To read part 1, click here. To read part 2, click here.

Cendrine Marrouat: How have people reacted to the book so far? Have you noticed differences between American and Canadian readers?  

Gaelyn Whitley Keith: The book has been widely received and I feel many readers are amazed by the many ways the Whitley Family has influenced Hollywood and continues to influence today. Canadians seem to particularly enjoy the fact that H J Whitley was born in Toronto, Canada. Now they can take credit for naming Hollywood.

To read part 1, click here.

Cendrine Marrouat: Would you share a short extract from "The Father of Hollywood"?

Gaelyn Whitley Keith: This is always one of my favourite stories in the book. 

Hailing from El Dorado Hills, California, Gaelyn Whitley Keith is the great-granddaughter of Hobart J. Whitley, also known as the "Father of Hollywood." In this interview, you will learn more about the incredible journey of this Toronto-born real estate developer. 

Cendrine Marrouat: Hello Gaelyn, thank you for answering my questions. First, tell us a little about you.

Gaelyn Whitley Keith: I am the great-granddaughter of HJ Whitley, the “Father of Hollywood.”  I was raised in Manhattan Beach, California, a stone's throw from Hollywood. In the early 1970’s I attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and spent the years after college traveling around the country and the world, writing short stories and working for South Bay Magazine.

Cendrine Marrouat: How have people reacted to the book, so far?

Andre Gerard: The response has been terrific. Readers love the selections. They love the quality of the pieces. They love discovering great writers, writers they may have heard about but have never taken the time to explore. Take, for instance, Saul Bellow, Winston Churchill, Seamus Heaney, Doris Lessing and Derek Walcott. All five are Nobel laureates, and Fathers offers a chance to sample some of their best writing and then perhaps go on to read more.

Cendrine Marrouat: Would you share a short extract from "Fathers: A Literary Anthology"?

Andre Gerard: Copyright reasons prevent me from sharing some of my favourite pieces, pieces such as Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” or an excerpt from Philip Roth’s Patrimony.  I could, I suppose, share my own poem, “Sauvez Vous, Les Enfants!” but I don’t want to abstract the poem from its context in the anthology. What I’ll do is to share a couple of paragraphs from my introduction, paragraphs which discuss the history of the father genre.

Today, I am pleased to feature Andre Gerard. This tutor has recently become an editor and publisher, and released his debut anthology. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.  

Cendrine Marrouat: Hello Andre, thank you for answering my questions. First, tell us a little more about you. 

Andre Gerard: I was born in Vancouver and raised in Powell River, British Columbia. I have an MA in English Literature from the University of Washington and over twenty-five years of private tutoring experience in Vancouver, British Columbia.