E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG - FREEDOM MEANS BEING UNAFRAID TO WRITE WHAT YOU THINK

I   am faxing you the rain Blues on the corner of my heart I am faxing you the rain It is raining gray A foretaste Of midnight I am faxing you my tears Perfumed with ginger I am faxing you my weeping Scented With quarters of an hour Answer me Angéline Neveu , from the anthology Éclat redoublé; translated by Robert Smith Original French version: Je te faxe la pluie Blues au coin de mon cœur Je te faxe la pluie Il pleut gris Un avant-goût De minuit Je te faxe mes larmes Au parfum de gingembre Je te faxe mes pleurs Aux senteurs De quarts d’heure Réponds

Quebec writer Robert Smith contributed this obituary notice: Angéline Neveu (1946-2011), a poet and performer, had been active since the sixties in France. She had been one of the eleven ''Enragés'' students at the Université de Nanterre, who had instigated the May 1968 revolution in France, which had culminated in a general strike. She was involved in the Situationniste movement. This was followed by a period during which texts, music and images were entwined through the creation of books, the delivery of public readings and performances, including in the Polyphonix festivals in Europe, in New York City in 1979 and in Quebec City in 1990, as well as numerous reading performances at the Centre Georges-Pompidou, at the Musée national d’art moderne in Paris and performance events organized by Jean Dupuy in New York City in the loft of Georges Maciunas, the founder of Fluxus. From 1979 to 1984, she created and managed the “Unfinitude” colle...

Yesterday's elections in Scotland yielded an historic result: Alex Salmond , leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), will now have the majority needed to hold a referendum on independence.  Salmond's party has followed the strategy laid-out for them by the PQ, in Quebec, who held several referendums, but never quite managed to achieve the majority to fulfill their dream.  As an Anglo-Quebecer and Canadian, I was opposed to a separatist Quebec, a distinct province with a significant history that was better served in the federation - but I do welcome the chance Salmond offers his people for their own vote.  It seems obvious that Scotland has the culture, infrastructure, and history, to deserve a say in its own governance, and to determine whether it will remain within the UK or become its own country in the EU, like the Republic of Ireland, or Portugal.  Economics or fear may hinder the dream, but it may not - we might see a liberated Scotland in the next four yea...

The University of Cambridge will play host this April 6-8 for the annual BACS conference . If there do look for the Vehicule Press books, including Language Acts and The New Canon .

Sad news. One of the leading lights of the Montreal literary scene since the 80s, Sonja Skarstedt , poet, editor, essayist, and publisher, has died of cancer. I have incredibly fond memories of Sonja and Geof (her partner) during the Zymergy days (87-91) when she was editor. She took great photos of the events I was running, then, with Bill Furey , the New McGill Reading Series, which we ran out of the Bistro Duluth. It seems strange to think that was more than 20 years ago now. Sonja was funny, kind, very warm, and very brilliant. She lit up the room when she walked in. She was interested in so many people and ideas, and was a fine writer. She did marvellous things for the community in Montreal, not least by being so supportive of the Louis Dudek legacy. She will be much missed. Her obituary is here .

MARCH 31 – NICOLE BROSSARD & TODD SWIFT AT FOYLES BOOKSHOP Acclaimed Montreal-based poet, novelist and essayist Nicole Brossard will tour the UK and Ireland this spring. In addition to participating in the British Association for Canadian Studies’ annual conference at Oxford University, the author of Mauve Desert and The Aerial Letter will read and sign books in London. On 31 March, Foyles, the London bookstore, will hold an event entitled 'In Conversation With Nicole Brossard.' The event will be hosted by Montreal anglophone poet Todd Swift -- now living in London -- who will also read from his newest book, Seaway . Two-time Governor General's Award winner Nicole Brossard will read excerpts from her novels and poetry, including Yesterday, at the Hotel Clarendon and Notebook of Roses and Civilization . Audience members are encouraged to bring their questions for the Q&A session that will follow the readings, and to purchase books for signing. The event will be ...

Good news, Charest wins again .

Anglo-Quebecer Leonard Cohen is (finally? again?) taking Britain by storm. Britain, about to become Austerity Britain Mark II, is falling under the spell of Montreal's most beloved son. His recent concerts have been applauded by no less than the beleagured Chancellor, Alistair Darling ; the UK economy may be at its worst off since World War Two. Meanwhile: Germaine Greer recently claimed Bob Dylan isn't a very good writer, at all. And, famous formalist British poet Wendy Cope has been asked to write poetry for the anniversary of the BBC. One of her poems is, to say the least, dismissive of Dylan Thomas . Trouble in the towers of song?

Perhaps there's a reason Eyewear is no longer based in Quebec. Former Beatle and cultural legend, Paul McCartney , has discovered the province's dark side . Offering to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Quebec, the musical genius has discovered a strident xenophobia among the stranger, and louder, separatist quarters: there's been a zealous reaction, demanding the "British" pop star not perform his show, lest he remind the francophone community of the terrible wounds of being conquered (on The Plains of Abraham ) centuries ago. Be Montcalm . Music is meant to soothe savages.

The Association for Canadian and Quebec Literatures (ACQL) has recently sent out a press release, dated 6 June 2008, announcing the winner, and congratulating the two finalists, for the 2007 Gabrielle Roy Prize , which each year honours "the best work of literary criticism published in English". One of these was Language Acts: Anglo-Quebec Poetry, 1976 to the 21st Century , edited by Todd Swift and Jason Camlot , and published by Vehicule Press, in Montreal. The press release says of the work that it is "a thorough and provocative collection of critical essays on English-language poetry in Quebec, since 1976, when the political and cultural repositioning of the Anglophone community engendered new creative and aesthetic directions in its literature." The other finalist was Sam McKegney 's Magic Weapons: Aboriginal Writers Remaking Community After Residential Schools (University of Manitoba Press). The winner was the magisterial three volume History of the Book...

Eyewear is proud to replicate, below, the latest Jacket magazine announcement (slightly edited), for its new issue. As you know, Jacket is usually thought of as the world's leading English-language online magazine dedicated to poets, poetry and poetics. And, among oher features (it is a very rich and expansive issue) is the one I co-edited with Jason Camlot , on contemporary Anglo-Quebec poets, including, among others, Leonard Cohen and Stephanie Bolster . Read on! ======================================== Announcing Jacket 34 -- Late 2007 -- special stocking-stuffer issue! Editor: John Tranter - Associate Editor: Pam Brown ======================================== F E A T U R E : Contemporary Turkish Poetry A selection of poems and essays drawn from «Eda: An Anthology of Contemporary Turkish Poetry» edited by Murat Nemet-Nejat, published by Talisman House, New Jersey, and available through Small Press Distribution. With thanks to Talisman House. F E A T U R E : Post-Marginal Posi...

Robert Allen , the major Canadian poet, pictured, died a year ago, today. He is much missed, and loved. I fondly recall us walking through Soho, in 2005, and stopping to have a beer in a dive. We spoke of poetry, love, and science (a love of his). At the time, I hardly sensed how little time he had. Rob being Rob, he was modest in talking of his own living, as well as dying, and kept that mainly to himself. His extravagant verbal genius was then somewhat paradoxically related to his personal modesty, and perhaps made him less famous than he might have been - he rarely banged his own drum or tooted his own horn - instead advising, encouraging, mentoring, and editing, others. More and more it seems likely he is one of the significant Canadian writers of the last few decades, and certainly from Quebec.

Canada is my home - the true North. It was also very beautiful, often 30 celsius, sunny, and, up in the Laurentians, filled with lakes and fir trees. I canoed, swam, and cooked meals under a great clear sky. Otherwise, I played strategy games with my wife, and my brother and his wife, and my mother; and attended a close friend's wedding. My mother lost her husband (my father), her father, and her sole brother, in 2006. August last was the last month of my father's life (he was dying of brain cancer in hospital, terribly). So, this August was rife with unspoken and spoken sadness - but also love, and joy, at a family reunited. Being in London often hurts, as I miss my family, and my more wildly-wooded nation, a great deal. I also miss Canadians - their laid-back humour, their friendliness, their American openness to new forms and projects. I found it cleansing to be in Canada again. It is a beautiful, good country. Below is the poem I have written for my mother, on my r...

Montreal-based poet, cultural activist and radio host Jeffrey Mackie interviewed myself and Jason Camlot a few weeks back, during the 9th annual Blue Metropolis Festival , concerning the launch of our new critical study, the book of essays Language Acts . It's below. http://www.archive.org/details/swiftcamelot051007

I have been invited to attend the 2007 Blue Metropolis festival in Montreal, Quebec - fast becoming Canada's major literary gathering. This year, both Michael Ondaatje and Margaret Atwood will be appearing, as well as rising star Heather O'Neill . I'll be reading on the Wednesday, alongside John Burnside , Jason Camlot , Carmine Starnino and others; then launching two books, Language Acts (co-edited book of essays with JC, as above) on the Friday, and Winter Tennis on the Sunday (part of the DC Books spring launch). More info below and a link to the review (out today) of Language Acts in The Montreal Gazette . http://www.bluemetropolis.org/Festival/Participants/767 http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/books/story.html?id=2857dbc2-9b20-4d82-adb6-90336bcdfc31

Language Acts: Anglo-Quebec Poetry, 1976 to the 21st Century Edited by Jason Camlot and Todd Swift to be launched at the 9th Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival Friday, April 27, 8–9:30 p.m. St-Charles Room, Hôtel Delta Centre-ville 777 rue University (Métro Square-Victoria) A panel discussion will be chaired by the editors and will include Daniel Canty, David McGimpsey, Lianne Moyes, Victoria Stanton and David Solway. A reception will follow. To view the Contents Page, click here . To view the Index, click here . For information: 514.844.6073, http://www.vehiculepress.com/ --- Language Acts: Anglo-Québec Poetry, 1976 to the 21st Century publié sous la direction de Jason Camlot et Todd Swift au 9ième Festival littéraire international de Montréal Metropolis bleu vendredi le 27 avril, de 20h00 à 21h30 Salle St-Charles, Hôtel Delta Centre-ville 777 rue University (Métro Square-Victoria) Une table ronde, présidée par les directeurs et composée de Daniel Canty, David ...

Jason Camlot (pictured above) turns 40 today. Eyewear wishes him a very happy birthday. If music and thought are the twin poles of poetry (with wit somewhere sliding between) then he's your man. Both a musician and a literary scholar, Camlot is equally at home in the bistros near Duluth, singing his own songs, or scouring mansucripts in the British Libary for arcane Victoriana. Jason and I edited Language Acts: Anglo-Québec Poetry, 1976 to the 21st Century , to be launched at the 9th Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival / 9ième Festival littéraire internationale de Metropolis bleu, Friday, April 27, 20h00 – 21:30, Salle St-Charles, Hôtel Delta Centre-ville, 777 rue University, (Métro Square-Victoria). Below is a poem that well evidences his virtuosity - a lyric he wrote in California, translated into French. Charlotte Gainsbourg J’ai vu Charlotte Gainsbourg En Californie Adossé à une voiture, Elle avait l’air gentille. Charlotte Gainsbourg En Californie, J’ai ...

While all media attention in the UK was yesterday on Northern Ireland and its cleavages, Quebec, a multilingual province of more than six million people the size of Europe, went to the polls in an election that, once again, confronted the issue of whether it should secede from Canada or retain its union with the federal government. Last night, the (somewhat) pro-federalist Liberal's Jean Charest (pictured) won light backing for a minority government - the first in the province for 130 years. It will be curious to see how Charest manages to keep things going for more than another 18 months or so, like this - but he may learn a trick or two from Harper, Canada's right-wing PM. The good news is that the PQ (the separatist party) came third. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/quebecvotes2007/story/2007/03/26/qv-liberals20070326.html

Language Acts: Anglo-Québec Poetry 1976 to the 21st Century eds. Jason Camlot and Todd Swift Essays March 2007 Vehicule Press ISBN-10: 1-55065-225-7 ISBN-13: 978-1-55065-225-3 Can $22.95 paper / 276 pages / 4 appendices Language Acts: Anglo-Quebec Poetry 1976 to the 21st Century brings together twenty provocative essays on the state of English-language poetry in Québec since 1976. Born and raised during this historically resonant period of Trudeauism, organized Québecois nationalism, sovereignty referenda, language legislation, and profound demographic and cultural change, Anglo-Québec poetry has come of age in the 21st century as a literature with its own distinct arguments about itself, and its own poetical acts in language. Featuring essays on many important, even canonical figures such as Robert Allen, Anne Carson, Leonard Cohen, Louis Dudek, D.G. Jones, Irving Layton, Michael Harris, Erin Moure, David McGimpsey, Robyn Sarah, and Peter Van Toorn, and on a wide range of poetry acti...

2006 saw Quebec lose two significant Anglophone literary figures that are here, below, wonderfully and wittily honoured by a third, who, thankfully, is still with us. I'd note that Ruth Taylor was a third important writer whose passing last year was deeply unfortunate. Many readers of Eyewear will know that I am a passionate advocate of Robert Allen's writing, but it is good to see other writers coming forward to establish what will hopefully become a consensus, with time: he was one of Canada's major writers, as poet and novelist. http://www.vehiculepress.com/tributes2007.html