Jen Currin (Hagiography) leads a workshop on the subtle art of the prose poem at the White Rock Arts Council Gallery from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.. The fee is $35 and the workshop is limited to 12 participants, so pre-registration is required. Phone 604-536-8333 to reserve your spot!
Prose poem workshop with Jen Currin
Saturday, January 23, 2009
White Rock Arts Council Gallery, 90-1959 152nd Street
South Surrey, BC
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
$35
Jen Currin (Hagiography) opens the 2009 edition of The Community Arts Council of White Rock Literary Series with a reading on Friday, January 23 at the Pelican Rouge Coffee House.
Then on Saturday she leads a workshop on the subtle art of the prose poem. Check the separate Coach House event listing for more details!
Jen Currin reads in White Rock
Friday, January 23, 2009
Pelican Rouge Coffee House, 15142 16th Ave
Vancouver, BC
7:30 p.m.
Free
Jen Currin (Hagiography) will be a featured reader in Locution, a UBC creative writing MFA showcase, on Thursday, December 11 at Vancouver's Pulp Fiction Books.
Jen Currin reads at Locution
with Margret Bollerup, Crystal Sikma, Sonia Zagwyn and Krista Eide
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Pulp Fiction Books, 2422 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
Join Vancouver poets Jen Currin (Hagiography) and Christine Leclerc (Counterfeit), and Portland poets Heather Lane and Franciskza Voeltz for a night of women's poetry and who-knows-what-gender music.
Short readings, with an acoustic set by Portland's own Pelican Ossman to follow.
West Meets West poetry reading
featuring Jen Currin, Heather Lane, Christine Leclerc and Franciska Voeltz
with music by Pelican Ossman
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Jen Currin (Hagiography) reads with poets Betsy Warland and Christine Leclerc at the Canadian launch of U.S. author Carol Guess's poetry collection, Tinderbox Lawn.
Four Queer Poets: a Book Launch and Celebration
featuring Jen Currin, Carol Guess, Christine Leclerc and Betsy Warland
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Rhizome, 317 E. Broadway
Vancouver, BC
7:00 p.m.
The cover of Jen Currin's second book of poetry features a quirky illustration of an old house on top of a mountain with a large halo inexplicably floating above it. The poems in Hagiography are equally eccentric and intriguing, and do indeed elevate odd fragments of life. Traditionally, hagiography is writing about the lives of saints; Currin plays with this concept and shoves haloes onto strong, familiar images that are sacred in poetry: trees, mountains, the sea, fish, fire, birds.
Some poets make beautiful, playful poems that remain coy and mysterious after reading and rereading. Jen Currin is of that kind. Hagiography (saint/holy writing/study) is a collection of poems that moves from death to birth, and visits gardens, houses, beds and streets on its way. It is hard to establish a sense of place in Currin's poems -- stay alert for clues.
Houses are extensions of Hagiography 's characters.
Last week, Jen Currin spoke with Xtra! West about her long-term love affair with language, and the other relationships that motivate her writing: <!--newline--><!--newline-->'A personified Death captains a ship "dressed as a dancing girl" while demons turn up in sinks and on bridges — apt visual disturbances to occur during the lives of saints.
On Saturday, March 29, the Vancouver Sun ran an article about National Poetry Month, and focused on Vancouver native Jen Currin and her new book Hagiography. Jordan Scott (Blert) was also mentioned in the poetry story.
Coach House will, as of February 14, offer free digital downloads with the purchase of any print edition (provided, of course, the book currently exists in e-format). You buy one of our print books, the electronic book is yours for the taking.
Sounds great, but how does it work? One of two ways:
Coach House founder and master printer Stan Bevington is this year’s recipient of the Robert R. Reid lifetime achievement award for excellence in book art. The award is given annually by the Alcuin Society, a non-profit dedicated to preserving and celebrating Canadian contributions to print culture.
Previous Robert R. Reid recipients include former Coach House typesetter and designer Glenn Goluska.
In a two-part interview with Coach House founder and master printer Stan Bevington, Nigel Beale, from the Biblio File podcast, delves into the intriguing combination of factors that inspired Bevington's passion for print culture and took Coach House to the forefront of Canadian book design.
The interview is both a journey through the history of technologies and typefaces, as well as an advice manual for collectors seeking rare pieces of Canadiana.
