Launching two new books: A Hamburger in a Gallery and My Planet of Kites

So much has been happening. I will try to catch up in small bursts. I have three new books out this season.

I'm on the train to Montreal now, where I'll be launching my new book of poetry, A Hamburger in a Gallery, from DC Books' Punchy Poetry imprint, tomorrow night.

The launch takes place on April 23 at 7:30 pm at Le Petit Salon, Hotel 10, 10 Sherbrooke Ouest. Admission is free!

This is my oddest book of poetry yet and, making it more unusual, it contains a 50-page interview with me by my brilliant editor, Jason Camlot. We sat down to do the interview last December in Montreal and Jason said: “OK, I’m going to ask you really stupid questions and you answer them straight.” The results are pretty neat. I’m very proud of this book.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Montreal, too, with the Mansfield Press spring poetry launch, to celebrate my co-translation of Montreal poet Marie-Ève Comtois' second poetry collection, Je Te Trouve Belle Mon Homme. That title was impossible to migrate into English, so the book is called My Planet of Kites. I translated the book with my friend Michelle Winters, who is a great fiction writer and a professional translator. In Montreal, Marie-Ève and I read about seven poems: she read in French first, then I read the translations. It was pretty thrilling.

I think this will be the first of many translations for me.

My third new book, Further Confessions of a Small Press Racketeer, will be launched in Vancouver in late May. I'll have Toronto and Cobourg launches as well, and maybe some other places.

Over and out.