March at Coach House Books Includes the AWP Conference, Sina Queyras and More

Can you feel it, coming in the air? No, it's not weeks and weeks of more terrible weather (though that's coming, too). Coach House's spring titles are nearly here! We're champing at the bit to show you our new 2014 titles - like André Alexis's Pastoral and Brecken Hancock's Broom Broom - but before that happens, there's a wheelbarrow full of book goodness happening this March. From Sina Queyras's launches for MxT to the must-be-seen-to-be-believed Eunoia dance performances and the brand-new Pages Festival, March is a reader's winter wonderland. So huddle under some blankets and warm yourself by the glow of our March mailbot.

Turn Back Time with Our AWP Rewind Sale

if you met us at the AWP Conference in Seattlelast week, welcome! (It was the activity book that got you, wasn't it?) Since we know it can be hard to pick up all the books you desire at the AWP Book Fair, we want to help you live a life without regrets: for the next two weeks (until March 17), all our titles are 30% off! And even better, we ship the books to you so you don't have to lug them home in your suitcase. It's our AWP Rewind Sale, and we think you should jump on it faster than an open teaching position!

Some Ink on Our Spring 2014 Launch

Here at the Coach House, we've got more ink than the combined bodies of Motley Crüe. So, onThursday, April 3, Coach House is breaking out the irons to carve our spring authors' words onto you (metaphorically, of course). Our literary tattoo parlour? The Garrison (1197 Dundas St. West). We'll preview new fiction and poetry titles that we think are hella-tight, so come on by.

We've got new books from André Alexis (Pastoral), Harry Karlinsky (The Stonehenge Letters), Élise Turcotte and Rhonda Mullins (Guyana), Sina Queyras (MxT), Brecken Hancock (Broom Broom) and Jen Currin (School). The authors and translators (save Harry Karlinsky) will be there to read you short passages that are likely to tattoo themselves on your hot little brains. We'll even have specially made temporary tattoos by which you can showcase your Coach House loyalty.

A couple days later, we do it all again in Montreal. On Sunday, April 6, at Le Cagibi (5490 St. Laurent), authors Sina Queyras, Brecken Hancock, Jen Currin and Élise Turcotte (with Rhonda Mullins) will read from their amazing new books for a Quebec audience. In both Toronto and Montreal, you'll get the chance to emblazon yourself with the Coach House spring titles. (If interested, RSVP for Toronto on Facebook here, and for Montreal here.)

Sina Queyras: Coast to Coast

'Poetry succeeds where science fails to measure grief in this brilliant new collection by the esteemed Queyras,' says Publishers Weekly. We think those guys know what they're talking about. Author and literary critic Sina Queyras's MxT is already one of the spring's most talked about Canadian poetry collections, and it's not even in stores yet.

Queyras has been called one of the most direct and confrontational poetry critics Canada has by theQuill & Quire. MxT, or 'Memory x Time,' is one of the formulas Queyras posits as a way to measure grief in her new book, in which poems mourn the dead by turning memories over and over like an old coin, by invoking other poets, by appropriating the language of technology, of instruction, of diagram, of electrical engineering, and of elegy itself.

MxT will finally be released into the wild, like a housebound falcon, this March. On Friday, March 7, Queyras launches the book in her old hometown of Vancouver, with the Real Vancouver Writers' Series. Joined by a number of amazing local poets, Queyras does her first public reading from the newly published book at Vancouver's Index Gallery (1305 Powell Street). Weeks later, she launches it in her new hometown of Montreal. On Wednesday, March 26

, Queyras launches MxT at Librarie Drawn & Quarterly (211 Bernard Ouest) with fellow poets Katia Grubisic and Emma Healey. See the events listing below for more details!

Baby, Do Eunoia Dance?

Remember last mailbot, when we told you about the dance performance of Christian Bök's Eunoia? It wasn't a crossword-induced dream; it's really happening. From March 19 to 22, Harbourfront Centre's World Stage welcomes the world premiere of EUNOIA, the latest work from choreographer Denise Fujiwara of Fujiwara Dance Inventions. An adaptation of Christian Bök's celebrated constraint-based Griffin Poetry Prize-winner of the same name, Fujiwara's dance piece applies similar constraints to her choreography to devise a witty, expressive and highly experimental work.

Fujiwara Dance Inventions wants you Coach House mailbot subscribers to witness these performances. That's why they're offering a special discount until March 10 to reserve your tickets. Simply enter the code 'COACHHOUSE' when ordering, and you can score two tickets for a mere $25 each. (Those tickets run $39 a piece for everyone else!) Get your tickets online at harbourfrontcentre.com.

Writers' Grants at the Kaffeeklatsch

Our first Kaffeeklatsch event - a session on book cover design led by Ingrid Paulson - was a rousing success. Paulson guided the dozen or so attendees through the principles of cover design, using Coach House's decidedly makeshift projection setup. A good discussion on playing with genre cliches, theFibonacci sequence and designing for web thumbnails ensued.

The March Kaffeeklatsch is a must-attend for Toronto-area writers. OnMonday, March 31, Ontario Arts Council Literature Officer Jack Illingworthwill tag-team with author Elyse Friedman (Long Story Short) to discuss applying for writers' grants at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. As Illingworth works for the OAC and Elyse has had some luck with a few funding bodies, their conversation is sure to assist any writer working on a grant application. Prepare questions and our dynamic duo will answer with perspective from both sides of the equation! Kaffeeklatsches are $10 and attendance is limited to 18, so sign up via EventBrite today! Snacks and light refreshments will be provided.

Flip Through the Pages Festival

Toronto has a new literary festival this March! The Pages Festival + Conference, running from March 13 to March 15, aims to embrace new technology and mix contemporary Canadian writers with practitioners from digital media and other art forms. Featuring multi-layered presentations atThe Randolph Theatre (736 Bathurst Street), and seminars, workshops and panel discussions at the Tranzac Club (292 Brunswick Avenue), The Pages Festival + Conference is organized by Marc Glassman and the This Is Not A Reading Seriescrew.

Among the many presenters, Coach House authorShawn Micallef (Stroll, The Trouble with Brunch) will be part of the 'Urban Narratives' event at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, discussing Toronto's hidden stories with Gerry Flahive, Chloe Doesburg and host Amy Lavender Harris. And In Love with Artauthor Jeet Heer will moderate a talk amongst illustrators and cartoonists - Seth, Fiona Smyth and Michael DeForge - later that night at 9 p.m. For more information and to order tickets to this first-ever Pages Festival, visitpagesfestival.com. Don't miss the chance to be there at the beginning of something great!

Other Events

TORONTO

Mar 4 - Celebrate Paul Dutton at 70

Paul Dutton's 70th Birthday Celebration
featuring Paul Dutton (Aurealities), Michael Snow, Steve McCaffery, Gary Barwin, Jenny Sampirisi, Margaret Christakos, Nobuo Kubota, Christian Bök, Jaap Blonk and many more
Supermarket, 268 Augusta Avenue
7 p.m., free
RSVP on Facebook

Mar 15 - The Pages Festival: Urban Narratives with Shawn Micallef

Pages Festival: Urban Narratives
featuring Shawn Micallef (Stroll, The Trouble with Brunch), Gerry Flahive, Chloe Doesburg
hosted by Amy Lavender Harris
Randolph Theatre, 736 Bathurst Street
3 p.m., $15
pagesfestival.com to order tickets and for more information

Mar 15 - The Pages Festival: An Evening with Seth and Friends

Pages Festival: An Evening with Seth and Friends
featuring Seth, Fiona Smyth and Michael DeForge
hosted by Jeet Heer (In Love with Art)
Randolph Theatre, 736 Bathurst Street
9 p.m., $15
pagesfestival.com to order tickets and for more information

Mar 22 - Margaret Christakos Multitudes Afternoon Social

Multitudes Afternoon Social
a special event for Margaret Christakos's Multitudes, with guest readers Jimmy McInnes and Sarah Pinder (Cutting Room)
with trumpet performance by Nicole Rampersaud and hula hoop display
Church of St. Stephen-in-the-Fields, 103 Bellevue Avenue (at College)
4 p.m., free

MONTREAL

Mar 26 - Montreal Launch of MxT

Montreal Launch of MxT
with readings by Sina Queyras (MxT), Katia Grubisic and Emma Healey
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 211 Bernard Ouest
7 p.m., free
RSVP on Facebook

WAKEFIELD, ON

Mar 8 - Music and Poetry Inspired by David O'Meara's A Pretty Sight

The Ottawa Writers Festival presents an evening of music and poetry
featuring David O'Meara (A Pretty Sight), with Mike Dubue and Adam Saikaley, with performances by Linsey Wellman and Music in the Barns
The Black Sheep Inn, 753 Chemin Riverside Drive
8 p.m., $10
theblacksheepinn.com for tickets and more information

OTTAWA

Mar 25 - Matthew Tierney at VERSeFest

VERSeFest Poetry Festival: VERSeFest Opener
featuring Matthew Tierney (Probably Inevitable), Sarah De Leeuw, Liz Lochhead and Mary Pinkoski
Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgar Street
7 p.m., $10
versefest.ca for tickets and more information

Mar 25 - Andrew Faulkner at VERSeFest

VERSeFest Poetry Festival: The Factory Reading Series
featuring Andrew Faulkner (Need Machine), Peter Richardson and Suzannah Showler
hosted by rob mclennan
Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgar Street
9 p.m., $10
versefest.ca for tickets and more information

Mar 29 - Margaret Christakos at VERSeFest

VERSeFest Poetry Festival: The Factory Reading Series
with lectures by Margaret Christakos (Multitudes) and Marilyn Irwin
hosted by rob mclennan
The Mercury Lounge, 56 Byward Market Square
4 p.m., $10
versefest.ca for tickets and more information

KINGSTON

Feb 20 - Margaret Christakos at Queen's University

Coach House Writers Read in Barrie
a reading at Q&A with Margaret Christakos (Multitudes)
hosted by Carolyn Smart
Queen's University, Watson Hall, Room 517
2:30 p.m., free (and open to the public)
chbooks.com for more information

VANCOUVER

Mar 7 - Sina Queyras and Siobhan Scarry at Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University Reading Series
readings and a Q&A with Sina Queyras (MxT) and Siobhan Scarry
Simon Fraser University, Bennett Library, 8888 University Drive
12:30 p.m., free (and open to the public)
RSVP on Facebook

Mar 7 - The Real Vancouver Writers' Series launch Sina Queyras's MxT

The Real Vancouver Writers' Series Launch of MxT
featuring Sina Queyras (MxT) with Jillian Christmas, Elee Kraljii Gardiner and Daniel Zomparelli
hosted by Sean Cranbury
Index Gallery, 1305 Powell Street (at Clark)
8 p.m., $10 (or pay-what-you-can)
RSVP on Facebook

PORTLAND

Mar 15 - Marathon Reading of Lisa Robertson's Occasional Work

Marathon Reading of Lisa Robertson's Occasional Work and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture
presented by Project Cityscope
Yu, 800 SE Tenth Avenue
2 to 7 p.m., free
eventbrite.com for (free) tickets and more information

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