This event is presented in partnership with the Library and Archives Canada.

In this talk, writer and professor Randy Boyagoda, the University of Toronto’s Advisor on Civil Discourse, reflects on the state and stakes of civil discourse these days, on and off campus, and across our personal professional, and shared public settings.

He will explore the importance of intellectual freedom and the freedom to read to civil discourse itself. He will also affirm the distinct mission and work of public libraries as both convening spaces and distinct sources for models and resources that ensure robust and vibrant cultures of productive disagreement. These efforts, which we might collectively describe as a commitment to thinking out loud together, support of advancing knowledge, serving the common good and the pursuit of truth.

Q&A with the audience and autograph session to follow. Bring your own copy or purchase one on site.

Light refreshments and conversation to follow.

Our friends from Perfect Books bookstore will be on hand selling Randy's books.

Ottawa Public Library is committed to ensuring that all programs are accessible to everyone. If you need assistance registering for this program or require specific accommodations to participate, please contact us. 

About Randy Boyagoda

Randy Boyagoda is a novelist and Professor of English at the University of Toronto, where he also serves as the university's advisor on civil discourse, the first such position in Canada. He was named one of Toronto’s fifty most influential people by Toronto Life magazine because of his work in civil discourse. He is the author of seven books, including four novels that have been nominated for the Giller Prize, the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize, and named New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice selections and Globe and Mail Best Books of the year. A frequent contributor to CBC Radio, including as a national columnist on civil discourse, and former President of PEN Canada, he writes opinions, essays and reviews for publications including the Atlantic, the New York Times, the Financial Times of London, the Globe and Mail, and The Walrus. He also podcasts for the Toronto Public Library and lives in the east end of Toronto with his wife and their four daughters.