This is Chris Reed
Meet CHRIS REED, coordinator of Pages Books’ inventive This Is Not A Reading Series, and renowned penguin fan.
Toronto’s innovative response to the traditional tweed and snooze fest has a number of guests coming up throughout the month of April - including next Tuesday evening, when Saskatchewan award-winning author, Ibi Kaslik, will join forces with members of Apostle of Hustle, to launch her latest novel, The Angel Riots, about the rise and fall of an indie rock band sensation and all the incestuousness and craziness of the music industry, (who knew?!)
Where did you grow up?
North Toronto.
How long have you been in Toronto?
I returned two years ago after being away living in Ottawa and Halifax for the better part of a decade.
Toronto is…
a network of distinct neighborhoods and communities.
What do you do for a living?
I coordinate This Is Not A Reading Series (TINARS) at Pages Books & Magazines.
What keeps you busy?
Trying to run TINARS and have a semblance of a life.
What’s your passion?
I have several: reading, writing, playing music, Canadian politics and penguins.
If I say jump?
“…back, jack”
What do you give back to the No Fly Zone?
I ensure that an interesting free literary event takes place under the This Is Not A Reading Series banner almost every week, usually at the Gladstone Hotel.
What can we do to make Toronto a "world class" city?
Stop using the adjective “world class”, especially in relation to ourselves.
How does art influence your life?
My belief that culture serves an important sociopolitical function pretty much limited my career options to where I am today.
Hands or feet?
Both at the same time.
Why do you live here?
I work in the Canadian Book Industry.
Two Beatles left: Ringo and Paul. Who wins in a smackdown?
Being a Thomas The Tank Engine fan, I’d like to say Ringo…but it would almost certainly end in a draw.
Favourite public space?
The waterfront in the East End.
Who are your favourite Toronto artists?
One of the most rewarding things about running This Is Not A Reading Series is that I have had the opportunity to work with such local heroes of mine as Laura Barrett, The Bicycles, Dave Bidini, Billy Bryans, Brian Joseph Davis, Jonny Dovercourt, Atom Egoyan, Final Fantasy, Micha Glouberman, Barbara Klunder, Damian Rogers, Carl Wiilson and Alana Wilcox.