My chapbook, Other Brief Discourses, was released earlier this winter by Ottawa’s above/ground press. It is a handsome little pamphlet of poems that imagine the return of Samuel de Champlain to the territory of New France in the present day, accompanied by a Franco-American guide. Now, its first review, by Ryan Pratt on Ottawa Poetry […]
Category Archives: Poetry
Today, in conjunction with the launch of my chapbook “Other Brief Discourses,” I’m featured on the website of Open Book Ontario. I recently participated in their new author interview series focusing on reading, which gave me the chance to talk about some books that I love. Since my recent posts have focused on themes related […]
Today I take a brief reprieve from my usual posts on topics related to Piecework: When We Were French to remind Ottawa folks that I will be launching my chapbook of poems, Other Brief Discourses, with a reading this Friday night. The Factory Reading Series presents: Hugh Thomas Michael Blouin Brecken Hancock + Abby Paige […]
On January 22nd, I launched a fundraising campaign to support the production of a DVD of my solo show, Piecework: When We Were French. Yesterday marked the beginning of the campaign’s fourth week, and I’m excited to report that, with 22 days down, we’ve been able to raise 60% of our overall goal. This is […]
Once I learned that Jack Kerouac was Franco-American, I wondered how I had never figured it out on my own: his boxy, square head and dark eyes; his clean part; his humor and his melancholy, intertwined; the alcoholism that killed him; his visionary uprootedness. Suddenly, knowing his origins in a Massachusetts mill town, Ti-Jean Kerouac, […]
It’s a big day here at Abby Paige HQ. First, the Piecework: When We Were French DVD fundraising campaign rolls on, and just a couple of days into our second week, I am very happy to report that we have reached 50% of our overall goal. This is immensely encouraging! With 39 days remaining, we […]
Normally I would not urge to you download a PDF. Usually, when I download a PDF, it’s because I’m dealing with some kind of bureaucratic bullshit. Most likely there’s a form that needs to be filled out. I will probably end up cursing Jason Kenney under my breath and uttering the phrase, “How does anyone […]
David Budbill’s Judevine had a singular effect on me. Budbill is a Vermont writer, and growing up in Vermont, a writer seemed like a foreign species. When I attended a performance of the play Judevine (adapted from a book of poems by the same name) at Burlington’s Flynn Theater in my teens, it was (or […]
I was feeling some warm fuzzies for my new hometown of Ottawa last night at the Ottawa Writers Festival. This year’s John Newlove Poetry Prize winner was announced (not me), along with honourable mentions (including me). And, better than that, I got to sit back and listen to some poems, a too-rare pleasure for parents […]
There’s been much discussion of late about the book review — its pitfalls, its merits, its relevance. Does it hurt to be too negative? Too positive? (Here’s a bit of a round-up.) I have enjoyed reading others’ thoughts on the topic, because this is also a discussion ongoing between my ears. My personal considerations are […]
