On Thursday, Charles Foran, the winner of the 2011 Charles Taylor prize for literary non-fiction for his biography of Mordecai Richler, will talk about Richler and his outspoken views on Quebec separatists and nationalists.
“This will be a rich presentation, because the biography is charged with original details on Richler’s life and background,” says York English Professor B.W. Powe. “It will also be filmed by TVO for an episode of their Big Ideas’ series.”
The talk, “The Loyal Opposition: Mordecai Richler and the Canadian Cultural Nationalism” will take place March 10, from 2 to 4pm, in the Founders Senior Common Room, 305 Founders College, 
Keele campus. A Q&A will follow the talk. Everyone is welcome to attend and refreshments will be served.
Right: Charles Foran. Photograph by James Lahey 2010
Foran’s book, Mordecai: The Life & Times (Alfred A. Knopf, 2010), was also a finalist for British Columbia’s 2011 National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. While writing Mordecai, Foran had full and exclusive access to family letters and the private archives. The book not only details Mordecai’s life from Montreal, Paris, Ibiza, France, London and back to Montreal, but his love and devotion to Florence .jpg)
Mann, who he met on the eve of his wedding to another, and which lasted more than forty years.
A journalist and reviewer, Foran has published eight other books, four novels, a collection of literary and travel essays, and several non-fiction books, including The Last House of Ulster: A Family in Belfast (Harper Perennial Canada, 1995), which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction.
He also co-wrote the TV documentary Mordecai Richler: The Last of the Wild Jews and wrote radio documentaries for the CBC Radio’s “Ideas”. His latest book, Maurice Richard, is forthcoming as part of Penguin Canada’s Extraordinary Canadians series.
The talk is a partnership between York’s Department of English, the McLuhan Initiative, Canadian Studies, Founders College and the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.
| Above: Listen to Charles Foran speaking about Mordecai Richler and writing his biography |