Ardour
"[Nicole Brossard] is a wholly singular writer, part of a larger movement of Québec Women's writing, part of feminist writing, avant-garde writing, part of lesbian writing, but wholly, unequivocally, herself."—Sina Queyras
something like wait for me
in the braille of scars
tonight can i suggest a little punctuation
circle half-moon vertical line of astonishment
a pause that transforms
light and breath
into language and threshold of fire
Even as vowels tremble in danger and worldly destruction repeats itself on the horizon, Ardour reminds us that the silence pulsing within us is also a language of connection. In these poems, intimacy with the other is another astonishment—a pleasant gasp, a "pause that transforms light and breath into language and threshold of fire." Since her first book appeared fifty years ago, Nicole Brossard has left us breathless, expanding our notion of poetry and its possibilities.
Nicole Brossard is a poet, novelist, and essayist who has published more than thirty books since 1965 that have been translated into several languages. She has received two Governor General's Awards for poetry, the Canada Council's Molson Prize, le Prix Athanase-David, and the prestigious Chevalière de l'Ordre National du Québec. She lives in Montreal, Québec.
Angela Carr is a poet and translator. Her most recent book is Here in There. Originally from Montreal, Québec, she currently lives in New York City.
Nicole Brossard: Nicole Brossard is a poet, novelist and essayist who has published more than thirty books since 1965, including These Our Mothers, Lovhers, Mauve Desert and Baroque at Dawn. She co-founded La Barre du Jour and La Nouvelle Barre du Jour, two important literary journals in Quebec. She has won two Governor General's Awards for poetry, as well as le Prix Athanase-David and the Canada Council's Molson Prize. Her work has been translated into several languages. In 2013, she was awarded the prestigious Chevalière de l'Ordre National du Québec. She lives in Montreal.
Angela Carr: Angela Carr is a Canadian poet and translator. She is the author of three books of poetry, Here in There (2014), nominated for the AM Klein award; The Rose Concordance (2009); and Ropewalk (2006), nominated for the McAuslan First Book Prize. Originally from Montreal, she lives in New York City and teaches Creative Writing at the New School University. Nicole Brossard's Ardour is her second book-length translation of a Quebecoise poet.
