TDR Interview

An interview that Alessandro Porco conducted with me over the course of this past summer is now up at The Danforth Review. Alex put a lot of thought into his questions, which forced me to put a lot of thought into my answers. So, thanks Alex!

Have a look at the interview, if you please:

TDR Interview with JC by AP

By the way, the photo of me they posted with the interview was taken somewhere near the old Forum in Montreal, by David McGimpsey. Thanks, Dave. (I like the photo, but Cory says my eyes look too closed and puffy.)

Atwater Library Reading

I'll be reading tonight at the Atwater Library in Montreal with Suzanne Buffam. Suzanne's a terrific poet who spent a few years in Montreal and now lives in Chicago--Chicago being the home of the excellent literary journal, Court Green, edited by another wonderful poet, David Trinidad. Come on out, if you can. If not, I hope you'll be able to make it to the official Montreal launch of Attention All Typewriters to be held on November 3rd at the Green Room. More details about that to follow.

Songs in a Book

In each of my poetry books, I have published the lyrics to songs that I have also recorded in audio format and sing whenever I have a chance. For example, in The Animal Library, "So Ho Ho", "Derbyland" and "In the Anger's Chamber" are all actual songs to be sung.

Eight of the poems in my new book, Attention All Typewriters, are song lyrics. Below are the titles of two of the eight songs published in Attention All Typewriters. Can you guess which of the other six poems from the book are also songs to be sung?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Unkown Leonard Cohen
6.
7.
8. Charlotte Gainsbourg

Introducing

Why have I started this blog? Three words: "Web Presence, baby." Plus, people ask me all the time: Hey, Jason, what's your blog called? So now I have an answer. It's called "All Types", in honor of the title of my most recent book, and because everybody's welcome.

I guess the polite thing to do--this being a first post--is to present myself.

I was born in Montreal, studied in Boston and California, and now I’m a professor at a University back in Montreal, where I teach Victorian Literature and Culture, among other things — and where I learn things, too. I’m a published poet, songwriter, scholar and occasional critic. I’m a husband of one and father of two amazing people (three amazing people in all, two little, one full grown). I’m a centerman (ice hockey), a bassist (in the garage band Puggy Hammer), and, for the past two years, the director of a graduate program in English. In the 1990s I released three compilations of songs in quick succession, O Glee (1994), Mr. Fedora (1995), and Letterbomb (1996). Then I got the teaching job. Some kind of reissue of songs from these compilations is slated for release with Urban Myth Records, but they’re having money problems at the moment, so that could take a while. My first collection of poems, The Animal Library (DC Books, 2000) was nominated for a Quebec Writer’s Federation poetry prize. I’ve published a chapbook that I’m proud of called Lines Crossed Out (Delirium Press, 2005) with illustrations by Canadian artist, Betty Goodwin. And my new book, Attention All Typewriters (DC Books, 2005) just hit the shelves.

Here's the cover of my new book, Attention All Typewriters:



And here are are a few cryptic words, phrases and expressions from my new book Attention All Typewriters that I hope to bring into current use. They are:

Shmiggles,
Neo-Romantic Carpe-Diemite,
Dragonweight,
“He’s making a bon-bon of himself,”
No Lime Tangerine,
Fresh Duotang,
The Postery of Inclusion,
The Prick Zone, and
Dictaphonia.

If you'd like to purchase a copy of AAT, so that these and other phrases can be introduced into the popular idiom, you can do so at a whole bunch of places. Just use this link to DC Books.

Posts will be irregular, and primarily informational in nature. At least that's the intention.

Until next time,

JC