Over the summer, I joined the editorial board of Résonance, an on-line literary journal founded by a contingent of Franco-American writers from New England in order to create a gathering space for work by and about Franco-American communities of the United States. Founding Drama Editor, the late Franco playwright, Gregoire Chabot, explained the journal’s mission … More Résonance News
The third issue of Résonance is out now, and it’s a very special one, focused on the theme of Borderlands: North and South. Co-edited by poet Steven Riel and scholar Kristin Sánchez Carter, this issue places the work of Franco-American writers in conversation with that of Chicanx writers and others who live in the liminal … More Résonance: Borderlands
Samuel Beckett and James Joyce, two of Ireland’s literary giants, meet on a bridge, overlooking a river that might be the River Liffey, in a place that resembles Dublin — but might it be Hell? The possibility that they’re dead is just one of the questions the two entertain as they wait for — what … More Sam & Jim in Hell
My favourite thing about live performance is, duh, that it’s live — the intimacy and warmth of sharing something with an audience, the feeling of a large group of people breathing in sync as they ride the waves of a narrative together. Oh, I do miss that eleven months into this pandemic ridiculousness. Nonetheless, I … More Live Theater! At Your House!
The first meeting of the Franco-American Book Club took place at the end of November. I say it was the first, but really, I didn’t conceive of our virtual get-together, hosted on-line by the Franco-American Center of the University of Maine, as the beginning of anything. I intended to host a friendly, low-stakes, no-prep conversation … More Franco-American Book Club, Part Deux
When my son was a toddler, when we would set a plate of food in front of him or hand out treats to a group of playmates, we would often say, “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset.” It was a way of managing expectations, forestalling meltdowns, and it has been our … More Happy Winter Solstice
One of the upsides of the current, COVID-centric state of things is that it’s given the Franco-American Center at the University of Maine a broader reach. In the past you had to be near Orono to take advantage of their resources, but since the spring, the Center has hosted some truly great virtual events that … More Franco-American Book Club
UPDATE (November 21) : The final events of the festival, including mine, have been postponed due to the recent uptick in COVID cases within the Atlantic bubble. I will post information about new dates when I have them. Theatre New Brunswick kicks off their virtual Fall Festival of New Plays tonight with an on-line reading … More LES FILLES at TNB’s Virtual Fall Festival
I can’t go on.I’ll go on.– Samuel Beckett If you’re someone who enjoys live performance, you should check in on the venues and artists you love. Without ticket revenue, theaters of all kinds of struggling. Artists, designers, and technicians, who rely on live performance for their livelihoods (and who chose lives in the arts to … More Pandemic Pivots & TNB’s Fall Festival
What a nice surprise to find this treasure in my mailbox today: the 2020 Best Canadian Poetry anthology. The pleasure of having my work included was considerable, but it’s even greater now that I see the poets among whose work my little poems are nestled — some familiar names (Amber Dawn, Billy-Ray Belcourt, Margaret … More Best Canadian Poetry 2020
ABBY PAIGE 