Coït
In Coït, minimalist traces of language cling to a series of mapped channels. Every channel is a tenuous archive of choreographed gestures recorded by the poet from the edges of dance stages. Here, spaces hold words and words hold movement. A book marked by inexhaustible passages, this exquisite English language translation of Québécoise poet Chantal Neveu’s fourth book invites the reader to collaborate in the making of both texts and spaces. Here, Coït refers not only to coitus but to the act of moving in unison. Conceptual and intimate, Coït is a consensual experiment that exceeds the form of the book.
CHANTAL NEVEU is the author of several books of poetry, including you; La vie radieuse (This Radiant Life, winner of the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation and the 2021 Nelson Ball Prize); coït (Coït); and Une spectaculaire influence (A Spectacular Influence). She has created numerous interdisciplinary literary works, in Canada and abroad. Her work has appeared in many magazines and anthologies. She has held residencies at Maison de la poésie de Nantes (France), Passa Porta and Villa Hellebosch (Belgium), and Villa Waldberta (Germany). Neveu lives in Montreal.
ANGELA CARR is the author of two poetry books, Ropewalk (nominated for the McAuslan First Book Prize) and The Rose Concordance. As a translator, she translated Coit by Chantal Neveu. Originally from Montreal, Carr now lives in New York City, where she teaches Creative Writing.
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