Miscellany

1) Yesterday I had an engaging and wonderful meeting with Pauline Michel, Canada's Parlimentary Poet Laureate. We talked a great deal and we're now in the process of discussing a number of projects to work on together during the summer. More details to come soon.

2) Mingus Tourette's controversial but addictive book, Nunt, has been adapted as a one-man show for Edmonton's Nextfest 2006. Renamed Postcards From Hell, it will run for four days and if I were in E-ville, I'd definetely be checking it out and watching some Stanley Cup hockey.
Here's part of the news release for Postcards From Hell:

"Tourette’s book, released in late 2004, polarized readers and reviewers with its visceral description of a man destroying himself on a liquor and sex-fuelled blitzkrieg of America. It was later short-listed for the Writers Guild of Alberta 2005 Stephansson Award for Poetry. Hailed alternately as exhilarating, misogynistic, brilliant, and pornographic, people either loved it or hated it. It’s expected that the stage version will generate the same type of reaction - and the conversation that goes with it."

For more information go to www.nextfest.ca or to read the rest of the news release go to Mingus' website at www.nunt.com.

3) Prolific Ottawa-based poet, rob mclennan has his 12th poetry collection, aubade, coming out in the fall from Broken Jaw Press. Before the full collection is released, you can print a pdf sampler of some of the poems. Print out your own copy here: aubade sampler.