The Mighty Quin

My friend Jamie kept talking up the author Ann Quin who I'd never heard of until he finally lent me a copy of her last novel, Tripticks.

The fact that it was published by The Dalkey Archive was a good sign, but most surprising to me was that she was part of B.S. Johnson's circle. Johnson being one of my favourite prose writers, as well as being one of the most criminally underrated.

But Tripticks itself is very cool -- as the back cover notes it does have the Acker thing happening, but it also reminded me of Gail Scott's first book. One passage spoke to me particularly, seeming to be relevant to both academia and the poetry scene:

I had the feeling that the whole place was an inbred life, a life turned in on itself, I had the uneasy feeling also that people talked to themselves, in a language devised for each other, delivered in papers written for each other, at conferences held for each other, supported by agencies formed for each other. And all done in the self-important atmosphere of addressing themselves to the problems of the world, which is their responsibility to find solutions for.

100,000 million versus 22

There's an interesting response to my essay, "Annexing a space for poetry in the new Toronto" from the Coach House anthology State of the Arts, at the Reading Toronto website by Amy Lavender Harris.

Another Story

Need to give a shout out to Another Story Bookstore who hosted the celebration of Double Helix and Avatar last week. The staff are fantastic and the stock is great with tons of small press books, graphic novels, and the best selection of children's literature I've ever seen.

Now that I've finished lecturing for the Fall term I'm finally getting a chance to catch up on long overdue reading. Two notable books from this week: Ken Babstock's Airstream Land Yacht and Erin Moure's Little Theatres.

Double Helix is here

Double Helix has arrived and it's a beautiful thing.



Your first chance to get a signed copy will be tonight at the Another Story bookstore (315 Roncesvalles at 7 p.m.)

Avian avant-garde

Mentioning Montreality last entry reminds me I need to update the website to include another chapbook of mine that's still in print. Beautifully produced by In Case of Emergency Press, A Parliament of Foules is limited edition sequence from American Standard/ Canada Dry. Created by Clelia Scala and Tim Conley, In Case of Emergency Press is a welcome new presence in the Canadian fine press publishing community and a vital part of the St. Catharines cultural renaissance.

Montreality

In all the excitement about the forthcoming Double Helix (still being printed as I write) I forgot to mention the appearance of a fun chapbook that Bookthug has made out of some of my early and previously unpublished material.

Montreality: B-Sides & Rarities, was mostly composed at the same time as Torontology (hence the title) but also contains pre-dyslexicon writing and two brand new pieces, including an excerpt of my novel. The link will take you to Apollinaire's Bookshoppe so lots of fun to found there as well.

Double Helix approaches...

Double Helix, a collaborative fiction I wrote with Jay MillAr will be out soon from The Mercury Press.

I'll be supporting the book on a few dates in the next month or so, and more in early 2007.

The Mercury Launch of all titles will be at The Supermarket on Thursday, November 23rd. Supermarket (back room), 268 Augusta Avenue (just south of College Street in Kensington Market).

Jay and I will also be travelling to Ottawa the next day to launch with others:

Friday, November 24, 7 p.m. The Mercury Lounge, 56 Byward Market Square (side door, upstairs) Authors: Terry Carroll, Carol Malyon, Stephen Cain, Jay MillAr, Mobashar Quresh.

Then Sharon, Jay and I will be having a Christmas celebration and book launch at Another Story, a very cool independent bookstore in our neighbourhood (December 6, 7 p.m. 315 Roncesvalles Ave.)

Two Excellent Readings This Week

Come see the lovely Sharon Harris read from her amazing new book, AVATAR at the Toronto Small Press Book Fair on Saturday November 11th at The Victory Cafe (6:00-9:00 p.m.)

And, the evening before, Friday the 10th, come see ultra-cool Jeff Derksen and Kyle Buckley at TYPE Books (883 Queen St. W) starting at 7 p.m.