Look at this terrific mural at Café 92 degrés on rue Sherbrooke in Montreal! It was the setting for a reading on August 14th. This post has been a long time coming, as life tends to get in the way. Since then I’ve been at the Maritime Haiku Getaway in St. Stephen’s, NB, and a Haiku Workshop in Charlottetown, PEI.
More on those in the next post.
But the four of us poets who were lucky enough to read together Café 92 degrés on rue Sherbrooke in Montreal can warm ourselves with the memory of our Turret House Press reading on August 14th. I was late. It had been many years since I last faced traffic in Montreal at rush hour. Let that be a lesson if I am ever fortunate enough to be at this café again for any reason. And there are many.
The reading was part of NDG Arts Week, which made me wish I lived in that area as so many cultural events were happening. Four of us read that night. The audience graciously and vigorously applauded poems by Cora Siré, Sarah Wolfson, James Hawes and me from these collections:
Well I am not lying when I say how excited I was to be part of this reading. I regret being late. I would have enjoyed more conversation with people who were in the room. I enjoyed talking with Sarah’s son, and the excitement when a woman came up with a photo on her camera of a bee heavy with pollen just after I’d read about bees sonicating. One of the best parts of the evening was meeting the poets I read with. I’d love to talk about their poetry with them. They seemed to have forgiven me for being so late and stayed afterwards for what I hope was the start of longer conversations. On anything.
My niece Jessica had just been to her first reading and enjoyed the experience. Perhaps I’ve discovered another poetry lover in the family. That would be wonderful. We all waved from the patio in front of Café 92 degrés as James took off on his shiny red moped. He claimed it was his company ‘car’.
Without a place to stay and be fed, I wouldn’t have been able to make the reading at all. Lynn and her poet husband Marco Fraticelli are champions for putting up with me, for putting up with hours of traffic that evening.
Hosts Lynn and Marco had bought several portions of Tres Leches cake at the cafe! None of us had ever tasted it. A treat for after hours of traffic! On the way back to Pointe Claire Marco tossed something over his shoulder to where I was sitting behind him, something I’ve treasured ever since: a black cap from the Café 92 degrés with its logo. The cap and I have travelled to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island since then; I wear it every day.
I shout out a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who came that night, such an attentive audience of poetry lovers. Thank you James Hawes, and the Café 92 degrés people who were such gracious hosts. Thank you city councillor Peter McQueen for your comments afterward, and, though I’ve never met you, thank you Olivia Domingues Johnson and Notre Dames des Arts for organizing the evening.
The Tres Leches cake was amazing. I’d return to the Café 92 degrés just for that!!!
How I would love to do it all again.
claudia radmore 