Hey all! On today’s show I’ll talk about my own personal impression of gritLIT, and then feature an interview with Trevor Cole, one-time Hamilton resident, HarperCollins author and the man behind The Whisky King: The remarkable true story of Canada’s most infamous bootlegger and the undercover Mountie on his trail. Now that’s a serious title.
Rocco Perri was one of Hamilton’s – and, indeed, Canada’s – most notorious gangsters. He was also notoriously good-natured and gregarious, and most of the city loved him. A great read!
As for gritLIT, it was a highly entertaining weekend. We managed to sneak in some interviews with Leslie Shimotakahara and Rebecca Rosenblum, which we’ll get to in future weeks. I also managed to stay up way too late talking to the likes of Denise Donlon (one of my music journo heroes, former host on The New Music, telling me Tom Waits stories for cryin’ out loud…NBD, though, right?). Stayed up even later with the immensely entertaining Lesley Livingston, doing Guy Gavriel Kay impersonations and telling stories until far too much wine was drunk. Look forward to next year’s festival already!