Jerome Charyn, author of A Loaded Gun, at New York Public Library

The New York Public Library presents “Shadowboxing with History: The Conundrum of Fiction vs. Non-Fiction.” In this dialogue, moderated by Paul Hond, associate editor for Columbia Magazine, acclaimed authors and two friends of six decades, Jerome Charyn (A Loaded Gun: Emily Dickinson for the 21st Century) and Jay Neugeboren (Max Baer and the Star of David: A Novel), talk about the interplay of history and art in the writing of fiction and nonfiction, about the necessary “lies” of nonfiction, and the reshaping of certain truths in the writing of historical fiction. What do all historical figures, re-imagined or not, have in common? How does language itself reinvent history? Their two fascinating books and the two fascinating historical figures, Max Baer and Emily Dickinson are showcased.