Top non-fiction writers speak out on culture and craft at The Banff Centre

Cultural Journalism Conversations
July 12 Tim Page – July 19 Charlotte Gray
July 26 Mark Abley – August 2 Rosemary Sullivan
8 p.m. – Rolston Recital Hall, The Banff Centre – Free

In 1982, Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Tim Page of the Washington Post sat down with pianist Glenn Gould for an extraordinary interview about Gould’s interpretation of the piece of music that made him a star — Bach’s Goldberg Variations. When Gould died a month later, Page went on to become an expert on the musician’s life and music, editor of The Glenn Gould Reader, and a commentator on Gould recordings. On July 12, Page begins The Banff Centre’s summer Cultural Journalism Conversations series with a talk on Gould’s musicianship, originality, genius, and humour.

One of the Banff Summer Arts Festival’s most popular series, Cultural Journalism Conversations brings some of the top journalists and non-fiction writers to Banff for public talks. On July 19, the series continues with a talk by Canadian writer and historian Charlotte Gray on making historical research and writing accessible. A specialist in stories about the personal side of history, she’s currently collaborating on a book of popular artifacts from Canada’s past called The Museum Called Canada.

On July 26, Montreal-based writer Mark Abley discusses an issue that dogs many of the best non-fiction writers — telling the truth in print when the truth can hurt the story’s subject. A contributor to Saturday Night and Maclean’s magazines and the Montreal Gazette, in 2003 Abley published a popular chronicle on the world’s disappearing languages called Spoken Here. It was the result of several year’s travels, and interviews with people living in some of the world’s most isolated cultures.

The series wraps up on August 2 with a talk on Cuba by Rosemary Sullivan, who is chair of the Creative Non-Fiction and Cultural Journalism program at The Banff Centre. An acclaimed poet and winner of the Governor General’s Award for non-fiction for Shadow Maker, her biography of Canadian poet Gwendolyn MacEwan, Sullivan will give an intimate portrait of the people, culture, and geography of Cuba based on her latest book, Cuba: Grace Under Pressure.

Tickets for the Banff Summer Arts Festival are available at The Banff Centre Box Office at 1-800-413-8368 or (403) 762-6301, or at box_office@banffcentre.ca.

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Complete schedule of Banff Summer Arts Festival Events.

Print-ready, downloadable images of the Banff Summer Arts Festival.