“It Was the Lake That Pulled Us Together”

Early twentieth century postcard,
Balmy Beach Toronto Public Library, PC 611 

Talk is cheap. The influences behind any writer’s decision to transform talk (or thought) into action — to actually commit to the writing process and hammer out a book — can be legion. For me it was the lake, and my experiences with it, that caused me to enter into a deep inquiry about the history, landscape, geography, and people of the Toronto waterfront.

One thing that struck me in writing Along the Shore was the remarkable number of artists and creative people who have been influenced by, or have had some connection to Toronto’s inland sea. Despite an enormously successful career that has taken him all over the world, renowned film director Norman Jewison remains personally rooted at the water’s edge and the village he grew up in, Toronto’s Beach. I had the privilege of interviewing Jewison in July of 2009 during the course of writing this book — here is an extended excerpt from that interview, much of which is previously unpublished.