A River of Poetry

A rapt audience was treated to a singular evening of poetry at the Grande Bibliothèque on December 1.

The performance, entitled A River of Poetry, was the final event of the President’s Conference Series (PCS), and involved seven of Concordia’s poets reading full poems and extracts in several languages, accompanied by projections and voice recordings.

The President’s Conference Series at the Grande Bibliothèque ended with A River of Poetry, a multimedia presentation of poetry, light and images. | Photo by Concordia University.

Nearly 200 people filled the theatre for the event, including Concordia President Judith Woodsworth, Vice-President Research and Graduate Studies Louise Dandurand, and Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec Guy Berthiaume.

A River of Poetry was the culmination of months of planning and collaboration.

Several poets teaching in the departments of English and Études françaises were invited by the PCS organizers to participate, and each of them submitted six or seven poems on the theme of language and the city, the broad theme of the PCS and the larger partnership between Concordia and the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ).

The entire performance was staged by Associate Professor and Chair of Contemporary Dance Michael Montanaro, who was also choreographer of the Cirque du Soleil show Varekai. Montanaro worked with the writers, and the space, to develop the idea of an immersive sonic experience.  

Poet Mary di Michele, of the English Department, likened the evening to an “IMAX experience of poetry.”

The seven poets involved in the event were di Michele, Stephanie Bolster, Marc André Brouillette, Jason Camlot, David McGimpsey, Sina Queyras and André Roy.

Watch the full performance:

Related links:
•    President’s Conference Series
•    Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
•    Department of English
•    Département d’études françaises