An array of high-profile authors and musicians will gather at the Toronto Reference Library on the evening of Feb. 23 for a Freedom to Read event titled “Inventory: Writers Tracking War and Conflict,” sponsored by PEN Canada and the library.

Authors David Bezmozgis, Dionne Brand, Bernice Eisenstein, Camilla Gibb, Rawi Hage, and Ann-Marie MacDonald will join PEN Canada writer-in-exile Senthil Ratnasabapathy, and Canadian folk legend Bruce Cockburn, and rapper Shad. Carol Off, host of CBC Radio’s As It Happens, will host the event.

“Freedom to read means a great deal to people around the world, especially in times of conflict and war,” said PEN Canada events and outreach co-ordinator Anjula Gogia. “This is why PEN Canada has asked these writers and musicians from Canada and beyond to explore what war means to them.”

Shad and Cockburn will be doing short performances. Freedom to Read Week runs from Feb. 25 through March 3. For more information, click here.