All Types

Readings of the past 12 months

2011-02-21T10:13:00.014-05:00

June 18, 2010: SLS Montreal Reading, with Liz Bachinsky, Dave McGimpsey and Martin Espada

September 23, 2010: League of Nostalgics Reading, with Kate Hall, Melissa Thompson, Geoff Landsdell and music by Kenny Smilovich

September 25, 2010. Playing songs (with Kenny Smilovich) at the Gala du Prix John Glassco

Next,

October 18, 2010: Reading in Kingston/Queens U's This is Not a Reading Series (hosted by Stuart Ross), with Paul Dutton and Lily Hoang

October 22, 2010: Reading at Drawn and Quarterly with George Murray

And then a multimedia extraveganza: December 1, 2010: Reading at the Grand Bibliothèque.

Artists: Stephanie Bolster, Marc André Brouillette, Jason Camlot, David McGimpsey, Mary di Michele, Sina Queyras and André Roy.
Staging and Direction: Michael Montanaro
Visual Concept: Michael Montanaro and Jérôme Delapièrre
Visual Design: Jérôme Delapièrre
Composition and Sound Design Navid Navab
Lighting: Tim Rodrigues

Most recently, on a snowy Valentine's Day hosted by Guy Sprung at the Bain St-Michel: with Gillian Sze, Mary Di Michele, Endre Farkas, Carolyn Marie Souaid, Alessandra Naccarato

2010-05-21T16:17:00.005-04:00

Since the Fall

2010-04-04T00:16:00.004-04:00

Much has happened, although not much of it pertaining to me, centrally. Life of a chair. Still, a few things have come out, a few things have been presented, a few poems read, over the more than several months since I last posted something here.

On the poetry front, I did a few readings between September and November. In September 2009 I participated in the I'm Your Man anthology launch at Westmount High School in Montreal (with about twenty other poets). That same month I read at Ian Ferrier's Words and Music Reading Series at the Casa Del Popolo. In October I read at the launch of new books by Angela Hibbs and Nathaniel G. Moore (the Fall 2009 Punchy title) and then Puggy Hammer played. And then in November, I read with a bunch of great peeps, including Sina, Erin, Thomas Heise and Gail Scott at the Modernist Studies Association poetry reading. I'll be reading at the Headlight anthology launch on April 14th, and then at the April 25th Pilot reading with Paul Vermeersh, and Larissa Andrusyshyn (launching her amazing new Punchy collection, MAMMOTH).

More recently, I've had some poems appear in This magazine and in Vallum.

On the critical essay front, I edited a special issue of the journal Canadian Poetry on English-language poetry in Quebec. It features the following essays. The cover of the issue looks like this, only more orange.

The contents of the issue:

Introduction
Jason Camlot (Concordia University)

William Douw Lighthall and the Poetics of Imperial Canada
Daniel O’Leary (Concordia University)

Robert Allen’s Cantons de l’est Encantadas
Andre Furlani (Concordia University)

Montreal’s Signal Editions: The Making of a Series
Julie Frédette (Université de Sherbrooke)

Listening: On the Self-Effacement in the Poetry and Translation of Marc Plourde
Kasper Hartman (Concordia University)

in search of the poetic in everday life
Vincent Tinguely (Montreal)

Costumed Selves and Sheep Coats:
Mimetic Translation in Erin Mouré’s Sheep’s Vigil by a Fervent Person
Tina Northrup (University of Western Ontario)

Can Lit tm:
National Branding and Canadian Literary Identity in David McGimpsey’s Poetics
Courtney Richardson (Concordia University)

Exile and Audience:
Carmine Starnino and The Poetics of Engagement
Katye Seip (Concordia University)

On the lecture circuit, I delivered some lectures and organized some panels at conferences:

In October I gave a talk at "Layton Out Loud," an event held to raise awareness about the Irving Layton Archive at Concordia. The talk I gave was titled, “‘I am their mouth’: Listening to the Layton Archive.”

In November I organized a panel entitled "Hearing (in) Modernity" at the Modernist Studies Association conference, with superb papers by Jonathan Sterne, Jennifer Esmail and Alessandro Porco.

December through January were devoted to departmentally things.

Then, very recently, I went to discuss an article I'm working on entitled, "The Three Minute Victorian Novel: Remediating Dickens into Sound" with the WINCS research group at University of Toronto (and had a wonderful time talking with many great colleagues there, as well as some of their amazing graduate students), and then delivered a plenary (titled, "Reading Poetry Out Loud") at the first annual Quebec Universities English Undergraduate Conference (QUEUC) held at Bishop's and organized with great success by Jessica Riddell.

May and June are going to be insane, with three panels organized for the ACCUTE conference, one at the Canadian Game Studies Association conference, another at L'Acfas--plus there's hosting the Canadian Association of Chairs of English (CACE) annual meeting (lots of chairs!), and a digital poetry project that will be unveiled at the end of May during Congress.

That poetry project will deserve a new post of its own.

Summer

2009-10-08T02:18:00.003-04:00

Spiders spin webs around flower pots.

Squirrels grow teeth the length of wood sleds.

Bees make honey in soda pop traps.

Birds perch aimlessly on dented eaves.

Skunks barely fit into their holes.

Taxi drivers leave crossword squares unfilled.

Teachers crouch to teach children things.

Worms burrow deeper.

I walk on the dying grass.

Canuckifornia: Call for Submissions

2009-06-05T09:22:00.002-04:00

“Canuckifornia,” an anthology of Canadian writings about California, seeks short stories, essays (personal or academic) and/or poems (or groups of up to 10 poems). Contributors should be natives of Canada, former or current Canadian citizens, or former or current permanent residents of Canada. The purpose of this collection is to display a range of Canadian reactions to (and appropriations of) the myths and realities of California, a state where many expatriates have gathered. Canadians have migrated to the Golden State to pursue careers in the entertainment industry, Silicon Valley, academia and many other fields, and they have brought their own sensibilities to bear on the so-called “Golden State.” At the same time, California’s laid-back image, individualistic ethos and new mixture of ethnic influences have forced many Canadians to confront and question their own approach to life, both on the professional and the personal levels. Yet California’s high cultural profile in North America means that no Canadian with any degree of interest in life abroad can have failed to form a vivid impression of its influence. Thus contributors need not have resided in (or even visited) California to be considered. Submissions or questions may be sent via regular mail to Roan Press, P.O. Box 160406, Sacramento, CA 95816 (USA) or via email to roanpress@gmail.com Submissions received by Jan. 1, 2010, will be considered for inclusion. The collection will be edited by Dr. Bradley Buchanan, Associate Professor of English at California State University Sacramento. Professor Buchanan is a native of Windsor, Ontario.

Urban Myth Recordings Reissues

2009-03-02T17:50:00.002-05:00

Urban Myth Recordings has officially reissued O Glee and Mr. Fedora, two cassette albums previously released in the 1990s, then distributed by Amatish Records, now available on iTunes.

The cool kids at UM Recs have given it their promotional blessing with a post on their supercool website. Here's an excerpt:

"These were quiet records, released in the midst of nineties overproduction and grunge bombast. Camlot's intimate, opaquely confessional songs went completely unheralded. Recorded sparely, superficially "folk", yet filled with bravura fingerpicking, monstrous, angular hooks and intense wordplay that verges on incantation, where did Jason Camlot fit in? Eric Matthews was dabbling with orchestras. Elliot Smith was still playing grunge in Heatmiser. (Leonard Cohen? he was that old guy playing synth pop and dating that blonde twentysomething actress... you know, the guy Don Henley and Trisha Yearwood covered.)

Fortunately, Camlot's tapes traveled by word of mouth through the Canadian indie-rock underground over the following decade, to the point where they had been traded and burned enough times that we decided it was time to get them above-ground. We found Jason in Montreal at his job teaching Victorian literature at Concordia. Duly impressed by such punk-rock cred, we asked if we could re-release O Glee and Mr. Fedora. He obliged, pulling an amazing batch of full band and Letterbomb tracks out of a shoebox and fitting them in at the end of the original track lists."

Please read more at UM Recs.

You can also visit the MySpace site created for these releases here.

O Glee & Mr Fedora on iTunes

2009-01-20T22:02:00.006-05:00

Urban Myth Recordings have re-released two records of mine from the 90s as digital downloads. More info on this shortly, but for now, here are the links:

Find out more here and here.

The Color of Second Best (Blog): Pink

2008-09-15T21:33:00.003-04:00

The second of three poems from The Debaucher chosen by David Lehman for the Best American Poetry (blog) is now up. You can go and post a comment on the poetry board if you like. DL posted a flattering one word comment himself. Here's the poem by Théophile Gautier of which my own poem "To Your Pink" is a creative (i.e. very loose) translation, from French into English, from quatrains into sonnet:

A UNE ROBE ROSE, par Théophile Gautier

Que tu me plais dans cette robe
Qui te déshabille si bien,
Faisant jaillir ta gorge en globe,
Montrant tout nu ton bras païen !

Frêle comme une aile d'abeille,
Frais comme un coeur de rose-thé,
Son tissu, caresse vermeille,
Voltige autour de ta beauté.

De l'épiderme sur la soie
Glissent des frissons argentés,
Et l'étoffe à la chair renvoie
Ses éclairs roses reflétés.

D'où te vient cette robe étrange
Qui semble faite de ta chair,
Trame vivante qui mélange
Avec ta peau son rose clair ?

Est-ce à la rougeur de l'aurore,
A la coquille de Vénus,
Au bouton de sein près d'éclore,
Que sont pris ces tons inconnus ?

Ou bien l'étoffe est-elle teinte
Dans les roses de ta pudeur ?
Non ; vingt fois modelée et peinte,
Ta forme connaît sa splendeur.

Jetant le voile qui te pèse,
Réalité que l'art rêva,
Comme la princesse Borghèse
Tu poserais pour Canova.

Et ces plis roses sont les lèvres
De mes désirs inapaisés,
Mettant au corps dont tu les sèvres
Une tunique de baisers.

Saturday Man on iTunes

2008-08-19T21:34:00.006-04:00

ALSO: JC SPED on MySpace

The Best American Poetry (Blog)

2008-08-18T00:48:00.007-04:00

So, I write from my own blog that a poem of mine has just appeared on another blog.

David Lehman, poet, critic, editor of the newest edition of the of the Oxford Book of American Poetry, and series editor (and initiator) of the annual Best American Poetry anthologies, has selected three poems from my latest book, The Debaucher, to appear on The Best American Poetry blog. The poems are all sonnets, and will appear at monthly intervals: August 15th, September 15th and October 15th. Which means that the first one already appeared a few days ago. The first poem he chose to post is "Since I have stuck my tongue..."

Check it out on David Lehman's THE BEST AMERICAN POETRY (Blog)

JC SPED: AFFECT (Now Available as MP3 Download)

2008-07-24T21:31:00.006-04:00

JC Sped was me in San Francisco on a 4-Track Fostex 250. The JC Sped compilation album AFFECT is now available as an mp3 download from CD Baby. It'll also be up at iTunes in a few weeks. Stay tuned for reissues of the tapes I made in the 90s O GLEE and MR. FEDORA in this same format, as well as a CD of 15 unreleased recordings next year.

For more information about JC SPED check out his myspace page: JC SPED on myspace

A Pictorial Record of Recent Events

2008-06-14T09:27:00.039-04:00

Readings and launches of the past month and a half were gratifying and fun. Here are some images that capture a fraction of the things that happened.

Sunday June 1st. Punchy/Insomniac Launch at The Main Hall in Montreal:

Stuart Ross took this picture of me in the doorway of The Main Hall prior to the event. We (Dave, Matt, Stuart, I) had just come back from eating at Royal Sub on Bernard. I'm holding a cheeseburger in a paper bag for the sound guy.

The readings this night were fantastic. Sarah Steinberg gave a brilliantly funny and effective reading of a piece about being trained to work at a bookstore from her new fiction collection WE COULD BE THAT COUPLE. Arjun Basu attracted and repulsed the crowd simultaneously with his Larrier than David story about a man's dilemma regarding a beautiful woman with repellant feet (from his new book SQUISHY). Stuart Ross read widely, wildly and brilliantly from DEAD CARS IN MANAGUA, finishing off his reading with the amazing long poem "Itinerary". Pictured here, Stuart in action.

A Corner of the crowd. Among those pictured here: Ian Goodman, Jeffrey Mackie, David McFadden, Colin Martin, Greg Seib, Mike Spry, Jon Paul Fiorentino (who introduced the night), Geoff Lansdall, and David McFadden in phosphorous maroon lounge shirt.

David McFadden's reading was remarkable. You could hear a pin drop in the hall throughout his reading, even when he occasionally paused for half a minute or more in between poems. "Here's a good one," he'd say, and then proceed to prove himself right. The crowd was in awe, the tables were askew, and McFadden was in his natural element, poetry.

Then Puggy Hammer played. My favorite moment was about halfway through the set when I turned back to look at Matt (the drummer) after we'd finished a song, and he said--not quite knowing what he meant by what he was saying, not quite knowing whether he was saying something in defiance, resignation, mourning, or simple documentary observation--he said, "My snare is dead." I said, "Your snare died, eh?" Or something non-committal like that. Dave overheard us sort of non-negotiating about the status of Matt's snare drum and jumped in with slightly more attitudinal clarity than we had shown thus far; he said, "What? Your snare is dead?" The Main Hall, where we were playing, hadn't been used for a show in a while, and it was a big mess. Matt and I had noticed a box of miscellaneous gear, including some drum equipment, and a big ass snare drum in some boxes back stage. So, I called for "Ramblin' Man" by Hank Williams, because the drums can wait a long time before coming in for our version of that song, and I told Matt to "try to get that snare we saw backstage." The snare was ready before the tune was over, and sounded HUGE when he finally dislodged it from the pile of crap it was entangled with, installed it onto his snare stand, and began whacking it. I only wish someone had been videoing Matt scrambling with desperation through the rubbish heap of drum parts while Dave and I sang about something over the hill that we had to see. [Photo by Stuart Ross.]

Next morning, 8:30am, I called David McFadden at his hotel to see what he wanted to do for breakfast. "There are some fine places at the train station," he said. "And, there's this yellow jacket in the window." Don't forget, this was the day before the Griffin awards reading. David McFadden later demonstrated why he felt he needed to acquire a new sports jacket by putting his hands on his shoulders and squeezing the 1980s sized shoulder pads of his to my mind sharp and suave charcoal grey double breasted suit. Anyhow, he wanted to return to a boutique in the underground shopping gallery attached to Central Station and try on that yellow jacket. So, I called Stuart at Steve Luxton's house, told him what was going to happen, picked them up, picked David up, and we all went to the train station to watch David McFadden try on a yellow sports jacket. The jacket fit, and if the jacket fits, you wear it. Following the purchase of a yellow jacket (but not a striped dress shirt), we proceeded to eat breakfast in the train station. I pretended I was in Paris eating breakfast with Steve Luxton, Stuart Ross and David McFadden. In a Gare du Nord café, David McFadden told me stories about English Montreal poetry in the sixties. He mentioned walking downtown. He mentioned artie gold. We drank coffee from styrofoam cups. And it was all very Parisian. [Pictured here, Me, Steve Luxton, and David McFadden, holding a yellow jacket in a bag. Photo by Stuart Ross.]

May 27th, Montreal Launch of The Debaucher at The Word Bookstore:

I could not have hoped for a better venue for the launch of my new book of poems. Adrian and Luci worked their unassuming magic. The place was packed. Adrian's cue-card deadpan introduction was even funnier and cue-cardier and deadpannier than I could have hoped. It is a launch I will always remember. Here I am reading with The Word's poetry section in the background. Thanks to Mary Carpenter for taking this picture.

May 23rd, Reading in Buffalo, NY with Stuart Ross, David McGimpsey and Andrea Strudensky at Rust Belt Books:

This reading was organized and hosted in the most accomplished and effective manner by Alex Porco. Alex brought out the people, organized beer for the reading, and even got an article with pictures of us in the Buffalo Weekly paper ARTVOICE. Stuart gave me a lift from Toronto to Buffalo in his car. Paul Vermeersch came along for the road trip, too. It was a fun drive, including a long, leisurely stop in Grimsby, where we hit the thrift store, and a cafe to do some facebooking. Paul bought a copy of Atwood's Survival (that had once been an elementary school prize); I bought a brown cowboy shirt which I later wore to the June 1st launch. Stuart played some tunes from Ben Walker Sings Stuart Ross, plus some amazing songs by Nick Lowe (among others). Once in Buffalo, we drove directly to the part of Main Street where Talking Leaves Books is. First we ate at a very grill-smokey diner called Amy's. Then I bought some sponge candy at the Parkside Candy Co., the circular candy store that has made people feel like they are inside a wedding cake since 1923. Then, a marathon perusal of the poetry shelves at Talking Leaves. Purchased, among other things, TED, Ron Padgett's memoir in 113 short chapters of Ted Berrigan. Just finished reading that--a great read. What if Ron Padgett's real name were Rod Pagent? Then what? [Below, to the left, Alessandro Porco, host and organizer of the reading. These Buffalo shots were taken either by Paul Vermeersch or Stuart Ross, with Stuart's camera.]

The sign outside Rust Belt, on Allen Street. Those of us who slept over in Buffalo stayed at the hospitable Holiday Inn on Delaware. I'm a priority club member there, and believe me, it pays to become a priority club member.

At the Rust Belt reading I read some high school poems, some 'dirty' poems, some Adios sonnets, and sections 3 and 5 from the title poem, The Debaucher. Reading the poem Côte-St.-Luc, and some things Andrea had said prior to her own reading (which was prior to my reading), reminded me of a high school talent show set list, the set list of the band I played in when I was in grade 8: Rock 'n Roll (Led Zep), Sweet Home Alabama (Lynard Skynard), I Can't Get Enough of Your Love (Bad Company). We were three guitars and one drummer (two grade 8ers--Me and Phil/two grade 11ers--Dougie and David). In each song, each guitarist took a wicked solo. That's nine wicked solos in all. I don't recall any other act in the talent show having nine wicked solos.

May 21st, Insomniac Press/Punchy Writers Series Spring Launch in Toronto. Featuring: Stuart Ross, DEAD CARS IN MANAGUA Catherine Graham, THE RED ELEMENT, and Jason Camlot, THE DEBAUCHER:

Dora K Pub on the Danforth. I was supposed to have Greek food once I was on Danforth, but I didn't. The launch was amazingly well organized and the pub was packed. Paul Vermeersch was a masterful MC, and the audience was there to enjoy the readings. It was great to see some friends and family come out for this: cousins Heather and Marc, former grad students Karen and Veronica, and present grad student Mike. Had a great time talking with Nick and Jeff, very grateful to them for being there, and for the drinks they bought me. Nice, also, to meet some people for the first time, including Evie Christie and former Côte-St-Luc-er Lisa Richter. Amazingly, high school friend Scott Orloff showed up after the readings were well over. He could have gone to see Sammy Hagar, but he came by to see me instead. Thanks, Scott! [Photo by Stuart Ross]

Left: Jason and Stuart after the reading at Dora K. Pub.

Below: Jason Reading at Toronto launch of THE DEBAUCHER. [Photo by Paul Vermeersch.]

The Debaucher Launches

2008-05-08T22:12:00.005-04:00

Who is the debaucher?
He is not a bad man.
He is, I'm sure, pure
with wild intention.

Come celebrate the launch of The Debaucher, my third collection of poetry. In blurb lingo:

This book walks an oscillating lyrical tightrope between realms of cosmopolitan sophistication and ribald hilarity. In these surprising poems high art and low art gather together, sometimes on the battlefield, sometimes at lover’s leap. Here “The Song of Roland” is re-imagined as a set of cartoon panels, debauchery is praised as a virtue, and a pair of cannibals dines on a poet. Through it all, Camlot’s poetry always maintains an evocative connection to the tender absurdities of our daily lives. He makes us laugh, nervously, at ourselves.

I'll be doing a few readings and launches in May and June for my new book.

MAY 21: I'll launch the book in TORONTO in a joint Punchy/Insomniac Launch, reading with Stuart Ross and Catherine Graham. TIME: 7:00 PM. VENUE: Dora Keogh Traditional Irish Pub, 141 Danforth Ave.

MAY 23: I'll be reading in BUFFALO with Stuart Ross, David McGimpsey and Andrea Strudensky. TIME: 7:30 PM. VENUE: Rust Belt Books, 202 Allen Street.

MAY 27: I'll be doing a solo launch and reading of my book in MONTREAL at the legendary Word Bookstore. TIME: 7:30 PM. VENUE: The Word Bookstore, 489 Milton Street.

JUNE 6: I’ll be reading in TORONTO again, at the I.V. LOUNGE with Alex Porco and Dominico Capilongo. TIME: 7:00 PM. VENUE: I.V. Lounge, 326 Dundas Street West.

Events That Just Happened

2008-05-08T22:02:00.004-04:00

It has been a busy month, and will continue to be a busy one, well into the next one. On the first night (April 30th) of Blue Met this year, I read along with David McGimpsey, Susan Gillis, Endre Farkas, Caroline Marie Souaid and Josh Auerbach at the Soirée de Poesie I; and then, on the final afternoon, David and I launched the first two titles in the new imprint we are editing.
Here's the officialese dirt on the new imprint we call PUNCHY:

Punchy Writers Series is a new poetry & fiction imprint of DC Books edited by Jason Camlot and David McGimpsey. Punchy is committed to publishing formally engaging and thematically fun literature. Readers who pick up a book from the Punchy Writers Series will know that they are in for a challenging and pleasurable ride. If it's excellent and compelling, strange and fun, Punchy will get behind it. Punchy Writers Series fits nicely within the historical mission of DC Books to embody "a tradition of literary innovation, dissent against convention, and artistic facilitation that is second to none." Send queries to punchywriters@gmail.com

The first two awesome PUNCHY titles in the series are:

DEAD CARS IN MANAGUA
By Stuart Ross

Stuart Ross's sixth poetry collection is both an experimental departure for Ross and an offering of some of his most accurate surrealistic observations to date. Dead Cars in Managua gathers into one volume three discrete poetry projects—an absurdist Baedeker of image-driven prose poems about Managua accompanied by his original photos, a formally various sequence of personal, narrative poems about the claustrophobic spaces and amorphous moods of hospitals, and a selection of cubist and abstract poems where Ross shows his experimental New York School cards like never before. All of the poems in this book are touched by Ross's unique ability to dissolve our common-sense understanding of the world, and then distill a more potent truth from the remains of sense and reason.

SQUISHY
By Arjun Basu

Arjun Basu's fiction collection is a wry and provocative book which exloses the realities beneath social conventions. Squishy asks: Do you still love me? Do you want fries with that? Do I look fat? Life is full of small moments that define us, tangents that lead us to unexpected places, bad decisions and no decisions with repercussions you couldn't possibly predict. This is the world of Squishy—an aspiring actress fast approaching her best-before date, a world weary travel writer, a disgraced ballplayer suffering the lingering effects of a wardrobe malfunction—all characters aware of life's promise and impossibility, tempted by something just beyond, something surely delicious.

The Debaucher is coming

2008-04-25T21:50:00.005-04:00

I started this blog soon after my last poetry collection, Attention All Typewriters, came out, and named the blog after that book. Well, now the next one is at the print shop. The Toronto launch will take place May 21st, a reading for the book in Buffalo on May 23rd, and the Montreal launch at The Word bookstore will be on May 27th. Details on all that, and on the book, to follow. Enough, for now, to look at the cover:

Sze & J: withwords chapbook launch

2008-03-14T10:42:00.003-04:00

Gillian Sze and I will be launching chapbooks made by the withwords chapbook press on Monday, March 17th at Kafein (1429a Bishop St.), 6:30pm - 8:00pm. Just across the street from the Concordia U Library Building, between St. Catherine and de Maisonneuve.

If you don't know about withwords, you should visit their website HERE.

In Brief, withwords press is a 'discovery' chapbook press, a montreal-based branch of Toronto's LyricalMyrical Press. The editors of withwords are Sasha Manoli and Ann Ward. They make amazing chapbooks out of books that have been discarded by libraries. They re-use these discarded book materials and reconstruct them into hard cover poetry chapbooks using unique design and binding techniques. These books are really something to see, and I can't wait to see what kind of book they have made out of the poems I gave them.

The chapbook I'll be launching is called The Fruit Man and Other Poems. Artist and writer J.R. Carpenter has graciously provided unique diagramatic 'illustrations' for my poems. The images she came up with are amazingly playful in a manner that is unique to all of J.R.'s art. The idea we had was to do a kind of modern-quirky version of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), which had illustrations by her Brother D.G. Mine has illustrations by my friend, J.R. So the symmetry is already remarkable. The chapbook consists of Victorianish poems, a few bout-rimé sonnets using the rhymes of D.G. Rossetti sonnets, poems about Jekyll & Hyde, Ruskin, J.S. Mill and other kooks of the period, a little bit of nonesense verse, plus the long title poem, which is loose(ish)ly based on C. Rossetti's masterpiece, "Goblin Market". If you come to the launch and buy a chapbook you will receive two bonus poems (not in the book) that will be printed on a commemorative withwords press launch bookmark.

Gillian Sze will be launching her chapbook A Tender Invention the same night. I have never heard or read any of Gillian's work, so it will be a special treat to be introduced to her poetry.

Here's one of the posters withwords has designed for the event, integrating some of the arches from Ruskin's Stones of Venice that J.R. played around with (i.e. the lightbulb isn't in Ruskin's original text):

POETES, vos micros!

2008-03-14T10:20:00.004-04:00

Performed last week at a Voix et Voies de L'Ecriture event held at McGill's Thomson House. This was an event organized to discuss and witness performance, slam, soundscape and video poetry. It was an illuminating evening, with performances ranging from harmonica-punk-slam to an historically researched declamation of a scene from Racine's Phedre. For my own performance (the only reading that was not in French) I developed a soundscape out of the various early sound recordings I have been collecting over the years, and read over/alongside the layered voices of the soundscape. The text I read was a kind of collage of two poems from The Animal Library: "Phono Kit" and "Kit Discovers Sound". I converted these poems into the first person, which had a strange effect of personalizing the observations about noise and sound and making the the whole thing--with the Victorian voices speaking around me, but not to me--rather affecting, I think. Among the sound recordings used to create the layered soundscape were: Alfred Tennyson, Canon Fleming, Henry Ainley, Lewis Waller and Rose Coghlan all reading Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (these recordings ranging from 1890 to 1906); an early and creepy 20c recording of someone (unknown to me) reciting Goethe's Das Erlkonig; Big Ben Chiming (a recording from 1890); and documentary recordings made at the site of the 1897 Diamond Jubilee, including a group of men and women singing "God Save the Queen". A nice surprise at the event: a former student of mine, Catherine Cormier-Larose, was also participating in the reading. Her performance was great.

Language Acts in Jacket Magazine

2007-12-02T20:10:00.001-05:00

As a continuation of our exploration of the idea of Anglo-Quebec poetry as both a sociological phenomenon, and as an aesthetic field of literary activity, Todd Swift and I have edited a feature of 27 Anglo-Quebec Poets for the Australian-based Jacket Magazine. The selection of poetry (while by no means exhaustive) is extremely varied, interesting and exciting, and includes the work of (among others) Leonard Cohen, Erin Moure, Peter Van Toorn, Robyn Sarah, David McGimpsey, Carmine Starnino, D.G. Jones, Mary Di Michele, and some great poets who have recently passed away, such as Robert Allen, Ruth Taylor and artie gold. A digital reproduction of artie gold's chapbook 5 Jockey Poems (published in a run of 200 copies by The Word bookstore in 1977) is just one of the many treasures you will discover within this rich selection of materials.

Please have a look at Jacket Magazine, Issue 34

[NOTE: The picture above has been taken from monkeydungeon.com where you can purchase actual straightjackets, should you be so inclined.]

In Memoriam: Robert Allen

2007-11-03T13:36:00.000-04:00

Rob died a year ago, on November 3rd, 2006. He is greatly missed.

A.M. Klein Conference and Reading

2007-10-16T16:18:00.000-04:00

Join us for the final event of the A.M. Klein International Conference (18 - 20 October)

A.M. KLEIN TODAY: A POETRY READING
Saturday, October 20th, 7pm,
Concordia University, Hall Building, Room H-765 (7th Floor)
1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd.West, Montreal, Canada.
Admission Free.

In celebration of the ongoing and living significance of A.M. Klein's art, contemporary Montreal poets and translators read selections from their own work and the works of Klein.

Readings by:

Marie Frankland
David McGimpsey
Robyn Sarah
David Solway
Carmine Starnino

Hosted by:

Jason Camlot

Contact Info
Phone: 514.848.2424 x8760
Email: cjs@alcor.concordia.ca

Parliamentary Poet of the Week

2007-10-08T16:02:00.000-04:00

A poem of mine has been posted as this week's Parliamentary Poem of the Week.

John Steffler is the present Parliamentary Poet.

The poem to appear on the parliament web site is entitled, "Lost Days". It is a bout-rimé sonnet that takes all of its end rhymes from a D.G. Rossetti poem of the same title. It's from a series of such poems I've been writing. The Rossetti brothers used to play the bout-rimé game with each other, so D.G.'s poems seem a fair source from which to draw the end rhymes for my own poems. "Lost Days" gives my sonnet account of the Victorian period. Sort of like a sonnet Coles Notes for Victorian Lit students.

You can read the poem HERE.

Pohmz from Pindeldyboz

2007-06-18T02:20:00.000-04:00

The online and sometimes print literature and art journal Pindeldyboz has just released a new poetry anthology. It's edited by Mark Yakich and has poetry by Matthew Zapruder, Matthea Harvey and lots of other people. There's a poem of mine in it, too.

It looks like this:

Check out Pindeldyboz here.

Puggy Hammer on Myspace

2007-06-07T15:51:00.019-04:00

Visit Puggy Hammer at Myspace. Listen to a tune. Become a friend.

Just click HERE to make Puggy's space Yourspace.

Avril's a friend. Why not you?

Puggy Hammer MySpace URL:
http://www.myspace.com/puggyhammer

Blue Met 2007

2007-04-17T20:56:00.000-04:00

I will be participating in three events at The Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival this year.

First

Soirée de poésie I

Readings by prominent poets from Montreal and abroad. With John Burnside, Jason Camlot, Naomi Guttman, Dennis Lee, Erin Moure, Robyn Sarah, Carmine Starnino, Todd Swift. Hosted by Derek Webster.

Wednesday, April 25 starting at 9:00 pm
Hôtel Delta Centre Ville
Salle Verrière
777, University Street, Square-Victoria metro.
Admission: 10$
Purchase Tickets Here

Second

I WILL BE LAUNCHING A NEW BOOK

is pleased to invite you to the launching of /
est heureuse de vous inviter au lancement de

Language Acts: Anglo-Quebec Poetry, 1976 to the 21st Century

Edited by Jason Camlot and Todd Swift

FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 8–9:30 p.m.
Salle St-Charles, 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.
Admission Free.
To view the Contents Page of Language Acts Click Here
To view the Index Click Here
For information: 514.844.6073, Click Here

Third

I will be reading a poem or two at the Livres DC Books Anniversary celebration on Sunday, April 29, 12-1:30 pm
Salle La Terrasse, Hôtel Delta Centre-ville
777 rue University (Métro Square-Victoria)
Admission Free
Information

Language Acts: Anglo-Quebec Poetry, 1976 to the 21st Century

2007-04-02T12:01:00.000-04:00

It has been sent to the printer, and will be out in time to be launched at the Blue Metropolis Festival at the end of April. With many thanks owed to many people.

Readings Since and Coming

2007-03-11T22:07:00.000-04:00

Thursday, April 5, 8:15–9:45 p.m. I'll be reading in Boston at the American Culture Association, with Boston Poet Aaron Fogel, plus Alessandro Porco and David McGimpsey. The reading takes place in the The Fairfield Room at the BOSTON MARRIOTT COPLEY PLACE, 110 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, (617) 578-0025.

According to the ACA website, If you were an astronaut working on the International Space Station, The Boston Marriott Copley Place would be located where the red dot is:

***

Friday, March 30th, 5-7pm, I will be hosting a Tribute Reading to Robert Allen, sponsored by The Concordia University English Department.

***

On Saturday, March 24th I will be reading in Buffalo, New York, with David McGimpsey and Buffluxus (Mike Basinski's group). 7:30pm
Rust Belt Books (Allen St.)

***

Friday Afternoon, March 16, 2007. 2:00pm, I will be hosting a lecture on Russian Absurdist Poetry (OBERIU) by Eugene Ostashevsky:
“OBERIU/Russian Absurdist Poetry & Philosophy, 1926-1941” ( A lecture and performance.)
By Eugene Ostashevsky (NYU)
Concordia University, Hall Building, Room H-760, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd West. For Information Call: 514-848-2424 x2340. Sponsored by Concordia University English Deptartment & Etudes Francaises, McGill University Department of English and Russian & Slavix Studies, Université de Montréal Études Anglaises, and SLS Russia.

That same night, Friday, March 16th, I'll be hosting a poetry reading at Blizzarts in Montreal:
3 Brooklyn Poets + 3 Local Poets = An Evening of Poetry Overdrive.
Poetry readings by Eugene Ostashevsky, Matvei Yankelevich, Anna Moschovakis (all from Brooklyn),
and David McGimpsey, Jon Paul Fiorentino and Angela Hibbs (from Montreal).
Hosted by Jason Camlot.
Friday, March 16, 2007. 8:00pm SHARP.
Blizzarts 3956-A St-Laurent Boulevard.

Read a little story about the event HERE

***

Wednesday, March 14th: I'll be reading at the Jewish Public Library in Montreal:
Canada Council Readings with Wine and Cheese Program Presents:
"Cloven": A Reading of New and Selected Poems by Jason Camlot
Wednesday, March 14, 2007. 6:30pm.
Jewish Public Library, 5151 Côte Ste-Catherine Free admission • Info: (514) 345-2627 ext. 3017
Jason Camlot reads early and recent poems exploring the mysteries of distance that define our relationship to time, place and self. Critic Marjorie Perloff calls him "a remarkable poet" and poet David Trinidad says that Camlot "valiantly fights the good fight: against conformity and numbness, against that which excludes poetry from daily life." The registers of the poems read on this evening's program will range from the heartbreaking to the hilarious. Not to be missed.

***

On February 9, 2007 I read as part of the "Professing Poetics" event at Le Festival Voix D'Ameriques. The other readers at the event, hosted by Victoria Stanton at Casa Del Popolo in Montreal, were Dana Bath, Trish Salah, SE Venart, Endre Farkas, Stephanie Bolster and Susan Gillis.

***

On September 16, 2006 I read with Robert Allen at the launch of his new book, The Encantadas (Conundrum Press) at Boa Bar in Montreal.

Rob passed away on Friday, November 3rd, 2006.

Court Green

2006-05-10T11:41:00.000-04:00

This year's issue of Court Green, published from Columbia College in Chicago, arrived in the mail today, complete with fridge magnets in the shape and colors of the psychadelic flowers that adorn its lovely cover:

There is a very long and impressive bout rimé dossier in which 50+ poets have written sonnets, each of us using the same end rhymes. I also have a few other poems in the issue.

It's a really neat journal edited by Arielle Greenberg, Tony Trigilio, and David Trinidad (who is responsible for the list of end rhymes, I think).

Check out Court Green.

Notre-Dame-de-Grace

2006-04-20T00:48:00.000-04:00

Read yesterday at the Fraser-Hickson library in N.D.G. Met Cory there a bit before the event started and I sat with her as she ate something at the restaurant with the ominous name, B&M. It was a nice turnout at the reading, and a terrific spread at the wine and cheese beforehand. Sold some books, including one to a former Sir George Williams librarian who asked me to write a verse from one of my poems in the front of the book so that he could donate it to the University of Calgary Library's special collections, the library he donated his entire CanPo collection to several years ago. Cory, Gayle, Bina and Heidi Barkun, the artist, were in attendance, and Steve Luxton introduced me. Thanks to Steve and Giuliana, and to everyone for coming.

Readings Past and Future

2006-03-28T01:04:00.005-05:00

I'll be reading at the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival. That's Wednesday, April 5, 2006, 9pm to 10:15pm in the Salle Anjou Room, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1255 Jeanne-Mance, Montreal. The event is advertised as a SOIRÉE DE POÉSIE MONTRÉALAISE: A poetry reading in English and French with Jason Camlot, Jean-Marc Desgent, Mary di Michele, Renée Gagnon, Yannick B. Gélinas, William Thomas, Heise, Erin Moure, Yannick Renaud, and Carolyn Marie Souaid.

SOME OTHER POETRY READINGS I'VE DONE SINCE THE NEW YEAR:

January 19th, 2006. A Delirium Press reading with local writers Kate Hall and Heather Jessup, plus three Brooklyn poets, Matthew Roher, Joshua Beckman & Matthew Zapruder. One of the best readings I've ever participated in. Everyone was so damn good.

March 12th, 2006. The Pilot reading series hosted by Jon Paul Fiorentino. An evening paying tribute to the work of Rob Allen. Readers included Stephen Luxton, David McGimpsey, Emily Evans Jani Krulc and Mikhail Iossel, who translated and read a poem of Rob's in Russian. I read several poems from Rob's second collection, Blues and Ballads, published in 1973 by Ithaca Press.

March 26th, 2006. A reading at the North Hatley Library (pictured here in winter). With Stephen Luxton, Rob Allen and Keith Henderson. It was a beautiful spring day in North Hatley, and a special reading for me because a Townships poet I admire a lot, D.G. Jones, came out to listen. They sure have a lot of books by Ralph Gustafson in the North Hatley Library. Thanks to Jan Draper for organizing the event.

Missy Bar

2005-12-20T01:30:00.000-05:00

Had a great time playing with Rosebuddy at The Missy Bar last week (December 15th). It was a gig Neil Briffett arranged as a benefit for Dans La Rue. Once the second period of the hockey game ended (Habs ultimately lost to the Oilers 5-3) Kenny and I went up and did a short acoustic Letterbomb set [900 Miles, Darkness, Pool, Reno, If Only, Bring Me Down], and then Puggy Hammer Rawked the house, as did Rosebuddy after us. A great night, and a rare night out with Cory, which made it all the better.

Below, some pix of the evening:

Letterbomb at Missy Bar (Kenny Smilovitch and Me)

Puggy Hammer jamming about Pit Beef (Me and Dave)

Matt on Drums

Lines Crossed Out

2005-11-08T00:51:00.000-05:00

On April 13th, 2005, I did a reading at Zeke's Gallery as part of a launch celebration for three chapbooks published by Delirium Press. The chapbook I was launching is called Lines Crossed Out, and contains some short poems based on the writings of Victorian critic John Ruskin, a long poem (titled the same as the book) about writing a dissertation chapter on Ruskin while experiencing homesickness through the art of Betty Goodwin, plus a cluster or images, some of them documentary of stuff surrounding the long poem, and many of them reproductions of stunning artworks by Betty Goodwin that I had seen her working on when I visited her studio a variety of times in the 1990s. It's a lovely little chapbook, and I just recently noticed that local Bolduc-drinker Zeke has posted a recording of the reading on his web site. So, if you weren't there, and would like to hear a record of the live (April 13th, 2005) reading of Lines Crossed Out, go to Zeke's Gallery.

Here's the website for Delirium Press, the people who assembled and hand-sewed it.

And here are a few images that appear in the chapbook:

Rooted Like A Wedge
by Betty Goodwin

Beyond Chaos I
by Betty Goodwin

Deucalion Crossed Out (Treated Ruskin Text)
by Jason Camlot

Iris Of The Earth Crossed Out (Treated Ruskin Text)
by Jason Camlot

Book Launch at The Green Room

2005-11-01T09:50:00.000-05:00

I'll be launching Attention All Typewriters in Montreal this week. It will be a joint launch, with my colleague Marcie Frank, who just published an awesome book about Gore Vidal called How To Be An Intellectual in the Age of TV. David McGimpsey will host the event (thanks Dave!), and Kenny Smilovitch will accompany me when I play a song at the end of my reading (thanks Kenny!)

Also, there will be cake. Lots of cake.

So come on out: Thursday, November 3rd. The Green Room. 5386 Boul. St. Laurent. 8pm.

A funny, related, thing: an old friend, Karen Herland, now works at the Concordia Journal, and recently published a little pre-launch story about the books and the launch, complete with photo of Marcie and me holding McDonald's Potato People.

Hope to see you at the Green Room on Thursday. I'll be the one eating cake.

The Box (Toronto)

2005-10-31T00:31:00.000-05:00

Gave a short reading at The Box art series in Toronto, organized by Louise Bak (pictured below), author of two excellent books, Ginko Kitchen and Tulpa . The event (in the back room of the Rivoli) was great--terrific crowd and some amazing performances and films, by Karen Hines, David Hyde, Linda Griffiths, Dave McGimpsey, Izabella Pruska, and Michael Turner, who chopped wood to Lenny Bruce (you had to be there). The audience was awesome, and included my cousin Heather (Camlot) and her husband, Marc, plus other ex-Montrealers Matias M., Syd P. and David B, and a former graduate student of mine, Angela Sz. I'm so grateful to all of them for coming. And thanks, Louise, for inviting me.

Urban Myth Records

2005-10-24T21:31:00.000-04:00

So, the crazy kids at Urban Myth Records are going ahead with the release of a compilation of songs I recorded in the 1990s, to be called Blemish Years: 1994-1997. You can read the spin they've written about it at their very slick and smart web site. Just touch hard with your electronic finger against the bony chest of Urban Myth Records

They will be releasing a mixture of takes from O Glee, Mr. Fedora, plus some songs I recorded around the same time, and selections from some four track stuff from the period, tapes I called "sped" and "hoke" (See images below for original tape covers.)

O Glee

hoke by jc sped

jc "sped"

Mr. Fedora

TDR Interview

2005-09-29T20:42:00.000-04:00

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

2005-09-27T09:44:00.001-04:00

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

2005-09-23T22:45:00.000-04:00

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

2005-09-19T11:18:00.000-04:00

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