Nathan Cohen: The making of a critic

For twenty years, Nathan Cohen was the critic of theatre and entertainment in Canada. But he was far more than a critic: he was a one-man torrent of energy, enthusiasm, and activity devoted to the development of a Canadian cultural life that would be the equal of any country in the world.

Cohen was born in Cape Breton, and grew up as an outsider. When CBC Radio gave him a national audience--and Fighting Words, a program to host--Cohen tangled with the world's theatre greats. He mingled with the stars and demanded the highest standards of everyone, from local amateurs to Laurence Olivier and Richard Burton. A demon for work, dogged by ill health, Cohen died in 1971 at the early age of 47.

Based directly on Cohen's work, his clippings files and radio scripts, Nathan Cohen: The Making of a Critic is a rediscovery of a man who made the most of life, and who framed a vision of what this country could achieve in the arts.

WAYNE EDMONSTONE is a journalist who worked alongside Nathan Cohen at the Toronto Star between 1968 and Cohen\s death in 1971.'