Lawrence O'Toole is a Canadian former journalist, best known as a film, dance and theatre critic for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' and ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' in the 1970s and 1980s. After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1988, he was a contributor to ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', '' GQ'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',"Between the Rock and a hard place". ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', October 22, 1994. and volunteered for an AIDS service organization. In 1994, he published ''Heart's Longing: Newfoundland, New York and the Distance Home'', a memoir of his experience growing up in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, coming out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

as an adult, and later returning to his hometown of

Renews Renews–Cappahayden is a small fishing town on the southern shore of Newfoundland, south of St. John's. The town was incorporated in the mid-1960s by amalgamating the formerly independent villages of Renews and Cappahayden. Renews–Cappah ...

for a visit. The book was an expansion of an article he had previously written for '' Saturday Night''. He also published at least one short story, "Goin' to Town with Katie Ann", which was featured in the 1990

Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short stories published b ...

anthology."Readable journey through Canada's diverse short stories". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', September 1, 1990.

References

External links

Lawrence O'Toole Realty
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian film critics Canadian theatre critics Canadian male short story writers Canadian expatriate writers in the United States Maclean's writers and editors The Globe and Mail people The New York Times journalists Canadian LGBTQ journalists Gay memoirists Canadian gay writers Writers from Newfoundland and Labrador People from Renews-Cappahayden People from Kingston, New York 20th-century Canadian memoirists 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people {{Canada-nonfiction-writer-stub