Kafka in Kanada

Fall of Icarus (Bruegel The Elder, 1558)

Fed up with extreme security checks by Air Canada at both Calgary and Montreal airports, Véhicule Press author Jaspreet Singh reluctantly cancelled two appearance in Torontothis past weekend. He was to have participated in a main-stage event at the Luminato Toronto Festival of the Arts on June 14 and at the BookExpo trade show on June 15, part of an author tour to promote his recently-published novel, Chef.

In April he was intensely questioned by Air Canada in Calgary before he was able to board his plane to attend launchings and readings in Ottawa and Montreal. “Air Canadaemployees informed me that I was on a ‘list’ but refused to give me particulars … On the return flight [from Montreal] Air Canada staff made the preposterous suggestion that I change my name…”

Yesterday’s Calgary Herald reports that they contacted Transport Canada and were told that Singh was not on Canada’s no-fly list. An Air Canada spokesperson confirmed that they received a faxed complaint from Singh which he sent May 9 and that they would be in contact with him.
Please see the Véhicule Press June 14 press release and coverage in the Calgary Herald, The Globe and Mail and the Quill & Quire Blog.

Italy beats France 2-0!

How happy are we?

Milan 2-1 Inter commentaire Italien
Uploaded by t_m

Boxer talks

CAA poetry prize winner, Asa Boxer appeared on Patti Schmidt's CBC Radio program 5 à 6. Listen to their interview here.

Boxer was also recently interviewed on Ryerson University's CKLN 88.1, by Diana Kiesners of "In Other Words". Listen to it here.

Had enough? If not, here's a reading he gave at Zeke's Gallery in 2006.

(Also, check out Asa Boxer's essay "The Avi Boxer Archives: Snap-Shots and Recollections.")

War of Words

Here is an absolutely fascinating and lengthy exchange that the brave new world of Web 2.0 makes possible. Poet hates his review, tracks down reviewer's blog and shouts at him. A must-read. (Hat tip: Ron Silliman)

An embarrassment of riches

Well, this isn’t exactly true. We’re not embarrassed at all about the fact that Andrew Hood's Pardon Our Monsters just won the 2007 Danuta Gleed Prize for Best First Short Fiction Collection. Andrew can now hunker down to write his novel. (The $10,000 purse doesn’t hurt either). This news comes on the heels of the announcement that Asa Boxer won the 2007 CAA Poetry Prize for The Mechanical Bird and that Mary Dalton’s Red Ledger was a finalist for Newfoundland & Labrador’s 2007 Heritage and History Book Award. It’s been a stellar month!

Maisonneuve on fire

Vehicule Press would like to extend its congratulations to Signal Editions editor Carmine Starnino and his team at Maisonneuve who were nominated for seven National Magazine Awards, including the much-coveted Magazine of the Year. Winners will be announced June 6 at a gala held at the Carlu in Toronto.

For a taste of what you’ve find in the magazine, please check out the Maisonneuve website, which is updated weekly. We recommend you start with Clive Doucet's "Wish You Were Here" -- a unique and fascinating piece on Cuba and its fundamental importance to what Doucet calls the "global provisioning system."

Patton finalist for Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize

Congratulations to Christopher Patton! BC Book Prizes has announced this year's finalists, and Christopher's book of poetry, Ox, is shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. It is much-deserved recognition, indeed.

The winners will be announced at the BC Book Prize Gala on April 26, 2008.

Watch for Christopher this summer when he returns from his studies in Salt Lake City to his home on Salt Spring Island to tend his apple orchard and promote his book.

"Dense, knotty, allusive and musical, this is spiritual poetry of real depth and material engagement. Clearly a first book long in the making and ruthlessly trimmed of fat." —Zachariah Wells