I love the tendency in Quebec writing the last several years to hear stories of migrants' experiences here: not Quebecois in the "pure" sense of the word (I know that's a very loaded word), but very much Francophones and living in a distinct society from the rest of Canada. Ru by Kim Thuy, just about everything by Dany Laferrière, among others, these works signal to me a real change in the consciousness of Quebec society
...there's a YA book called Idaho Winter by Tony Burgess which I would love to read though I have no idea if there is even a connection to Idaho (the protagonist's name is Idaho apparently). Idaho often figures ironically in literature or art: either the story has gay characters (like Gus Van Sant's film) or characters who are somehow outsiders. I suppose it's part of the Idaho mystique: right-wing, small town, conservative, but it's not quite known for being conformist...
Reflections on the end of one Festival and the start of a new one! Plus details about the Montreal by Words Literary Podcast and what to expect over the next few months...
Irving Layton continues to loom large on Canada's international poetry scene. And though he's a poet who is very identified with Montreal, his legacy is complex and hard to categorize. Yet sitting around last fall, revisiting some of his poems, I was struck at the beauty and appeal that is still an important part of his writing. Being an adopted son of this city myself and viewing its writers from one degree of separation, I think that Layton is a writer who Montrealers should be proud of and whose work we should all know.
A very special event this year involving Quebec crime writing star, Louise Penny: a staged adaptation of Penny's latest work, written by Marianne Ackerman in consultation with the author and involving her lead detective, Chief Inspector Armande Gamache. The event promises to be a thrilling dramatic imagining of select scenes from the book.
When American writer David Foster Wallace committed suicide in 2008, his fans were in a state of shock. Considered one of the best writers of his generation, his death came a time when literature and its role were in flux and the changing role of literature in modern life is still very much a part of the conversation these few years later....
First time in Montreal: Cuban author Leonardo Padura, crime writer, cook, historian...
