Tag: Laurie Dean Torrell

Don’t let *blank expletive blank* affect your inner calm … Babel’s Amy Tan

Jared Mobarak

As Just Buffalo Literary Center‘s Laurie Dean Torrell went through her thank yous before Artistic Director Barbara Cole’s introduction of the night’s speaker, she gave us a statistic that posited how ticket sales for the event only fulfilled about a third of the costs incurred to produce it. While I’m sure it was an accurate breakdown, I couldn’t help look around at the packed lower level of Kleinhans Music Hall and remember how far Babel has grown since the less than one thousand people who packed into Babeville’s Asbury Hall…

Read More

Writing is a process of endless learning … Babel’s V.S. Naipaul

Jared Mobarak

The fourth season of Just Buffalo Literary Center’s Babel Series begun with a glaring omission—there was no Ed Cardoni at the podium on behalf of Hallwalls, replaced instead by the corporate spiel of ‘local global’ from HSBC’s Charlie Mendola, introduced by Just Buffalo’s Laurie Dean Torrell. I can’t blame the guy, though, since his company is footing a substantial portion of the funding now that the John R. Oshei Foundation‘s start-up capital has ended; the change just warranted mention, although it was good to see Cardoni still in attendance, collecting…

Read More