In the past months, Godberd has had the great pleasure of hosting Michael Nardone's curated reading-series called Zutique. Michael's pleasant demeanor is so consistent as to be unnerving, and his enthusiasm for contemporary poetry is absolutely contagious; the compendium of names of writers he drops casually in conversation is staggering. We recommend spending some significant time with the hyperlinks in this article for a brief education on the impressive work by the artists mentioned and we hope to see you at Zutique 4! The events are open to Godberd members only via the website. Also, stay tuned for upcoming features on some of the artists we've hosted so far. 

 

 

 

The Zutique events evolve out of an occasional reading series I've held at my apartment over these last few years. It's been a good way to have poets from elsewhere who have been interested in Montreal – in the city, and in its writers – to have an intimate space to present their work and also find out what's happening here. I think a lot of important friendships and affinities have formed out of these occasional readings. Some of the poets involved in those apartment readings have been Corina Copp, Ada Smailbegovic, Shiv Kotecha, Diana Hamilton, Helen Guri, Peter Dubé, and Daniel Poppick. 

 

In working with Godberd, I thought it might be nice to keep the occasionality of the series. They really only take place when poets from elsewhere come to town and I think of them as intimate and informal ways to interact with poets and works that one usually experiences only from a distance. 

 

 

The first Zutique occurred when Anahita Jamali Rad, Danielle LaFrance, and Donato Mancini were all in town from Vancouver. The second one paired Rachel Blau DuPlessis with Oana Avasillichoaei. And the third one was a launch for a new press out of Brooklyn called Golias Books – featuring their first two authors, Mark Johnson and Diana Hamilton – with a new book called ORGAZING by the Montreal poet and visual artist Maryse Larivière.