Bulk cargo

Long long february leap.

* Kiva Stimac, the great lady behind Popolo Press in Montreal (and the spirit behind the Sala Rossa and Casa del Popolo along with her partner Mauro) did an interview with L'Oie de Cravan that you can read right here if you don't mind scary pictures.

* L'Oie de Cravan travels : we'll be in Paris from mars 16 to 19th, taking part in the Paris book fare (Salon du livre de Paris), stand U51. Come see us !

We'll also be in Los Angeles on mars 24th to take part in Shelf life 2 : A big day for Small Press with our friend Byron Coley. We'll have a fine sample of our books, normally hard to find in this part of the Americas. Do come to see us!

* Some of you might know Le Bathyscaphe, the fine bilingual cultural paper with an international crew that we are so proud of being associated with. Well, here comes Bathysphere, a new, lighter, photocopied free zine offspring of the former, made to measure to flow with the movement of times. The first issue is out and its main focus is on the Occupy movement. You can get it from the crew of Le Bathyscaphe or read it online in pdf format right here. Not much english in this issue though, but you can read here in english the full interview Hermine Ortega did with Mark Read, the guy behind the Bat Signal at Occupy Wall Street (just skip the french intro!).

And these were the news for this long long freezing leap month.

French compositeur Byron Coley

C'est la guerre in the Composer's section at the Centre George Pompidou bookstore

(picture by Thurston Moore)

We've put out Byron Coley's C'est la guerre : early writings 1978-1983 in may last year. A lot of talk about it on the web in the US but very little press. Europe seems strangely more into inking the good news : first there was a great article in the Wire , there was also a nice word on it in Mojo. Now, it is in France (where the bilingual book is widely available only since november ) that the press is picking up. Check out Guy Mercier's great article in Paris' free cultural rag Balise (november 2011). And, just this week, came out a beautiful little note in the new issue of France's foremost literary magazine Le Matricule des Anges ( january 2012). Blogs there are also buzzing over it but this, anyone can find.

Under the applause : Byron Coley

(picture by Benoît Chaput)

Boulevard des Invalides

I saw it this morning:

twenty-five years, my love,
twenty-five years have gone by.

You don’t take them out anymore
your painted wood scarecrow
your clear day companion
You don’t take out your horses
your madmen and whales
you don’t tidy your seagulls
in the seagull drawer
you don’t have animals anymore
or much hope
you don’t light up the fire
more than once or twice a summer
you don’t sleep in the snow
you don’t hunt the cherries
with your great gay airs
and it’s rare, it’s quite rare
for you to remember me
our fears, laughter
and six p.m. trains
You don’t rumple the forests
of laundry
you don’t pin lace
onto the face of the sky anymore
you don’t open these wings
or very little
and nothing ever takes off
much farther than the end
of last winter
when we followed the stream
embroidered with a balustrade that had
white or
green highlights
which lasted until night
You don’t last until night

Today
more easily than in the past
when I used to hold the key to it
I wander in your hollow
I say more easily
because it’s been empty of you since
it’s been empty of me
I don’t even see that
spear planted in the morning anymore
Boulevard des Invalides
I can’t picture your voice
Yet, I know—
the down of your body
still burns inside the earth
the wind along your shoulders
still makes that husky chant
but you no longer have shoulders
you don’t even have wings
and the lioness tosses
in her bed of dead wood
and every Sunday writes
to Sundays that were
and the envelopes are empty inside
like those shelves under the sea
with their empty boats
and empty fishes
you don’t bring in your wolves
you don’t take off your gloves
to stroke the rain
you don’t have
naked fingers left under those rings
that naked mouth amid the haze
and those knees, those pigeons
those clouds above your breasts
you don’t come back in at night
with your big cold beasts
and that smell of the city
afar the black alleys
and I don’t know your neck anymore
or your nape that moved slowly
in the heavy air for me alone
Even the coal bucket
the little nuggets of water
you won’t bring them in
your purple house anymore
with your fifteen fur coats on
Now even your tongue is dead
though I still speak it

Pierre Peuchmaurd, Parfaits Dommages et autres achèvements.

Translated by E.C. Belli

Pierre Peuchmaurd

(picture by Antoine Peuchmaurd)

Year end

THE POEM

A poetry of the meaning of words

And a bond with the universe

I think there is no light in the world

but the world

And I think there is light

George Oppen

Montreal

Have your ever heard of Patrice Desbiens and Robin Aubert ?

You should.

Patrice Desbiens is a franco-ontarian poet, the bastard son of Richard Brautigan and Paul Eluard, considered by many to be the finest poet alive in Quebec today.

Robin Aubert is an amazing actor and director whose 2010 shocking and beautiful film Crying out (À l'origine d'un cri) won him exceptional critical acclaim. He also writes poetry. Poems of the north — of lost and anger, of love and strenght, torned between city and woods.

We are launching their books

POUR DE VRAI by Patrice Desbiens

&

ENTRE LA VILLE ET L'ÉCORCE by Robin Aubert

Thursday SEPTEMBER 29TH 2011

at the bookstore temporary turned waterhole

LE PORT DE TÊTE

262 Mont-Royal east, in Montreal town.

Come and celebrate with us!

Robin and Patrice will read and there will be some nice wines and a bar-b-cue.

Massachusetts

This friday july 8th there will be a celebration of our two most recent books at Mystery Train records in Amherst MA (412 N Pleasant St. --- 413-253-4776).

The event will start at 6h30 pm.

Byron Coley will be reading from his new book, "C'est la guerre" and some mysterious musical guests will be playing Michael Hurley tunes.

L'Oie de Cravan will be there, of course, with the fine publications.

Coley - Ladouceur - Hurley : May 6th, the Sala Rossa Launch

JULY 8TH ADDENDUM : THE BOOKS ARE NOW ON SALE RIGHT HERE

L’Oie de Cravan press is proud to present

— finally in Montreal—

the triple book launch of

Byron Coley – C’est la guerre (Early Writings 1978-1983)

Jeff Ladouceur – Holy Moly (amazing drawings)

The Words to the Songs of Michael Hurley

*

Byron Coley will read with Glenn Jones (Cul de sac) on guitar

*

With a musical tribute to Michael Hurley featuring

Gabriel Levine (Sackville, Black Ox Orkestar)

Jessica Moss (Black Ox Orkestar, Silver Mount Zion)

Nadia Moss (Frankie Sparo, The Witchies)

Thomas Hellman

Emilie Clepper

Keiko Devaux (People for Audio, Acorn)

Marcus Lobb (Burial Song)

Matt "doc" Dunn (MV & EE)

Jessica Moore (Charms)

O the fool (Justin Karas)

Marie Frankland + Myriam Gendron + Annie Goulet

& others!

Friday may 6th

doors 8:30, music 9pm

Sala Rossa, 4848 Saint-Laurent, Montreal

$10 at the door

Bringing together publisher l’Oie de Cravan, Mass. poet/critic Byron Coley and a group of acclaimed musicians in celebration of a triple book launch : a bilingual book of Michael Hurley's lyrics, an anthology of Byron Coley's early articles (with an introduction by Mike Watt) and the sweetest book of the great artist Jeff Ladouceur.

Byron Coley has written extensively about underground culture since the mid-70s. His work for Forced Exposure and Spin made him legendary. He is also an astounding poet and a great reader. Since 1989, Glenn Jones has led Boston’s “avant -garage” instrumental rock band Cul de Sac whose musical adventures are documented on nine albums to date, including collaborations with guitarist John Fahey and former Can vocalist Damo Suzuki. Tonight he'll play along Byron's hypnotic baritone.

Jeff Ladouceur will be present and will do live drawings in your copies of his book!

Two sets of music pay homage to Michael Hurley, the eccentric songwriter also known as Doc Snock, whose 40 years of songs have been seeping into the folk unconscious (including covers by Cat Power and other fans). Hurley’s melodies and words take flight into a world of plenty, inspiring wonder and humour, sin and slowness, laziness and longing. Characters include werewolves, sign-painters, tea and whiskey-drinkers, pork chops and hot dogs, wild geese, intoxicated lovers and blue navigators. The Words to the Songs of Michael Hurley is the first publication of Snock’s lyrics.



“Whether weaving a yarn about a mysterious hog or comparing the human heart to a mechanic’s toolbox, Mr. Hurley creates elaborate vistas in a musical version of outsider art” – Ann Powers, New York Times

“Hurley remains one of the elusive masters of American folk” – Chris Morris, Billboard

“…I don’t know what else to say about what he writes and sings, other than that it is gosh-darned great. What kind of music is it? Hell, what kind of weeds does God grow? Let’s just shut up and listen and go to where Michael Hurley is. After all, we can always turn around and come back. He can’t.” – Nick Tosches

"Byron Coley is the greatest rock writer that ever lived (okay, top 10)" - Blastitude

"With a finely pointed pen in black ink and a meticulous touch, [Jeff Ladouceur] draws cartoons about a bald, long-nosed, sad sack of a character called "Schmo." Our hero's struggles with ordinary existence and surrealistic encounters with cloud-creatures, tiny elephants, octopuses and an abominable snowman are funny, weird and touching." - Ken Johnson, New York Times.

(The book covers can be seen right down here, in a previous post)