Lit Alights at The Sparrow
Fall Mega-Reading to Feature Three Concordia Profs
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Fall is officially here, which means it’s the perfect time to curl up with a good book under the swiftly changing foliage.
To celebrate this, the most bookish of seasons, Coach House Books, DC Books and Snare Books are throwing a free mega-launch for the beginning of the fall literary season, featuring multiple authors, drinks and good vibes on Main Street at The Sparrow bar.
“Every season we have a book launch of all of our new fiction and poetry writers in Toronto. We often try to do events in Montreal as well,” explained Evan Munday, Coach House Books’ publicist and the organizer of the event, copping to the inherent duality of the CanLit scene. “And this fall, we decided to do so.”
The launch will feature 10 Canadian authors, including Concordia professors David McGimpsey, Sina Queyras and Jon Paul Fiorentino. Each writer will (theoretically) give a five-minute reading and signing books and mingling afterwards, which will be a great opportunity to casually sip drinks and interact with the authors and assorted CanLit-erati in the house.
“I see this event as a chance to read some of my work, hear some other writers’ work, maybe sell a couple of books and meet people that are interested in literature,” said Coach House author Leigh Kotsilidis. “I hope to interact with the public. I enjoy meeting new people and hearing their thoughts about poetry and writing in general.”
Her new work, Hypotheticals, a compilation of poems exploring science as a way of understanding the world, is being launched at the event.
“My poetry is primarily an attempt to expose our own un-reliabilities, as well as the fallibility of science—especially when theories can change from being so true to untrue over time,” she explained.
“The title of my book applies directly to ideas that are supposed but not necessarily true. It also refers to the use of a hypothesis in the Scientific Method, a process that is considered objective, unbiased and non-arbitrary. It is intended to conjure both certainty and uncertainty.”
The launch will also feature new books by two of the three Concordia profs, as Queyras, a long-time poet, will read from her debut novel, Autobiography of Childhood, and David McGimpsey will introduce Lil’ Bastard, a collection of surreal, pop-culture-referencing 16-line poems he calls “chubby sonnets.”
There should be something for every type of literary aficionado at the reading, whether they’re hungry to hear some fresh material, or just out to watch highly intelligent and creative people get sloppy drunk first-hand.
The launch takes place Oct. 2 at The Sparrow (5322 St. Laurent Blvd.), with readings starting at 8:00 p.m.
