Joel & Me: An Appreciation of a Kind

An African proverb has it that when an old man dies, a library burns to the ground. Joel Yanofsky left us at just sixty-five, not very old, but he left a library of his books: Homo Erectus, a collection of comic essays; Jacob’s Ladder, a novel; Mordecai & Me: An Appreciation of a Kind, which won the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s 2003 Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-fiction and The Canadian Jewish Book Award; and Bad Animals: A Father’s Accidental Education in Autism.

A book reviewer for the Montreal Gazette and contributor to the Toronto Star, Canadian Geographic, National Post, The Walrus, and The Village Voice, he won two National Magazine Awards, The Malahat Review’s Creative Non-fiction prize for his personal essay Bad Day, and co-authored with Peter Curtis, the musical Love U: The Grad School Musical. This work is important and distinguished, but it is not his only legacy. Joel left a community of readers, editors, publishers, friends, writers, and aspiring writers who benefited from his work, friendship, guidance and fellowship. This event, organized by the Quebec Writers’ Federation, of which Joel was a member, offers an opportunity to pay tribute to him and his literary legacy. 

7-8:30 p.m., Saturday, February 27, 2021 on Zoom
(Click below to RSVP)

Hosted by Scott Lawrence

Speakers: Joel’s friends, associates and students who shared his passion for writing and the literary arts, will offer reminiscences, stories, tributes, and short readings. Host Scott Lawrence is a writer who lives in Hudson, Quebec. His collection of short stories, Missing Fred Astaire, won the QSPELL award for fiction in 1993.

1. Mark Abley – literary friend and poker rival
2. Elaine Kalman Naves – friend and collaborator 
3. Bryan Demchinsky – friend, writer and editor 
4. Charles Foran – writer, biographer of Mordecai Richler
5. Peter Curtis – musical/literary collaborator  
6. Gina Roitman – writer, will remember Joel as a teacher and mentor via Quebec Writers’ Federation programs, and introduce writers influenced by his mentorship and guidance 
7. Neil Smith – author and literary translator 
8. Claire Holden Rothman – writer
9. Roma Bross – writer & journalist
10. Sean Michaels – writer 
11. Julie Bruck – poet 
12. Mike Shenker – friend, writer, & editor 
13. Joe Fiorito – literary friend and poker rival 
14. David Homel – writer and basketball rival
15. Cynthia Davis and Jonah Davis Yanofsky – on life with Joel, the writer, and on that life being a subject in Joel’s writing, particularly in reference to Bad Animals + thanks and wrap-up.