ASTHMATRONIC

My Tribute to Robert Kroetsch

2011-09-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

This piece first appeared in the September 2011 issue of the Quill and Quire. The text below is slightly longer and less edited:

ROBERT KROETSCH: ONLY HIS BOOKS
Jon Paul Fiorentino

Summer Literary Seminars. Montreal, Quebec. June 22, 2011.

Tonight I read with emerging writer, Tom Burke, American novelist, Kevin Canty, Montreal poet, Katia Grubisic. The DeSeve cinema amphitheater was over half-full. I always count the audience (it calms my nerves). Tonight there were 58 people in the room: participants and instructors from all over North America, here In Montreal to study and write in a new context. There were people I loved, people I wanted to impress. I read from new work -- a comedic text--and I struggled. I flubbed lines, failed to convey the rhythm of the prose, apologized to the audience, and did pretty much everything else you aren't supposed to do when you present your work. When I was done with the new stuff, I felt relief and regained my composure. Then I read some selections from a text I had been reading all day: “Towards an Essay: The Upstate New York Journals” from Robert Kroetsch's The Lovely Treachery of Words. I wasn't ready to read Seed Catalogue (my favourite). But I needed to share with this audience a sense of the man. The journal is not that long. It documents a time in the 1970s when he was teaching. Some the entries are matter-of-fact. Most contain gems: his brief encounter with Basil Bunting and the secrets Bunting revealed about his own poetry and about the title of a certain TS Eliot text, the image of Gwendolyn MacEwen at the 1969 Governor General’s Literary Awards ceremony, sitting alongside her young Greek lover alongside, George Bowering with his green velvet suit and extravagant silk shirt, so many small ruminations, striking in their intellectual acuity. I read a passage where Kroetsch had just found out that he was to receive the GG for his novel The Studhorse Man and he proceeded to recall 20 years earlier when he received first ever acceptance letter for a story (to be published in The Montrealer.) Then I read my poem "Civic Poem" which is inspired by and dedicated to him. When the reading was over. I swiftly exited the theatre without looking anyone in the eye. I ran to my office and cried.

I found out via text message that morning that Robert had died in a car accident. Once I could confirm it, I broke down instantly. Never has anyone been so encouraging, kind, and inspiring to me as Robert Kroetsch. It was enough that his books taught me so much, but the fact that he took a particular interest in me and my writing was astonishing. I am aware of the fact that he had similar relationships with countless other writers. If you were a reader or a writer, he had time for you. We met around 11 years ago. In Winnipeg. I remember sitting across from him at the restaurant in McNally Robinson. I was in awe. I had some poems I wanted him to look at and to my surprise he had brought me some poems of his to look at too. I remember thinking, "Why on earth would he want my opinion on new poems?" I had just started volunteering for Matrix magazine in Montreal, and he asked if I might like to publish them. The poems were exquisite of course. And being the young, hyper-ambitious guy that I was, I insisted that he let me interview him as well. Obviously, he said yes. He always said yes. In 2007 he said yes to lending his name to my fledgling literary press, Snare Books. The Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry was established. My favourite annual email was the one he would write after he reading the latest winner. His enthusiasm for new poetry, for new ways of poetry was awe-inspiring. As our friendship grew and our conversations became more sophisticated, he kept telling me: "It's your turn to talk." (And I tried. And I'm trying.) But it always provided more pleasure, more bliss, to listen to him.

In the upstate journals, Kroetsch writes about Charles Olson's passing, observing that he “is only his books." The elegance of Kroestch. The staggering peculiarities of his language. The way he changed our language. The imperceptible ease with which he articulated so much wisdom. He was always fascinated with the poem he "could never complete." But the truth is, he was the complete poet. The complete writer. He approached language and life with a sense of rigorous play. Now he is only his books. I will visit him there for the rest of my life. You will too.

Jon Paul Fiorentino is the author of Stripmalling, Indexical Elegies, and the editor of Matrix Magazine and Snare Books. He lives in Montreal.

Golden Beaver!

2011-02-12T10:06:00.001-08:00

So, Indexical Elegies has been nominated for the CBC Book Club Award for best book of poetry. A Bookie! The trophy is a golden beaver! For real! Obviously I would love to have a golden beaver in my home.

If you read IE and liked IE, please vote for me here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/bookclub/2011/02/more-bookies-nominees-revealed-get-your-votes-in.html

sincerely,
Jon Paul Fiorentino
Poet Dude

Indexical Elegies Readings!

2010-10-03T15:00:00.001-07:00

Hello blog. It's been too long. Throughout this fall, I will be reading from my new book, Indexical Elegies:

Toronto Coach House Book Launch.

Vancouver International Writers Festival.

Winnipeg My City's Still Breathing Conference.

And a few more to be confirmed (Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg again, Toronto again)...

I'm looking forward to getting out west, seeing old friends and making new ones!!!

Some Spring Readings!

2010-04-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

I will be at AWP in Denver next week:

Friday, April 9, 2010
4:30pm - 6:00pm
The Dikeou Collection, Colorado Building
1615 California Street, Suite 515

Please join the Denver Quarterly and Coach House Books for an off-site AWP reading on Friday, April 9, from 3 - 6 pm at The Dikeou Collection, located in downtown Denver, just a two-block-walk from the Colorado Convention Center. There will be free wine and snacks, and no charge for the event.

Coach House will be presenting The Cross-Border Avant-Garde Extravaganza, featuring Canadians Christian Bök (Eunoia), Jen Currin (The Inquisition Yours), Jon Paul Fiorentino (The Theory of the Loser Class) and kevin mcpherson eckhoff (Rhapsodomancy) and Americans Rachel Levitsky (Neighbor) and K. Silem Mohammad (The Front). Hosted by Coach House senior editor Alana Wilcox, it promises to be a phenomenal afternoon of out-there poetry, with Flarf, surrealism, visual poetry and more! A Peace Bridge of Poetics! http://is.gd/bcElZ

Later this month, I will be at Blue Metropolis as a host for this:

SATURDAY APRIL 24 @ 9:00 PM
THE AFTER-HOURS LITERARY LUAU
DELTA CENTRE-VILLE
777 University Street
Salon ST-LAURENT

This Blue Metropolis after-hours party presents short readings from some of the small press world’s finest poets and fiction writers in a casual atmosphere. Come out after the discussions and lectures and have some fun! Cash bar.

Presented by Coach House Books, Insomniac Press, Invisible Publishing, Matrix magazine, and Snare Books.

With Katrina Best, Jen Currin, John Goldbach, Kevin Mcpherson Eckhoff, Ian Orti, Alan Reed, Mike Spry, Thom Vernon, and Rachel Zolf.

And your host, Jon Paul Fiorentino. http://is.gd/bcErC

And next month in Vancouver for this:

May 13, 2010, 7pm at the UBC Library/Bookstore at Robson Square: David Derry, Jon Paul Fiorentino, and Matthew Hooton. http://is.gd/bcEjD

The QWF Gala

2009-11-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

November 17th, 2009. Lion D'or.

It was a lovely evening. Snare Books was honoured with a A.M. Klein prize nomination for Mike Spry's Jack.

I was honoured with a Hugh MacLennan Prize nomination for Stripmalling.

Friends Gillian Sze, Patrick McDonagh and David Homel were also nominated for book awards.

Most important, Adrian and Lucille King-Edwards from The Word Bookstore were honoured with the QWF Community Award. Long overdue!

It was particularly exciting for me to have the opportunity to bring my folks out to a classy event. They didn't know I had it in me!

Here are some photos.

Me and my girlfriend, Marisa

Adrian!

Mike Spry, David McGimpsey

Mike Spry, Gillian Sze

Me and my pops!

Stripmalling Climbs the Winnipeg Charts!

2009-05-29T12:01:00.001-07:00

Stripmalling has momentum! So close to a number one hit! I feel just like Engelbert Humperdinck when "There Goes My Everything" made it to number two. Do you know what I mean?

Stripmalling makes Winnipeg Bestseller List!

2009-05-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to an amazing launch with Guy Maddin and the very hard working staff of McNally Robinson, I made it to number 3 on the Winnipeg Bestseller List! Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg is #1 in the Non-Fiction category!

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Wake
Robert J. Sawyer. Science Fiction.

2. Assegai
Wilbur Smith. Fiction.

3. Stripmalling.
Jon Paul Fiorentino. Fiction.

4. The Gargoyle.
Andrew Davidson. Fiction.

5. Wicked Prey.
John Sandford. Fiction.

Hold on, 'peggers!

2009-05-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here I come Winnipeg!

The good, the bad, and the ugly

2009-05-02T09:52:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I have received quite a few reviews for Stripmalling now. The reviews have been an interesting mix. I am lucky to have received very positive assessments from (in my opinion) the most important venues -- The Quill and Quire, and the Globe and Mail. Other rags and mags have been less positive. And one review is so ridiculously negative that it fails to cite the book at all and actually makes claims about my life instead! (Mmmm! Now that's good literary journalism!)

Anyways, as per usual, my two hometowns are home to the harshest criticism. And, overall, I am very pleased with the response to the book.

Here's the good, the bad and the ugly:
________________________________________________________________________________
THE GOOD

Stripmalling is the first novel by Jon Paul Fiorentino, and a very funny one it is.... Amid the hilarious scenes that make up Stripmalling — gas-station hot-boxing, desperate ploys for sex, moderate success in the writing world — Fiorentino produces peaks of warmth and true sadness.
— Globe and Mail

It's a Canadian triumph. It's not pretty, but it's a great romp. A funny, funny romp.
— Lemon Hound

Stripmalling is an entertaining, occasionally disorienting trip through the wires of Jonny, a presumably semi-fictional character working in and around a strip mall in suburban Winnipeg.... Outrageous, intriguing and quietly powerful, Stripmalling offers readers the curious and ultimately rewarding experience of stepping outside their own stories.
— Scene Magazine

Stripmalling is an author’s memoir freed from the tyranny of facts. Jonny shares his personal issues with an off-the-wall candour.... From the top of Stripmalling, you see a keen mind at work under the quirky surface.
— Xtra

There’s a welcome what-the-hell bent to the fictionalized part-memoir, part-graphic novel collage that is Jon Paul Fiorentino’s Stripmalling.
— Toronto Star (Arrivals)

...poignant, politically savvy and laugh-out-loud-funny...
— Montreal Mirror

Stripmalling is worth reading for its wry, sardonic humour and delightfully self- deprecating tone . . . Thoroughly enjoyable.
— Montreal Review of Books

[Stripmalling has] a poignant tension between narrative and fragmentation, hopefulness and cynicism. . . . [Fiorentino has] become one of Montreal's — and Canada's — most prolific and accomplished young writers.
— Hour

A collage-like experience, Stripmalling is a hybrid book forged out of multiple angles and perspectives. It is also a funny and clever experiment in tale-telling.
— Quill and Quire

Stripmalling is an amusing, breezy read ... well-paced fun
— Complete Review

THE BAD

He certainly does bits well: the comic strips "Helen Keller’s Voice Mail" and "Dubious Toasts" are tastelessly hilarious, aided considerably by Munday’s understated cartooning. Nor is Fiorentino without insight. What he needs to do next time is supply a final act.
— Winnipeg Free Press

Sometimes the line between hipster irony and boringly bad is too narrow to discern.... If everybody's alienated and nobody cares, what's the point of reading any further? There's a reason why The Simpsons isn't a novel.*
— Toronto Star (Column)

THE UGLY

It should never be enough to simply regurgitate one's lack of a significant life... Sadly, instead of building on his strengths, Fiorentino wallows in his weaknesses – lack of plot, banal observations, cheap characterization, hipster posing.
— Montreal Gazette
________________________________________________________________________________

An aside: It's interesting to note that in the most scathing indictments of Stripmalling, the word "hipster" is invoked. I think these days, "hipster" is scribe code for "young and/or threatening." See Carl Wilson's excellent response to Russell Smith for a more nuanced and complex discussion of this.

Another aside: *(Hey, Toronto Star dude: Actually, writers of The Simpsons care very much about cultural literacy and intellectual/literary practice. Stop being reductive and try reading John Swartzwelder's wonderful novels. He wrote 59 episodes of The Simpsons and his books are brilliant.)

So there you have it. The responses to my book so far. It obviously hits a nerve with readers. I am thankful for the good and bad reviews. The ugly one is just ugly. Is Stripmalling hipster posing and boringly bad? Or is it funny, clever and poignant? Go buy it and let me know what you think.

Now let's all sit back, relax, and listen to the clearly not hipster band The Smoking Popes!

Official Montreal Launch - Blue Metropolis

2009-03-31T12:35:00.000-07:00

THURSDAY, APRIL 23 2009 @ 7:00 PM

STRIPMALLING

The launch of Stripmalling, a tale of love, art, and low, low retail prices.
Jon Paul Fiorentino's first novel, followed by a reading and reception.
Hosted by Maya Merrick.

DELTA CENTRE-VILLE - LES COURANTS
ADMISSION: FREE

www.bluemetropolis.org

Toronto Launch Filmed and Online at Now Toronto

2009-03-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Here it is. God, I was nervous. Evan was charming. Zoe was lovely and clever. One of my favourite nights ever.

Honoured

2009-03-08T14:26:00.001-07:00

I am honoured, Toronto. You came out, bought books and made me a very happy camper. Click here.

I am honoured, Sina Queyras. You are one of my favourite writers! Click here.

I am honoured, shrinking Globe Books Section. Click here.

I hope to see you Montreal peeps tonight. God, I am a nervous one.

Hour

2009-02-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

There is a cover story on Stripmalling here.

Pages Window!

2009-02-18T10:54:00.000-08:00

A Stripmalling display went up at Pages last night in order to promote the March 2nd Toronto launch. Visit Pages!

Blues and Bliss review!

2009-02-17T10:40:00.001-08:00

The reviews are pouring in this week! In the Globe and Mail, Sonnet L'Abbe has reviewed Blues and Bliss: The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke, edited and introduced by yours truly. Very proud of this book!

"In this helpful volume, Jon Paul Fiorentino calls Clarke's voice "polyphonic": that is, a unique blend of identities that includes blues singer, preacher, cultural critic, exile, Africadian, high modernist, spoken-word artist and Canadian poet.... The selection of poems, which includes pieces from seven books, including the now-Canadian-canonized Whylah Falls, is testament to the range of cadence and rhythm that makes up Clarke's multi-vocal range."

Review here.

Book here.

Quill Review

2009-02-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

The first review of Stripmalling is now online: here

First Stripmalling Review!!!

2009-02-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

Alex Good from the Quill and Quire is the first to review my debut novel, Stripmalling. Here is the best part:

A collage-like experience, Stripmalling is a hybrid book forged out of multiple angles and perspectives. It is also a funny and clever experiment in tale-telling.

— Alex Good, Quill and Quire

It's a well-written review and a positive one. Phew. The full review should be up on the Quill and Quire site soon and in the March print edition.

Please join me in Hamilton, Toronto and Montreal to celebrate the release of Stripmalling!

2009-02-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

March 1st - Hamilton

Stripmalling Launch at LitLive
The Sky Dragon Centre
27 King William Street
Hamilton, ON
7:30pm

March 2nd - Toronto

Stripmalling Launch at TINARS
Featuring the premiere screening of:
The Way of the Smock: The Making of Stripmalling
And an on-stage interview of Jon Paul Fiorentino and Evan Munday by Zoe Whittall
Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON
7pm

March 8th - Montreal

Stripmalling Party
Featuring David McGimpsey, Jason Camlot, Sarah Steinberg, and your host, Maya Merrick
Korova
3908 St. Laurent
Montreal QC
9pm

Desk space

2009-01-31T11:05:00.000-08:00

If you wanna see where I work, with all of its IKEA shame, go to Evie Christie's Desk Space!

That Lemon Hound!

2009-01-29T17:47:00.000-08:00

Here you will find a shameless rip-off of Rejected Essay Titles by Jon Paul Fiorentino, Sarah Steinberg and David McGimpsey. After we collaborated on this bit for a while, I then ripped off Steinberg and McGimpsey by putting the funniest ones in my book, Asthmatica. Anyways, Sina's are awesome!

Oh my god! Stephen Street!

2009-01-24T01:20:00.002-08:00

It has just come to my attention just how much of the music I love has been produced or written by Stephen Street. I knew about his involvement in Viva Hate/Bona Drag by Morrissey and the all the Blur albums, but The Kaiser Chiefs! The Courteeners! Graham Coxon! The Pretenders! Lloyd Cole! Sleeper! Oh my! I should have known!

Go to his website to discover his work and his story.

Mystery shopped

2009-01-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

Check it out: Mystery Shopped at Joyland.

One day goodbye will be farewell

2009-01-12T14:53:00.000-08:00

This is my favourite song from Morrissey's new album. It's kind of hilarious. The message is not: DON'T abuse the one you love, but just BE CAREFUL when you abuse the one you love. I guess Morrissey is saying pick your spots when you need to abuse.

It also contains the lines: "I have been thinking (what with?) / My final brain cell." Which cracks me up.

It's not your birthday anymore

2009-01-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

here.

My Winter Schedule & Update

2009-01-04T12:37:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, I teach one of my favourite courses at Concordia -- The Creative Process. I introduce students to the work of many amazing contemporary and canonical writers and encourage them to discover their own process and poetics.

This Thursday, I head to Toronto to film The Way of the Smock: The Making of Stripmalling, with Evan Munday, Michael Holmes, and others. It should be a sufficiently embarrassing mockumentary.

Next week we begin to put together the next issue of Matrix -- The Anxiety Issue, edited by Mikhail Iossel and John Goldbach. If you haven't heard of John, you will. I just finished edits on his first book, Selected Blackouts, and it's very good. It will be out with Insomniac on the Serotonin/Wayside imprint in a few months.

Stripmalling is in the can, with final dust jacket and pages. I will be a bundle of nerves until it is safely in my hands. You can check out a chapter from Stripmalling on Joyland.ca in the next day or two. Also take a look at my website which has the cover of the book and the blurbs. (Guy Maddin, Emily Schultz, and Joe Meno!)

On March 1st, I go to Hamilton to launch Stripmalling. And on March 2nd, I am doing This Is Not A Reading Series for the Toronto Stripmalling launch.

There are other things I am not allowed to talk about yet, but they should be fun!

The Way of the Smock

2008-12-03T23:01:00.000-08:00

My first novel will be out in March. I will be doing some crazy and embarrassing things to create Stripmalling awareness. It's a cringe-heavy book. But I also think it is quite funny. I hope you do too. Whatever happens, please keep in mind that I never meant to hurt you.

In other news, Goldbach and Iossel present: Matrix Anxiety!

It's been a while...

2008-04-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

But I've been on the picket line at Con U, and busy being generally happy. ECW Press has accepted my novel, Stripmalling, for publication and they are going to produce a beautiful hardcover edition with Evan Munday's art on the cover. I made a mockup. But Evan's final will be waayyyyy nicer.

Also, the winner of this year's Robert Kroetsch award is Geoffery Hlibchuk's Varations on Holderlin. Elizabeth Bachinsky was the judge. Snare Books will publish this book along with Pasha Malla's All our grandfathers are ghosts. and Mike Spry's Jack in the fall.

Finally, come say hi at Blue Metropolis:

I will be hosting the SOIRÉE DE POÉSIE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30 2008 @ 9:00 PM
Readings by prominent Montreal poets.
Joshua Auerbach
Jason Camlot
Endre Farkas
Susan Gillis
David McGimpsey
Carolyn Marie Souaid

Quebec Writers' Federation

and I will be part of a panel discussion on literary publishing
FRIDAY, MAY 02 2008 @ 8:30 PM
FROM MANUSCRIPT TO BOOK: THE PUBLISHERS HAVE THEIR SAY
So how does that manuscript you're been working on finally get published? This is your chance to find out at our publishers` event, back by popular demand. - Hosted by Carolyn Marie Souaid. Duration: 1:15

Robert J. Sawyer
Kim McArthur
Patricia Aldana
Jon Paul Fiorentino

Watch out, poetry!

2008-02-24T00:40:00.001-08:00

I love Colin Smith. And I love Colin's writing.
Please find a way to get his new book.
You will not regret it.

Stripmalling - coming soon to a Hypermart near you

2007-12-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

It's done. My novel is done!! My dream publisher is looking at it and if they accept it, then my life is complete.

Here are some panels from the novel. Illustrated and improvised by the brilliant Evan Munday.

Click here

Holy Morrissey!

2007-10-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

here.

Thanks, Anne

2007-10-07T13:56:00.001-07:00

When I read Stephen Henighan's article, "A Traitor's Dirge", I was too upset and too emotionally distraught to fashion an appropriate response. I have been thinking about it again recently: Henighan's misreadings and misconceptions about Robert Allen and his work and Henighan's misrepresentation of Matrix Magazine in the article.

I was comforted greatly by Anne Stone's response. Anne says it perfectly. Here is that response.

And here it is below:

Stephen Henighan has a piece in Geist about Rob Allen, his one-time teacher, my good friend. The direction of the piece is pretty much apparent in the title, “Traitor’s Dirge,” and byline (Henighan’s name has been made less for his literary fiction than for the way, in short essay style, he strafes Can Lit’s no-fly zones.) It’s not that Henighan doesn’t have a point. He does. Rob did love America and pop-culture and he loved a good literary line, however long. At times, the esoteric quality of his writing landed its punches far from the gut. Preferring the eye, say. Or what’s behind it.

For a study in the local, emotional power, and quiet perfection, I’d recommend Henighan play catch up by reading the sonnets in Standing Wave, a collection that’s among Rob’s best.

While Henighan does have his point, it’s trivial and expressed meanly: the form Henighan’s dirge takes is a funnel, and all of the broad and generous observations he has about Rob spiral down into a final dismissal of much of Rob’s work. “Traitor’s Dirge” doesn’t strike me as particularly honest or fair. Reading it, I get the same sense I do when reading much of Henighan’s work. Whatever Henighan looks at is an excuse for him to further elaborate himself.

It’s unfortunate that Rob died early. If he’d lived longer, maybe Henighan would have had the chance, and the grace, to kill his mentor off before the man himself died.

Thanks, Anne. You always come through.

I wanna be your alpha male

2007-08-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

So... I Wanna Be Your Alpha Male, an animated short film by Farzin Farzaneh, written by Jon Paul Fiorentino will make its big screen debut at the Montreal World Film Festival!

Screening will take place on the following days:

28 aug. 19h40 L14.28.6,

29 aug. 9h10 L14.29.1,

1 sept. 13h20 L14.01.3,

at the Complex de cinema Quartier Latin / Quartier Latin Cinema Complex,
350 Emery (near St Denis)

Hope to see you there!

Sonic youth review

2007-07-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.popmontreal.com/site/en/node/1323

Some time well spent in Russia...

From Russia with Gloves

2007-06-27T05:21:00.000-07:00

Hello.

I am smoking Peter the Great cigarettes with my new friend Sam Pitchel, who is an editor for Post Road -- a really cool US magazine.

I have been writing like a bastard and drinking like, well, like a bastard.

My lecture on bpNichol, Robert Kroetsch, Nicole Brossard, the experimental tradition in Canada and the problematic imperatives of Canadian publishing went surprisingly well. Very well attended and a lively discussion ensued. Thanks to Steven Heighton and George Elliott Clarke for attending and contributing to a wonderful discussion.

I also did a panel on literary periodicals with Radhika Jones (Paris Review), Jeremy Keehn (Walrus) and Bill Pierce (Agni). This was a great opportunity to share ideas and experiences with fellow editors. And the crowd was lovely and equipped with thoughtful questions.

Now, back to the vodka....

Mentholism

2007-05-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

My next collection of poems is called Mentholism. I'm surprised that it's almost sappy in parts (or at least emotionally available). But the poems are most interested in creating new patterns, new locutions. I've been feverishly writing and rewriting it these days. I'm very pleased.

Mentholism refers to a set of assumptions, values and beliefs based on the practices of smoking menthol cigarettes and moping about.

Coach House Takes Montreal AGAIN!!

2007-05-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

May 7 – The Coach House Spring Launch takes Montreal

On Monday, May 7, Coach House will take over Boa to launch 5 new books
at a swinging good party! So round up your pals and drop by for
literature, libations and levity.

with readings by
Sean Dixon (The Girls Who Saw Everything),
Andrew Wedderburn (The Milk Chicken Bomb),
Rachel Zolf (Human Resources),
Amiel Gladstone (Hippies and Bolsheviks & Other Plays)
and the triple threat of Nicole Brossard and translators Erín Moure and
Robert Majzels (Notebook of Roses and Civilization).

Boa Bar, 5301 St. Laurent
Monday, May 7
8:30 p.m.
Free admission

hosted by Jon Paul Fiorentino
music by Ian Orti

* * * * *

The Girls Who Saw Everything chronicles the fall of the Lacuna Cabal
Montreal Young Women's Book Club. Not content to simply read and
discuss books, the club brings to life tableaux from their literary
selections. But when they re-enact the Epic of Gilgamesh during the
early days of the Iraq War, the group begins to splinter and
disintegrate. A cryptographically charming bibliophilic tale from Sean
Dixon.

The Milk Chicken Bomb features one lonely ten-year-old kid looking for
attention in an Alberta town with far too many roman-candle fights,
bonspiels, black-market submarines, exploding booilers,
meat-packing-plant suicides, recess-time lightning strikes and Dead
Kids. A frenetic, hilarious and gently heartrending novel from Andrew
Wedderburn.

Notebook of Roses and Civilization brings the linguistic experiments
and remarkable sensuality of literary innovator Nicole Brossard into
English. Award-winning poets and translators Robert Majzels and Erín
Moure translate Brossard's GG-nominated Cahier de roses et de
civlisation.

Poetry and 'plain language' collide in the writing machine that is
Human Resources. Positioned at the intersection of creation and
repackaging, the latest collection from Rachel Zolf explores the
visceral and psychic cost of selling things with depleted words.

Hippies and Bolsheviks & Other Plays collects three works – Hippies and
Bolsheviks, Lena's Car and The Wedding Pool – from one of Canada's
dramatic luminaries, Amiel Gladstone.

* * *

For review copies or media requests, contact Evan Munday at 416 979
2217 or evan@chbooks.com.

Recent highlights

2007-05-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Seeing Dennis Lee at Blue Metropolis.
Meeting Jessica Johnston.
Seeing Stuart Ross and Kate Sutherland launch their books.
Road trip with Gilly Savigny.
Hosting Anne Stone's launch.
Writing weird new poems.
Designing the 2007/08 Snare Books Catalogue.
Meeting Sandra Alland.
Surviving the hospitality suite.
Not quite surviving a night of vodka shots with Parker, Burke and Goldbach.
Working on Stripmalling.
Hanging out with Lia.

Delible

2007-04-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

Attend this:

Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival
Wed, April 25th, 8 p.m.
DELTA CENTRE-VILLE Hotel
777, University Street, Square-Victoria Metro.
(Room: La Terrasse; free!)

Anne Stone's Delible is a novel I edited for Insomniac Press. It's one of the best books I've read in the last ten years. I am thrilled to be associated with this stunning novel.

Here's a description:

Growing up on Toronto’s desolate margins in the eighties, sixteen-year-old Mel Sprague has a lot on her mind: The A-bomb. Acid rain. Where her Dad’s been hiding out for the last fifteen years....

Mel’s younger sister, Lora, knows that despite her sister’s ‘talent for misery,’ Mel’s preoccupations aren’t unusual. After all, Mel might stay out all night now and again, but in the Sprague family, teenagers are troubled by definition. When Mel vanishes, however, what were once the diversions of a teenage girl are taken up as evidence, casting questions over her disappearance—and leading investigators to ask if Mel Sprague chose to run away, this time for good. Lora, for her part, just knows that someone has taken her sister and, disquietingly, fears that it wasn’t a stranger.

Being a fifteen-year-old girl isn’t easy—and that’s without experiencing an event that transforms everyone in your life into a suspect or a potential victim. Before her sister vanished, Lora’s world was relatively simple, but Mel’s disappearance creates a new and indelible division, everything changes, and there is nothing that is untouched by her loss.

Delible is Lora’s story. Through her unblinking eyes, we witness one family’s experience of sustained uncertainty and come to see how our identities also exist in those traces we leave behind.

CBC interview, for Rob

2007-04-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

Click here to listen: http://www.cbc.ca/allinaweekend/listenagain.html

for Rob.

2007-03-23T13:21:00.001-07:00

Robert Allen Memorial Tribute Event at Concordia
Friday, March 30, 2007
5-7 p.m.
Room EV2.260
Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex
1515 St. Catherine West

For Information Call: 514-848-2424 x2340

Reception & Readings from the works of Robert Allen by his fellow writers, colleagues, friends and family. Sponsored by the Concordia University English Department.

Robert Allen, formerly a member of the English Department at Concordia, died November 3, 2006. He was author of two novels, a collection of short stories, and numerous collections of poetry, including, most recently, Standing Wave (Véhicule Press, 2005) and The Encantadas (Conundrum Press, 2006). Among the authors and colleagues who will read from the works of Robert Allen at this event are Vivienne Allen, Stephanie Bolster, Jason Camlot, Simon Dardick, Mary Di Michele, Jon Paul Fiorentino, Michael Harris, Judith Herz, Steve Luxton, David McGimpsey, David Solway, Caroline Marie Souaid and Carmine Starnino.

--
Jason Camlot, Associate Professor
English Department LB 501
Concordia University
1455 de Maisonneuve Boulevard West
Montréal, Québec H3G 1M8
CANADA

Tel: (514) 848-2424 x2353
Fax: (514) 848-4501
Email: camlot@alcor.concordia.ca

Sunday!

2007-03-19T16:09:00.001-07:00

Matrix, Delirium Press and the Quebec Writers’ Federation proudly present…

A PILOT AND DEPARTURE READING SERIES SPECIAL

Starring
Zac Schnier
Sophie Caird
Greg Seib
Dimitri Nasrallah
Stephanie Bolster
Roy Miki

Hosted by
Jani Krulc
Gillian Savigny

March 25, 2007 @ 8:30 pm
Blizzarts 3956-A St-Laurent Blvd
www.matrixmagazine.org
www.deliriumpress.com

Call for submissions and awesome new website

2007-03-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

Matrix Presents
The Science Poetry Dossier
edited by Gillian Savigny

We are looking for neurotransmissions capable of navigating the synapse between poetry and science. Send us your sestinas on seismology! Your botanic love poems! Your geodes! Your epics of empiricism! Show us how your interdisciplinary genes express themselves. We at Matrix have been noticing a curious trend in contemporary poetry and like good little scientists we would like to study and classify its range. Until May 1st we will be collecting examples of science poetry: a rare species of literature whose population is set to explode this spring in the 77 ^th issue of our magazine. Whether you look to entomology or lepidoptery, geometry or chemistry, biology or geology we want the fruits of your creative fermentation. We will accept poems that use science as technique or subject matter as well as those that take it as inspiration or enemy. For the next few weeks think parasite maintenance, fractals, and geopoetry. Raid the scientist's treasury of terminology and dress your poems in the loot.

send submissions to gillian@matrixmagazine.org

and check out www.matrixmagazine.org for our sexy new website!!!

Loser a winner

2007-03-08T01:23:00.000-08:00

I won the Expozine Alternative Press award for best English book. I dedicated the award to Rob Allen. And then I had some Jagermeister.

Loser shortlisted again!

2007-02-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

Announcing the 2nd Expozine Alternative Press Awards Gala!

Join us for the presentation of the 2nd Expozine Alternative Press Awards! Featuring as master of ceremonies perennial favourite Jean Giscagne, who will share the stage with musical/ lyrical entertainment by Montreal's Les Abdigradationnistes, plus special guests and surprises! You'll also have the chance to purchase copies of the nominated books, zines and comics!

Wednesday March 7, 2007
Mainline Theatre
3997 Boul. St-Laurent,
9:00 pm, FREE admission.

Best English Book:
The Feast: A Collection of Art in Black and White by Permanent Marker Art Society / Shawn O’Keefe and Harley Smart
In Search of Divine Styler by Ryan Somers, a.k.a. Fritz tha Cat (MudScout Press)
Jugsaw Youth: Two New Stories by J.B. Staniforth
Monsters for Real (Loveletters #1 through 11) by Jim Holyoak
Tattoo This Madness In by Daniel Allen Cox, Dusty Owl Press
The Theory of the Loser Class by Jon Paul Fiorentino, Coach House Press

A spring workshop at the qwf!

2007-02-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

MEMORY TRICKS: WRITING THE PERSONAL ESSAY
Eight Wednesdays from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. (March 7–April 25)

1200 Atwater Avenue, Suite 3
Workshop leader: Jon Paul Fiorentino

This course will address the genre of the personal essay with a focus on humour and confessional writing. We will look at examples of successful personal essays by writers like Mark Twain, Timothy Findley, Jonathan Ames, David McGimpsey, Stuart Ross, Sarah Vowell, and David Sedaris. We will also look at some confessional poems in order to place emphasis on the artful transcription of memory.

Most of the course will be devoted to developing the skills required to write effective literary personal essays. Students will be asked to participate in a classic workshop environment and to bring energy and enthusiasm to the class. There will be a few fun in-class writing exercises as well.

We will look at how rhetorical and poetic strategies are used in personal writing. We will explore the different models of the genre. And most importantly, we will discover how we as writers can make memory work by achieving that fine balance between true documentation of memory and strategic deployment of fiction.

Some Suggested Reading:

* Ames, Jonathan. My Less Than Secret Life
* Ames, Jonathan, What's Not to Love?
* McGimpsey, David. Certifiable
* Ross, Stuart. Confessions of a Small Press Racketeer
* Sedaris, David. Barrel Fever
* Sedaris, David. Naked
* Vowell, Sarah. The Partly Cloudy Patriot

Jon Paul Fiorentino is a writer, editor and teacher. His personal essays have recently appeared in Word, Geist, sub-Terrain, and on CBC Radio One's All in a Weekend. He is the author of The Theory of the Loser Class (Coach House Books, 2006), Asthmatica (Insomniac Press, 2005), and Hello Serotonin (Coach House Books, 2004). His most recent editorial projects are the anthologies Career Suicide! Contemporary Literary Humour (DC Books, 2003) and Post-Prairie—a collaborative effort with Robert Kroetsch (Talonbooks, 2005). He lives in Montreal where he teaches writing at Concordia University and is the editor of Matrix magazine.

Upcoming readings

2007-01-30T16:54:00.000-08:00

Here are some winter JPF readings!!

Jon Paul Fiorentino at the Festival Voix D'Ameriques
Also featuring Jade Bérubé and Michel Marchildon.
Hosted by Tony Tremblay.
Tuesday, February 6
Casa del Popolo
4873 boul. St-Laurent
Montreal, QC
11:00 p.m.

Grimm Magazine presents…
Cupid’s Hangover Ball
Featuring - The Great Orbax
Literary Readings by
Margaret Christakos, Jon Paul Fiorentino, and Mark Laliberte
With Music by The Machines
February 15th, 2007
The Circus Room
729 King St. E
Kitchener, ON
8:00 p.m.

from Sina

2007-01-11T11:35:00.000-08:00

Sina showed me this: Spiders on drugs.

Questions for the new year

2007-01-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

Sina, do you really have to stop blogging?

Why are so many poets and 'critics' afraid of culture? Why is poetry considered by these people something outside of culture?

Why are certain conflicts of interest in the literary world HUGE news (like reviews written for the Toronto Star by people who know people or hate people) but the most blatant and obvious ones never talked about (like editing a periodical and having your own books featured and lauded)?

Why are so many poets afraid of theory and/or experimental writing? Is it REALLY that hard to do the work?

Mixed

2006-12-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

Mixed tape for the holidays!

The Day that Clayton Delaney Died - Bobby Bare
Disconnecty - Grandaddy
Me and Paul - Willie Nelson
A Song from under the Floorboards - Magazine
Trash - New York Dolls
Subway Train - New York Dolls
Lost a Friend - James
Six Days on the Road - Charlie Pride
Ganglord - Morrissey
Aside - Weakerthans
Numbers - Greg MacPherson
Strummerville - Stiff Little Fingers
Georgia on a Fast Train - Billy Joe Shaver

A loser loses

2006-11-23T07:34:00.000-08:00

I didn't take home the A.M. Klein award. That went to Susan Elmslie for I, Nadja. It proves my theory that you can't win anything for a book about losers, especially if the book includes a sonnet in the voice of R2D2.

But I did have the greatest honour of the evening: I delivered a speech to celebrate the lives of John George, proprietor of Argo Books and one of the last true booksellers and Robert Allen, brilliant writer and dear friend.

Robert Allen 1946-2006

2006-11-05T16:48:00.000-08:00

Writer, teacher, editor, mentor, and dear friend, Robert Allen, died on Friday, November 3 2006. He was the author of nine collections of poetry, three novels, and one collection of short fiction. His most recent book was the brilliant long poem, The Encantadas, published just this spring by Conundrum. Without a doubt, The Encantadas is one of the best Canadian poetry books ever published.

Rob taught young writers to use their curiosity, irreverence and defiance to their advantage and to follow their own literary interests without apology. And most unique, he always treated his students as fellow writers. If you were a student of Robert Allen’s, you were driven to make him proud and prove him right.

As a friend, Rob was always patient, thoughtful, and generous. He loved to share a bottle of good scotch, a cigarette, a story, a road trip. He would always provide counsel and he was always right. His wisdom was an invaluable gift to those who loved him. I first met Rob when I was an exasperated young student at Concordia. Frustrated and hurt for some reason, I marched into his office and told him I was going to jump off a bridge if he didn't help me. He laughed at me and then he helped me. Throughout the seven years I knew Rob, he never stopped helping me and never stopped laughing at me. He showed his faith in me by letting me help him run Matrix magazine and giving me the opportunity to edit books and work with authors. Rob helped me become a better writer and a better person. I will always be grateful for his friendship.

For the last three weeks of his life, he spent countless hours with family and friends, sharing stories. I was honoured to be with Rob these last three weeks and to have the opportunity to tell how much I loved him before he left us. On Friday, he died with his son, Cary, and his dear friend Anne Stone at his side. The room was warm and full of love. He will be greatly missed.

Loser shortlisted

2006-10-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

The Theory of the Loser Class has been shortlisted for the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry.
Also, Snare Books' Melissa A. Thompson has been shortlisted for the McAusland First Book Prize for Dreadful Paris.

A good news day! Shortlists below.

A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry ($2000)
Sponsored in memory of Sydney Weisbord

Susan Elmslie
I, Nadja, and Other Poems
Brick Books
~
Jon Paul Fiorentino
The Theory of the Loser Class
Coach House Books
~
Lazar Sarna
He Claims He is the Direct Heir
Porcupine's Quill

------------------------------

McAuslan First Book Prize ($2,000)
Sponsored by McAuslan Brewing Inc.

Susan Elmslie
I, Nadja, and Other Poems
Brick Books
~
Rawi Hage
De Niro's Game
House of Anansi Press
~
Melissa A. Thompson
Dreadful Paris
Snare Books

This sunday!!!

2006-10-17T23:13:00.000-07:00

The Montreal literary event of the year!

Coach House Books & Snare Books
Fall Book Launch
Sunday, October 22, 7:30 p.m.
The Green Room, 5386 St. Laurent
Free

Coach House Books and Snare Books present their Fall Book Launch,
featuring four new titles by four amazing authors

with
Angela Carr
(Ropewalk)
Tanya Chapman
(King)
Jason Christie
(Canada Post)
Zoe Whittall
(The Emily Valentine Poems)
hosted by
Jon Paul Fiorentino
(The Theory of the Loser Class, Asthmatica)
music by nohitsinc

Fall tour report

2006-10-15T02:37:00.000-07:00

it was fun. and exhausting. toronto's word on the street festival was difficult for me because i had strep throat and the lovely emily schultz had to read my poems for me on stage. it turns out she's better at delivering my poems than i am, so thanks emily! brian and emily then walked me to the emergency room where i got antibiotics and the doctor was amazed at the size of my swollen tonsils.

ottawa was perfect. sean wilson and rob mclennan made me feel perfectly at home and afua cooper and ronnie r. brown were great poets to share a stage with. three very different poets, illustrating the diverse influences and traditions that make up contemporary poetry -- what could be more inspiring than that?

NYC was brilliant. especially the st. mark's reading. stacy, the host, gave a clever and touching introduction to my work. And paul foster johnson, my reading partner (JPF and PFJ - live at st. mark's!) was charming and thought-provoking with his performance. the poet's house event with sina queyras, margaret christakos and a. rawlings was fun too, as i decided to mix diet coke and red wine before my reading. it led to an uneven performance but i was thrilled to hear my fellow coach house poets read so well. i am a lucky guy to be in the company of such fine poets and performers.

and a special thank you must go out to alana wilcox for being so patient with me all week. she is not only a great writer and editor, but i think she is also a saint. thanks for the conversations, the drinks and the mac power source, alana!

also: having drinks with sina is one of my favourite things in the world. how can i get her to move to montreal?

now i must mark 50 prose poems and 25 essays. and sleep would be nice.

Fall loser events

2006-09-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

WORD ON THE STREET
Sunday, September 24
5:30 PM
Queen's Park
Toronto, ON

Jon Paul Fiorentino reads from The Theory of the Loser Class in the Great Books Tent.

OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL WRITERS FESTIVAL
Sunday, October 1 @ 8:00 pm
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
Poetry Cabaret
featuring Ronnie R. Brown, Jon Paul Fiorentino and Afua Cooper
$15 / $12 Student or Senior / $8 Festival Member

An evening of acclaimed Canadian poetry that runs the gamut from Ottawa’s Ronnie R. Brown, who was described by Irving Layton as “the only female version of Layton that I can see on the horizon” to Jon Paul Fiorentino, dubbed “one of Montreal’s finest poets” by Hour Montreal, to Toronto’s Afua Cooper, whose poetry is praised as “eloquent and visionary.”

THE ST. MARK'S POETRY PROJECT
St. Mark's Church, 131 E. 10th St., New York, NY
Monday, 8:00 pm
October 09 2006

Jon Paul Fiorentino & Paul Foster Johnson

Jon Paul Fiorentino's most recent book of poetry is The Theory of the Loser Class (Coach House Books, 2006). He is the author of the poetry book Hello Serotonin (Coach House Books, 2004) and the humour book Asthmatica (Insomniac Press, 2005). His most recent editorial projects are the anthologies Career Suicide! Contemporary Literary Humour (DC Books, 2003) and Post-Prairie - a collaborative effort with Robert Kroetsch, (Talonbooks, 2005). He lives in Montreal where he teaches writing at Concordia University and is the Managing Editor of Matrix magazine. Paul Foster Johnson's first collection of poems, Refrains/Unworkings, will be published in Spring 2007 by Apostrophe Books. Quadriga, a chapbook of his collaborations with E. Tracy Grinnell, was recently released by g-o-n-g press. Currently serving as an editor at Litmus Press, he curated the Experiments and Disorders reading series at Dixon Place from 2003 to 2006.

POETS HOUSE
72 Spring Street, 2nd Floor
New York City, NY
Wednesday, October 11
7:00 p.m.

For one night only, Coach House Books takes over New York's legendary Poets House.

Four Coach House poets read in this literary centre and poetry archive. The night's proceedings will feature performances by Sina Queyras (Lemon Hound), Margaret Christakos (Sooner), angela rawlings (Wide Slumber for Lepidopterists) and Jon Paul Fiorentino (The Theory of the Loser Class).

Getting my teach on

2006-09-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

I'm teaching English Composition and The Creative Process this term at Concordia. Tonight I read "Stubborn Furniture" by Stuart Ross to my class. I decided I was going to start reading poems I am fond of to both classes as often as I want just because. I like my new policy. All poetry all the time.

A week from now the two Snare books will arrive in the Snare Books office. Then I take off for Word on the Street, Toronto, The Ottawa Writers Festival, The St. Mark's Poetry Project, and Poets House in New York, then back to Montreal for the Snare/Coach House launch on October 22nd at the Green Room. More info on all of this soon. What an exciting time of year!

Snare Books site

2006-08-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

I have moved the Snare Books site here. There is info on the two new fall books which are at the printers right now! September 20th, they will be available for purchase.

Filmmaking is the new pottery

2006-08-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

Inhalers of Anxiety. A film by Sarah Steinberg. Written by Sarah Steinberg and Jon Paul Fiorentino.

Old News. A film by Sarah Steinberg

Don't make fun of me!

2006-08-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

This is impossible to stop watching.

And this is so fucked.

Thanks alot Sachi.

My brother

2006-07-31T17:43:00.000-07:00

So my brother is in a new band -- The Red Hot Mamas. Vaudeville heavy metal. Click here.

Gotta love my bro, that Zappa-loving nutter.

Tíu þúsund tregawött!!!

2006-07-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

Icelandic translations of JPF! Trippy!

Worth watching.

2006-07-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sachi for pointing this out. It's 45 minutes long, but it's worth the commitment. Try to ignore the hat and the personality defects.

here.

The Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry

2006-07-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

Click here

Fan friction out now

2006-07-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

So our latest issue of Matrix addresses concerns raised by these films:

Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager
Troops

Evan Munday illustrated the cover. This guy is so talented it's scary. Check out the original artwork here. It was great to get to know Evan a little bit while I was in Toronto last week. It turns out we are both fans of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Sweet.

jpf at scream

2006-07-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

Small Press Dating Game
Sunday, July 9, 2006 at 8:00 PM
The Boat Restaurant
158 Augusta Avenue Toronto, ON M5T 2L5, Canada (416) 593-9218

When the small presses get together, amazing things can happen. And sometimes … odd things. The collective forces of Coach House Books, ECW Press, and Mercury Press result have resulted in a perfect pre-High Park evening, called The Small Press Dating Game. Making one’s trade by the pen, it’s easy to become isolated, so this evening will give a few choice writers the chance to talk to each other about writing—style, theory, and tactics for overcoming that dreaded syndrome, writer’s block. Who will choose whom for the perfect literary date? Join host Nathaniel G. Moore, sitting in for Jim Lange, as he asks the tough questions.

Artists/ Performers:

* Bill Kennedy (ECW)
* James Grainger (ECW)
* Michael Knox (ECW)
* Judy Macdonald (Mercury)
* Mark Truscott (Mercury/CH)
* Gary Barwin (Mercury)
* Jon Paul Fiorentino (CH)
* Karen Hines (CH)
* Chris Eaton (Insomniac)
* Dani Couture (Pedlar)

Hosted by Nathaniel G. Moore (Conundrum Press)

14th Annual Scream In High Park
Monday, July 10, 2006 at 7:00 PM
CSC Dream Site Amphitheatre
High Park, Toronto
PWYC, $10 Suggested

The Scream is proud to present this year’s Scream in High Park lineup:

* Kevin Connolly is a Toronto poet, editor, and arts journalist. His most recent collection, drift, won the 2006 Trillium award for poetry.
* Afua Cooper is an award-winning author, historian, curator, performer, cultural worker, and recording artist. Her most recent non-fiction work, The Hanging of Angelique: Canada, Slavery and the Burning of Montréal (HarperCollins), was published in January. Her fifth book of poetry, Copper Woman and Other Poems, was published this spring by Natural Heritage.
* Jon Paul Fiorentino’s most recent book of poetry is The Theory of the Loser Class (Coach House, 2006). He lives in Montreal where he teaches writing at Concordia University and is the Managing Editor of Matrix magazine.
* Steven Heighton is a poet and fiction writer. His latest novel, Afterlands, was published by Random House in 2005. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.
* Helen Humphreys is the author of Leaving Earth, Afterimage, and the national bestseller The Lost Garden. Her latest novel, Wild Dogs, was awarded the prestigious annual Lambda Literary Award for Fiction in the US. She is also the author of four books of poetry. Humphreys lives in Kingston, Ontario.
* Ryan Knighton is the author of Cockeyed (Penguin, 2006), a memoir of his gradual descent into blindness. He is also the co-author of Cars (Coach House 2002) with George Bowering. He teaches English and Creative Writing at Capilano College in British Columbia.
* Maggie MacDonald is a Toronto writer, playwright, and musician with bands The Hidden Cameras and The Republic of Safety. In 2005, her graphic novel Kill the Robots was published by McGilligan Books. Her rock opera The Rat King debuted this January at Alchemy Theatre.
* Mindbender is a Toronto MC, promoter, and manager. Until its recent grand finale, Mindbender was host of In Divine Style, the city’s premiere monthly hip-hop event.
* Erin Moure is a poet and freelance translator. Her collection Little Theatres (Anansi, 2005) was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award and the Griffin Poetry Prize, and won the AJM Klein Prize. Her latest work, O Cadoiro (Anansi), will appear in 2007.
* Darren O'Donnell is a Toronto writer, director, designer, and the artistic director of Mammalian Diving Reflex. His shows include pppeeeaaaccceee, [boxhead], and White Rabbit. This spring, Coach House published Social Acupuncture, which includes the text of O’Donnell’s most recent show, A Suicide Site Guide to the City.
* a.rawlings is a multidisciplinary Toronto artist. Her poetry collection, Wide Slumber for Lepidopterists, was published this spring (Coach House). She is the co-founder of the influential lexiconjury reading series.
* Itah Sahu is an author and storyteller. She is the force behind A Different Booklist, Toronto’s premiere seller of literature from the African diaspora, the Caribbean, Asia and Latin America.

From Russia with bed bugs

2006-07-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

St. Petersburg was fantastic. SLS is a pretty impressive program made up of wonderful students, faculty and staff. Great to meet and get to know people like Peter Gizzi (whose knowledge of Canlit poetry blew me away), Margaret Sweatman (never met her in Winnipeg), and so many more. The city is outstanding. Bars open until 7am. I will be recovering for the rest of the summer.

Now I'm off to do the Scream Literary Festival. Click here.

What could have been

2006-06-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

Sina is so awesome.

Inspired by truscott once again

2006-06-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

Mark linked to some very awesome song lyrics and claimed they were the best ever. It inspired me to post some of my favourite lyrics. Please feel free to add yours!

OUR RETIRED EXPLORER (Dines With Michel Folcault In Paris, 1961)
by The Weakerthans

Just one more drink and then I should be on my way home. I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about. I've had a really nice time, but my dogs need to be fed. I must say that in the right light you look like Shackleton. Comment allez-vous ce soir? Je suis comme ci comme ça. Yes, a penguin taught me French back in Antarctica. I could show you the way shadows colonize snow. Ice breaking up on the bay off the Lassiter coast. Light failing over the pole as every longitude leads up to your frost bitten feet. Oh, you're very sweet, thank you for the flowers and the book by Derrida, but I must be getting back to dear Antarctica. Say, do you have a ship and a dozen able men that maybe you could lend me?

DON'T MAKE FUN OF DADDY'S VOICE
by Morrissey

Long ago, when he was young and restless
Suddenly, Daddy saw the beckoning finger of fate

Don't make fun of Daddy's voice
because he can't help it
when he was a teenage boy
something got stuck in his throat

When you are young you crave affection
and it can come from the strangest direction

Don't make fun of Daddy's voice
because he can't help it
when he was a teenage boy
something got stuck in his throat

No te divertes con pappy.
No te divertes con pappy.
No te divertes con pappy.
No te divertes con pappy.
No te divertes con pappy.
No te divertes con pappy.
No te divertes con pappy.

BRAND NEW HAIRSTYLE
by The Smoking Popes

I'm looking for a brand new hairstyle
One that I can call my own
One that says I'm not afraid to be my own man

One that makes you glad to see me
One that makes me glad to be me
One that I can wear with pride when I go outside

I'm tired of caring about
What other people say
My hair is on my head
My hair is mine

I need a brand new outlook
To face a brand new day
I need a brand new hairstyle in a big way

I'm looking for a brand new hairstyle
One that I can call my own
One that says I'm not afraid to cut my own hair

One that makes you glad to see me
One that makes me glad to be me
One that I can wear with pride when I go outside

w00t!

2006-05-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

I did it! I have been struggling for a while now with how to write the stories I want to write. But I had a breakthrough tonight and I finally finished my first short story in over a year and a half. It's called IT'S EASY TO BE A MORALIST WHEN YOU'RE UGLY. It feels really good to be writing again. I am so far away from completing a new project or anything like that, but it's a relief to finish something.

Things i am excited about

2006-05-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

Editing these books:

The Emily Valentine Poems by Zoe Whittall (Snare)
(Pop culture savvy poems. Great stuff. Heavy on wit, No earnestness!)

The Coward Files by Ryan Arnold (conundrum)
(Great collection of stories by sex symbol Ryan Arnold. Stories about failure and baseball.)

Designing this book:

ropewalk by Angela Carr (Snare)
(An adventurous and very confident collection of feminist poetry. Influenced by Dickinson and Stein.)

Going to Russia.

Tour report

2006-05-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

# of gigs: 5 (Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Calgary, Winnipeg)
# of one night stands: 0
# of kilometres travelled: 8564
# of drunken nights: 14
# of people read to: around 500 (including that huge T.O. launch)
# of books sold: 82
# of books given away: 5
# of nights a. rawlings rocked the house: 5
# of times I bombed: 1
# of times I fantasized about moving to Calgary: 6
# of times I wished I was as charming and graceful as Sina Queyras: 23
# of inappropriate gifts purchased: 2
# of inappropriate gifts received: 1
# of new nicknames: 1 (Freshmaker)

In calgary

2006-04-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

I am having an amazing time in Calgary. These kids know how to fuck it up. Tonight is the first of two launches. Will I see you there?

Calgary launches! tonight is the first one.
International Spoken Word Festival
April 26 @ 7:30pm
Beat Niq Jazz & Social Club (811 1st St. SW)
with Jason Christie and a. rawlings

NoD and dANDelion launch
April 27 @ 7:30pm
Carpenter's Union Hall (301 Tenth St. NW)
with derek beaulieu, Jason Christie, a. rawlings

In other news, my book of poetry is the Menthos Fresh Idea of the Week in DOSE Magazine. That's very strange and hilarious. The kids now call me "THE FRESHMAKER."

Chb in mtl

2006-04-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday April 23rd. 7:30 pm
The Green Room, 5586 St. Laurent
Free Admission

Join Coach House Books for the Montreal edition of our spring launch

Sina Queyras - Lemon Hound (poetry)
Chris Ewart - Miss Lamp (novel)
Angela Rawlings - Wide Slumber for Lepidopterists (poetry)
Jon Paul Fiorentino - The Theory of the Loser Class (poetry)

and special guest
Melissa A. Thompson launching her first novel, Dreadful Paris, (Snare Books)

Hosted by Maya Merrick

http://www.chbooks.com

That's better

2006-04-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

Last night's Coach House launch was amazing. I only flubbed one line and didn't screw up for the most part! (but I did have a panic attack in the post-launch shmooze fest). Sina Queyras was astonishing -- she delivered her prose poetry with an unmistakable authority; a. rawlings performed a wonderful 3 minute rendition of WSFL with backup singers. Darren O' Donnell and Karen Hines were equally hilarious and charming. My homey Chris Ewart kicked ass all over the place with Miss Lamp.

Thanks to everyone who made the night special. Especially the Coach House crew.

And they called her sonnet

2006-04-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Fiorentino is smart and deft.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL

I'm not interested in talking too much about the rest of the review. It was a mixed review. But I'll just close my eyes and pretend we live in a world where reviewers actually make an effort to understand the difference between poet and poetic voice, between the abstract and the concrete, between earnestness and satire. The reviewer in question once complained that Robert Kroetsch's poetry lacked spiritual accountability. Scary eh?

Scary times

2006-04-06T01:28:00.000-07:00

An article on me just in time for my book launch: here

I'm very scared. Why is it that every reading feels like the first reading? I am thrilled with the way TTOTLC turned out but I am so scared to launch the fucking thing. If you happen to be near the Montreal Hyatt Regency tomorrow around 6pm, drop in and I will do my best not to suck. In fact, I will try to rule. I know it's hard to rule but I will try.

love Jonny

Interview with JPF

2006-03-27T20:57:00.000-08:00

A little interview in support of The Theory of the Loser Class here.

An invitation

2006-03-24T17:16:00.000-08:00

Please join me at Blue Met for the launch of my book.

Thursday, April 6, 2006

6:00 PM Room: Salon des Arts 5e étage / 5th floor
Hyatt Regency Montreal, 1255 Jeanne-Mance

THE THEORY OF THE LOSER CLASS

Activité/Activity: Launch
Durée/Length: 90 minutes
Prix/Cost: Gratuit / Free
Participants: Jon Paul Fiorentino
Animateur(trice) / Host : Jason Camlot

The theory of the loser class -- arrived

2006-03-22T01:31:00.000-08:00

It is here. I am blown away by Darren Wershler-Henry's design; I am too scared to read the book all the way through; I am feeling strange, proud, overwhelmed, sad. There's always a sense of loss when the poems become a book. But I know this is the best poetry I have written. It's a very good day. I am extremely lucky.

Also: congrats to Sachi, Jani and Gill who were all winners today. My wonderful friends.

Things

2006-03-13T22:21:00.000-08:00

I'm restless. My book should be at my door this week. I know it will be a lovely object, it's just the writing I'm worried about. You get to a point where you've looked your poetry over so often, rewritten it, etc, that you can't really look at it anymore.

I've also sent off the first Snare book to the printer. Jason Christie's Canada Post is quite the debut. Very peculiar and witty poetry. I redesigned the cover at the last minute and I think it will pay off...

New website again

2006-03-06T01:01:00.000-08:00

So I redid the website again. Using the trusty old freeware. I think it's much better this time. And the true cover of The Theory of the Loser Class is up now. Imagine it embossed, on lovely textured paper. I love Coach House.

Here it is: www.jonpaulfiorentino.com

Tell me what you think ok?

Expozine awards

2006-02-15T06:20:00.000-08:00

Hey, here's a lovely thing:

Expozine Awards Shortlist

BOOKS:

Something for Michael 003 (girl on girl) by Shannon Gerard
The Hero Book by Scott Waters
Asthmatica by Jon Paul Fiorentino (Insomniac)
The Official St Leonard Dictionary by John Trivisonno
Making Stuff and Doing Things by Kyle Bravo (Microcasm Publishing) ypf yearbook
Garbage Head by Christopher Willard (Vehicule)

COMICS:

ojingogo by Matthew Forsythe
horror perditii by Amanda Crawford
Mocking Irony by Edward Bak
Revolver by Salgood Sam
Big Questions #7
Anders Nilsen (Drawn & Quarterly)

ZINES:

four minutes to midnight
Carousel
Leg Moustache Advisor
Tarhonya by Stephen Guy
LASH by Shawn Kuruneru
G-Eunuch Digest (The Cowboy Issue)
Lifelike by Chris Binkowski

CBC poetry face off

2006-02-11T13:09:00.000-08:00

CBC Poetry Face-Off
Thursday, February 16th at 5 p.m. – Casa del
Popolo, 4873 Saint Laurent

For the fifth consecutive year, CBC Radio One will
celebrate Canada’s poetic imagination with a twist: by
giving it a competitive attitude. 14 selected cities
across the country will host live-before-an-audience
poetry combats, and five poets in each city will be
commissioned to write and perform their work on a
common theme. This year’s exciting theme is
irresistible. The audience at each combat will choose
their champion and the winning entry will move on to
the national play-offs. The finalists will then be
heard on CBC Radio’s Sounds Like Canada in April 2006,
the national listening audience will be able to vote
for their favourite, and a Canadian champion will
emerge. The Montreal event will be hosted by Patti
Schmidt and the performances will be accompanied by
musician Nicholas Caloia.

Among the competing poets will be Susan Elmslie, Susan
Gillis, David McGimpsey, Oana Avasilichioaei, and Jon
Paul Fiorentino, an eclectic group representative of
Quebec's new generation of literary artists.

Come and cheer them on!!!

This event is free, no guest list reservations
necessary but space is limited.

For more information go to www.cbc.ca/poetryfaceoff/

The theory of the loser class

2006-01-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

I'm looking at the galleys for my new book. It's a very exciting time. If you want a sense of what it will look like click here.

It's a book about Thorstein Veblen, Jerry Lewis, Theodor Adorno, R2-D2, binary code, Montreal, and Winnipeg.

It will be out April 1st...

Matrix call for submissions

2006-01-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

Matrix presents Fan Friction
edited by Jon Paul Fiorentino and Sachiko Murakami

Fan-fuelled culture has never been hotter. The best practitioners of this twenty-first century genre have achieved a level of revision and fluency that cannot be ignored. At its best, fan fiction challenges distinctions between high and low culture, between authorship and appropriation; it forces us to question what makes for appropriate literary subject matter and to interrogate the role that cultural literacy plays in contemporary literature. Fan fiction can no longer be classified as simple emulation text. The fan’s cultural position is changing and shrewd fans are asserting their own artistic vision through the creation of their own narratives. As opposed to simply being tacit consumers of cultural products, these new fans claim for themselves a right to resituate the culture they are immersed in.

Matrix magazine is pleased to explore this trend and is asking for submissions on the theme of “fan friction” for our 74th issue. Suitable submissions include pitches / treatments of television shows (imagined or real), short film scripts, song lyrics (parodies, emulations, etc.), visual art, comic art, queer fan fiction / erotica, fanzine excerpts, ironic tributes, rewritten porn, comedic texts, mockumentaries, and essays on fandom.

Please send submissions attn: Jon Paul Fiorentino and Sachiko Murakami at
fanfriction [at] yahoo [dot] ca

Deadline: March 31 2006

Rapidcycler

2006-01-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

My poem "Rapidcycler" is in the new issue of the Walrus. Click here.

I've revised the poem since the Walrus took it, but it still gives you a sense of what The Theory of the Loser Class will be like.

S&S in MTL

2006-01-13T15:38:00.000-08:00

MERCURY PRESS PRESENTS

The Launch of Shift and Switch: New Canadian Poetry

featuring readings by

Jon Paul Fiorentino
Matthew Hollett
Max Middle
a.rawlings
Rob Read
Mark Truscott.

Saturday, January 14, 8pm @ cafe esperanza 5490
saint-laurent

visit the amazing S&S website:
http://www.themercurypress.com/poetry/shiftswitch/

Ottawa is in for it

2006-01-10T02:43:00.000-08:00

Hey, people of Ottawa! Come see me make an ass of myself in front of an audience for the first time this year! I will be reading a bit from Asthmatica and a lot from The Theory of the Loser Class. I'm very sensitive and I have a wonderful personality.

Press release below:

On Tuesday, January 10th, Montreal poet Jon Paul Fiorentino will be the first featured reader at the Tree Reading Series in 2006.

Jon Paul Fiorentino is a writer and editor. His most recent book of poetry is The Theory of the Loser Class (Coach House Books, 2006). He is the author of the poetry book Hello Serotonin (Coach House Books, 2004) and the humour book Asthmatica (Insomniac Press, 2005). His most recent editorial projects are the anthologies Career Suicide! Contemporary Literary Humour (DC Books, 2003) and Post-Prairie - a collaborative effort with Robert Kroetsch, (Talonbooks, 2005). He lives in Montreal where he teaches writing at Concordia University and is the Managing Editor of Matrix magazine.

The Tree Reading Series meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, in the basement of the Royal Oak II pub on Laurier Avenue near King Edward. Admission is free. Open mic at 8pm, with featured reader to follow. The Tree Reading Series gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the City of Ottawa.

Best song of 06?

2006-01-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

Stop the year! The best song of 2006 is clearly "Dale Hawerchuk" by Les Dales Hawerchuk

Holiday anthology

2005-12-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some books I'm currently into:

The Portable Mark Twain
Portable Altamont by Brain Joseph Davis
Grab Bag by Derek McCormack (the sweet US reprint)
Confessions of a Small Press Racketeer by Stuart Ross
Curio by Elizabeth Bachinsky
Crystallography by Christian Bok
Fray by Jessica Grim
Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Millet
The Iron Whim by Darren Wershler-Henry

A drunken post for jason, dave and todd

2005-12-27T00:40:00.000-08:00

Thorstein Veblen died of a heart disease in 1929 in Menlo, California. (Very close to Stanford!)

Although he did study at Yale and Cornell, his observances of the leisure class were probably divided between New England, New York and Chicago.

Here's one exciting part of Veblen's life:

'Veblen was offered an appointment [of] associate professor for 1906/07 [at the U of C], but his gruff manner and unconventional personal life garnered notoriety. The Chicago administration forced him out in Dec., 1906 for flagrant marital infidelities. His reputation suffered because of "landfill of lies and half-truths" depicting him as an irredeemable womanizer and lady-killer whose unconventional views on equality made him irresistible to women; unable to attain positions worthy of his brilliance because his wife Ellen blackened his name.'

Source: The Veblenite

Other than that, his biography is fairly boring but that's ok -- The Theory of the Loser Class is pretty much all about Star Wars, shoplifting, and binary code.

Holiday mix tape

2005-12-20T16:32:00.000-08:00

I know you don't care but here are the songs I'm currently listening to:

"Let em die" Smoking Popes
"Rubella" Smoking Popes
"All these things that i have done" The Killers
"A northern soul" The Verve
"On your own" The Verve
"The death of a disco dancer" The Smiths
"Don't make fun of daddy's voice" Morrissey
"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Morrissey
"Give her a gun" Echobelly
"Hash pipe" Weezer
"Sit down" James

Word to your mother

2005-12-13T14:16:00.000-08:00

My first column for WORD is now online and in print. I wrote about AYMS! -- a terrible affliction that certain young poets are suffering from. I would love some feedback. Either in comment form or through email [jonfiorentino at yahoo dot ca].

ONLINE: The November/December 2005 issue of Word: Canada's Magazine for Readers + Writers is available online here

IN PRINT: The inaugural issue of the Word Reader is available for subscription and purchase. Subscription ensures a shiny, new copy of Word Reader on your doorstep in Winter/Spring, Summer and Fall. Subscription is a phenomenal deal; receive Word at the obscenely low rate of $20 per year ($26 for institutions). To sign up for a year of Word, please send your name and mailing address via e-mail (word@themercurypress.ca) or snail mail (Word c/o The Mercury Press, 22 Prince Rupert Ave., Toronto, ON, M6P 2A7).

Please support this wonderful magazine!

Awesomicity

2005-12-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

A night of literary miracles!!! See you there?

So Long, Francine & Other Songs
An Evening of Poetry
Sunday, Dec. 4, 8-10 pm
The Green Room (5386 Boul. St. Laurent)
Free

featuring:

Larissa Andrusyshyn
Tom Bauer
Makeba Cooper
Daniel Corry
Kate Hall
Ben Kalman
Sachiko Murakami
Gillian Savigny
Leanne Tonkin

&, your host, David McGimpsey

There's cake!

Ojingogo!

2005-11-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

Expozine was a tremendous success. I would guess there were over 2000 visitors who came through the doors. And everyone seemed to be selling their zines, chapbooks, books, dvds, jam recipes, etc.

I guess I forgot there was a small press community in Montreal. But now I know better.

Every year I discover something amazing at Expozine. Jason Camlot gets the props for finding for this one: Ojingogo!

Expozine

2005-11-24T19:57:00.000-08:00

Below is the official Expozine press release. Hope to see you there!

Expozine 2005
4th Annual Small Press, Comic and Zine Fair
Saturday, November 26th,
from 11 am to 6 pm
5035 St-Dominique (church basement),
between Laurier and St-Joseph

http://www.expozine.ca

Come to EXPOZINE, Montréal's only small press, comic and zine fair! This daylong event brings together over 160 creators of all kinds of printed matter in both English and French.

Expozine was born in 2002 to provide a place where publications outside
the mainstream can reach the reading public. It is also a place where
members of the small press community and local writers and artists can
make new connections with each other. It has been a huge success: thousands of people have discovered hundreds of publications, and more and more people take part each year.

Montréal is rich in small press activity, with an internationally renowned comics scene and a thriving small press and zine community. All of these are represented at Expozine, and each year more publishers from outside Montreal participate in the event.

We hope you make the most of this rare opportunity to see all of this
diversity showcased in one place. Browse! Shop! Meet the creators! And
most of all, have fun!

---------------------------------
EXPOZINE 2005
http://www.expozine.ca
---------------------------------

Snare books

2005-11-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

Exciting new project -- a small literary press dedicated to experimental literature.
Click here.

New website etc...

2005-11-19T19:31:00.000-08:00

I've redesigned and updated my website.

I think it's pretty ok, but I designed it on this weird freeware HTML program for Mac OS X. Lemme know what you think.

In other news, the new Matrix will be out very soon. It will be a very special issue, featuring the last work by Ryan Carriere. Ryan was a very talented young comic artist who tragically lost his life earlier this month. Marc Ngui was kind enough to offer up some words of remembrance for the issue.

Around a year ago, I made a promise to myself to do whatever I could to make Matrix a more community-oriented magazine, and specifically to promote micropress/chapbook/zine/diy culture. If you take a peek at our reviews section, you'll notice there are more chapbooks and small magazines being reviewed, and we are thrilled to be a sponsor of expozine.

But there's so much more work to be done...

Coach house took montreal; camlot took quebec; billy took me

2005-11-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

Sunday was fun. The Coach House authors were very entertaining and so were the students. The very clever Brian Joseph Davis made us do his reading for him. The creepy results can be heard here.

Jason Camlot's Attention All Typewriters launch on Thursday (with Marcie Frank launching How to Be an Intellectual in the Age of Television or HTBAIITAOTV for short) was one of the most successful and fun events I have ever been to.

Montreal's literary scene is flourishing!

In other news, Billy Mavreas has a blog!

Calgary = no pants

2005-10-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks to derek beaulieu, Jason Christie, Chris Ewart, Andre Rodrigues, Sandy Lam, Natalie Walschots, Ed Schmutz, Jonathan Ball, Jordan Scott, ryan fitzpatrick, Jill Hartman, Paul Kennett, Nicole Markotic, Louis Cabri, Suzette Mayr, Tom Wayman, Melanie Little, Peter Norman, Natalie Simpson, Julia Williams, Dennis Cooley, and of course Robert Kroetsch for making my Calgary experience such a memorable one.

We launched Post-Prairie at McNally Robinson and it was one of the best experiences of my literary life. The response to the book has been very encouraging. There is some wonderful innovative poetry being written in Calgary these days and I'm thrilled that RK and I had a chance to anthologize a taste of it.

I met so many people I've been dying to meet and I did have a few drinks...