Poet, novelist, essayist, and U of G professor
In an on-stage interview at the Art Gallery of Guelph on Friday, Sept. 14, professor and author Dionne Brand spoke about her new works, The Blue Clerk and Theory, with Professor Winston Smith of Seneca College. The event was co-presented by the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival and Guelph Jazz Colloquium.
Throughout the event, Smith invited the audience to follow along with the poetry readings if they had copies of the book, announcing page numbers to flip to, reminiscent of a class reading a textbook.
The Blue Clerk: Ars Poetica in 59 Versos is Brand’s newest book of poetry, her last was Ossuaries, released in 2010. In it, she details the interactions between an author, and the titular Blue Clerk, who have a turbulent relationship.
“I have an unwise amount of faith in what language can do,” Brand said about writing poetry.
She also read from her new novel, Theory, which centres on a PhD student attempting to write her dissertation. While Brand is best-known for her award-winning poetry, her prose is able to engage with readers through a more complete narrative.
Both Theory and The Blue Clerk were released on Sept. 18, 2018.
Photos by Karen K. Tran/The Ontarion