The Innovation Council Book Club presents Ian Williams: What I Mean To Say

Innovation stems from our ability to hear each other out about important questions - and technology is changing the ways we communicate with each other. Toronto Public Library’s new Innovation Council Book Club aims to explore how we understand, and engage in, civil discourse today.

We’re kicking off this series with What I Mean to Say: Remaking Conversation in Our Time, by Ian Williams. Zahra Ebrahim, of TPL’s Innovation Council, will interview Williams about his book, followed by a wide-ranging group discussion of the book’s themes. A book sale and signing will follow the event.

About the book

Why can't we talk to each other anymore? What makes good communication? And how do we restore the lost art of conversation? In contemporary society, much of our communication exists in a new dimension, the online space, and it's changing how we regard each other and how we converse. In the digital realm, we can be anonymous, we can make false and hurtful comments yet evade consequences in a hurried scroll of clicks and swipes. But a good conversation takes time and patience, courage, even. We need to realize that one-half of our conversations is, in fact, listening. And aren't the best conversationalists--like the best musicians--good listeners? With What I Mean to Say, award-winning novelist and poet Ian Williams seeks to ignite a conversation about conversation, to confront the deterioration of civic and civil discourse, and to reconsider the act of conversing as the sincere, open exchange of thoughts and feelings.

About Ian Williams

Ian Williams is the author of seven books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He is the winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Raymound Souster Award, and a finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize. He is a professor of English at the University of Toronto, where he directs the Creative Writing program.

About Zahra Ebrahim

Zahra Ebrahim is the Co-Founder of Monumental. She is a public interest designer and strategist, and an established bridge builder across grassroots and institutional spaces. Zahra is currently an Urbanist-in-Residence at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, and an Adjunct Professor at the Daniels School of Architecture. Zahra is currently a Board member of the Toronto Arts Council, and the Board Chair for Park People.

About TPL’s Innovation Council

The Innovation Council is an advisory group of recognized leading individuals from the academic, creative, and technology communities. Meeting quarterly, council members provide the library with valuable feedback, ideas, and collaboration that help shape service development and increase the library's profile in the technology and innovation spheres.

Toronto Public Library is committed to providing accessible and inclusive programming.

If you identify as a person with a disability or a person who is Deaf, and require this information in an accessible format, or an accessibility accommodation to participate in our programs. Please contact us at least seven (7) days in advance.

Toronto Public Library is committed to providing accessible and inclusive programming.
If you identify as a person with a disability or a person who is Deaf, and require this information in an accessible format, or an accessibility accommodation to participate in our programs. Please contact us at least seven (7) days in advance.
Ways to contact:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 416-393-7149
Online: tpl.ca/accessibility

Host or Publisher DIH Online