Programming
Catherine Cormier-Larose
La fête
To mark our fortieth anniversary, the celebrations committee invited Catherine Cormier-Larose as one greets an essential voice—with gratitude and joy. A poet, critic, curator, and tireless connector, she embodies a lasting commitment to the poetry community: a vibrant, inspiring presence that brings people together. Titled LA FÊTE, the corpus presented in the illuminated sign sidesteps any notion of decoration or surface-level celebration. Here, the party is a collective gesture, a political stance, a form of joyful resistance. Short, incisive poems turn dancing into an act of disobedience, public conversation into a patient revolt, and artistic provocation into an open invitation. LA FÊTE insists that creating and gathering are, in themselves, acts of resistance—and reasons to sparkle together.
To mark our fortieth anniversary, the celebrations committee invited Catherine Cormier-Larose as one greets an essential voice—with gratitude and joy. A poet, critic, curator, and tireless connector, she embodies a lasting commitment to the poetry community: a vibrant, inspiring presence that brings people together.
Titled LA FÊTE, the corpus presented in the illuminated sign sidesteps any notion of decoration or surface-level celebration. Here, the party is a collective gesture, a political stance, a form of joyful resistance. Short, incisive poems turn dancing into an act of disobedience, public conversation into a patient revolt, and artistic provocation into an open invitation.
LA FÊTE insists that creating and gathering are, in themselves, acts of resistance—and reasons to sparkle together.
Catherine Cormier-Larose
CATHERINE CORMIER-LAROSE is an art historian, critic, and curator who has contributed to numerous journals, fanzines, and collective publications. She co-edited Kaléidoscope: Anthology of Quebecois Poetry French-Arabic with Nora Atalla (Sidi Bou Saïd International Poetry Festival, 2024) and Anthology of Contemporary Women’s Poetry in Quebec, 2000–2020 with Vanessa Bell (Remue-ménage, 2021). Her latest collection, Vickie (Fond’tonne, 2021), follows her debut, L’avion est un réflexe court (Del Busso, 2017), which will soon be available in English. She has performed and hosted literary events on stages across Quebec and internationally. Cormier-Larose also serves as the artistic and executive director of the Montreal Poetry Festival.