s superlative ability to weave a tale now finds parallels in a new generation of writers, including two contemporary star authors whose work explores similar themes of immigration, family, politics and, ultimately, compassion.

David Bezmozgis is the author of the much-celebrated Natasha and Other Stories, winner of the City of Toronto Book Award and the Commonwealth Regional Prize for First Book. Dara Horn, named one of Granta magazine’s Top Young American Novelists, is the author of The World to Come, winner of the National Jewish Book Award.

The Political Graphic Novel
Sunday, June 8 7pm
Al Green Theatre
Miles Nadal JCC (750 Spadina Ave. @ Bloor)






From the war in Iraq to the life of Che Guevara, the medium of graphic novels becomes political in this evening of literature, illustration and discussion.

As a medium in which to discuss serious political and historical issues, the graphic novel came of age with Art Spiegelman’s Maus and Marjane Satrapi’s super-hit Persepolis. Join Luminato and host Peter Birkemoe, owner of The Beguiling, Toronto’s top graphic novel and comics bookstore, for an evening with award-winning Canadian author and illustrator Bernice Eisenstein, I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors, who joins underground comics sensation Spain Rodriguez to launch his new book, Che: A Graphic Biography, and Anthony Lappe and Dan Goldman for the Canadian premiere of Shooting War, an exploration of the war in Iraq and the influence of alternative news media.

Spotlight on New South Asian Writing
Saturday, June 14 7pm
Al Green Theatre
Miles Nadal JCC (750 Spadina Ave. @ Bloor)







Join host, Shyam Selvadurai, bestselling Canadian author of Funny Boy, Cinnamon Gardens, and Swimming in the Monsoon Sea, for an evening featuring three authors’ very different perspectives on the cultures of South Asia and the West. Hear readings from British poet Daljit Nagra (Look We Have Coming to Dover), winner of the 2007 UK Forward Poetry Prize for best new collection; Canadian author Jaspreet Singh, whose new book Chef explores the complexity of Kashmir; and Padma Viswanathan (The Toss of a Lemon), one of Random House of Canada’s New Faces of Fiction, 2008.

“Fresh, funny and riotously idiosyncratic ... A glorious testament to a rich British-Indian mix.” The Independent – on Daljit Nagra’s Look We Have Coming to Dover, one of the ten best new poetry collections

“One of London’t Hottest New Writers.” Time Out on Daljit Nagra

“Jaspreet Singh’s prose flashes with poetic lyricism.” Montreal Gazette

Diaspora Dialogues: Launch of TOK, Book 3
Wednesday, June 11 8pm
The Drake Hotel Underground.
1150 Queen St. West







Toronto leads the world as one of its most ethnically varied cities. That reality is reflected in the new fiction, poetry and drama commissioned and presented by Diaspora Dialogues, an organization dedicated to building artistic and literary bridges between the city’s many cultures. Luminato is proud to partner with Diaspora Dialogues in launching TOK, Writing the New Toronto, Book 3, the third installment of an anthology celebrating the diverse voices of the city in short stories, plays and spoken-word poetry.

The launch event is a star-studded literary cabaret, showcasing new work from Giller-nominee Alissa York (Effigy); American Library Association Alex Award winner

Judy Fong Bates (Midnight at the Dragon Café); award-winning playwright and poet Daniel David Moses (Almighty Voice and His Wife); spoken-word performer and musician Shauntay Grant; and playwright Yvette Nolan, Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts. The evening will also showcase debut work from two emerging Toronto writers and a performance featuring the salsa rhythms of vocalist Lady Son and her Latin fusion band Articulo Veinte.

Festival of the Short Story
In partnership with the Toronto Public Library






Eight authors, six collections of stories and four libraries across the city.

From inter-linked tales of Toronto’s Portuguese community in Anthony De Sa’s Barnacle Love to the dark and humorous tales of Elyse Friedman’s Long Story Short, the sheer variety of short fiction being produced in Canada today is truly breathtaking. The Festival of the Short Story brings together unique combinations of Canadian writers to read from their work and discuss their common craft.

With: Pasha Malla (The Withdrawal Method); award-winning short story writer Ahmad Saidullah (Happiness and Other Disorders); Sharon English (Zero Gravity) whose work has been long-listed for the Giller Prize; award-winning author Caroline Adderson (Pleased to Meet You), and Journey Prize writers Rebecca Rosenblum and David Whitton.

Moderated by Jane Urquhart, Lynn Coady, Caroline Adderson and Russell Smith.

Ticket cost $10*
www.luminato.com
Ticketmaster – 416-872-1111

*10.00 tickets available at TO Tix in Yonge-Dundas Square and includes $2.50/ticket Ticketmaster outlet fees. Additional service charge and handling fees apply to internet and phone bookings. $10 tickets also available at the venue one hour before each performance.

For more information on the programs and authors visit: www.luminato.com/literature

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