"With you the moments of my life are fading" by Roy Lewis

Our new title, "With you the moments of my life are fading" by Roy Lewis

From the jacket blurb:

"In thirty-seven short movements of mixed verse, prose and dialogue, the poem chronicles the death of a love, and the ensuing struggles for understanding and dignity. A modern Psalm, an elegy or lamentation, it is steeped in the Bible, the ancient and modern classics, in rich West Indian-inflected cadences. Interlocutors hound the speaker, in the manner of Job’s friends. Bitter reminders of other days, of the extent of his loss, tempt him to self-pity, despair, violence. Then, unexpectedly, a provisional calm descends as the speaker, reflecting on the lives of his immigrant parents, learns something of grace and stoicism, survivorship and redemption."

Go to the website page for cover art and more information:

http://www.blaurockpress.com/2011/05/roy-lewis/

May 30 – Indie Lit at the Starlight

May 30 – Indie Lit at the Starlight

On May 30, acclaimed independent Canadian presses Coach House Books, ECW Press, Goose Lane Editions and K-W's own Blaurock Press have organized multi-author book launch at the Starlight Lounge (47 King Street North). The semi-annual event, organized by Words Worth Books, brings some of the country’s best indie press authors to Waterloo, and is totally free!

The four publishers will be teaming up to present seven new books of fiction, poetry and non-fiction. Indie Lit at the Starlight is your chance to hear the authors read from their new titles, hot off their respective presses, as well as pick up copies of their new books, get them signed and chat with the writers in person.

Featuring readings by:

Jonathan Bennett (Civil and Civic, ECW)
Tony Burgess (Idaho Winter, ECW)
Sean Dixon (The Many Revenges of Kip Flynn, Coach House)
Gerry Fostaty (As You Were: The Tragedy of Valcartier, Goose Lane)
Helen Guri (Match, Coach House)
Roy Lewis (With you the moments of my life are fading, Blaurock Press)
and Gillian Sze (The Anatomy of Clay, ECW)

Starlight Lounge, 47 King Street North
Waterloo, ON
Doors at 7 p.m.
Free
Book sales by Words Worth Books!

"Dahlia Boyz" by Andrew Hunt, a review

"The horrific 1947 slaying of a Los Angeles woman named Elizabeth Short caused a news media sensation. And in the decades since, the so-called Black Dahlia case has been the inspiration for books, pop songs, movies and even video games. University of Waterloo history professor Andrew Hunt uses the continuing interest in the unsolved murder as a backdrop for this darkly funny novella, published by Blaurock Press of Kitchener. As the story opens, young Colin Ellis, owner of the struggling Bazooka Video & Media shop in Atlanta, is summoned by his Aunt Harriet who begs him to cross the country to track down his Uncle Gordon, the estranged younger brother of Colin’s father, Melvyn. Melvyn has Alzheimer’s disease and it’s distressing to Harriet that he is calling out for Gordon, an odd duck who is believed to be in Los Angeles leading guided tours of sites with connections to the Black Dahlia case. Colin’s cousin, Dwight Sperry, agrees to join the mission and together they fly west. Dwight’s a colourful character who speaks in an appropriately colourful way, but he more than meets his match when the two pals finally catch up to Uncle Gordon. Hunt, who was born in Calgary and raised in the United States, has an ear for the spoken word and the lively conversations that he has penned are an entertaining feature of this tale, which is a carefully crafted blend of scenes both funny and forlorn".— Jon Fear, May 14,  Waterloo Region Record, Ontario, Canada

Jason Schneider's interview with Mike Downing. NightLife, May 2, 2011

The launch of Molasses at the Church of the Good Shepherd in downtown Kitchener will certainly be a memorable affair, with most of the musicians who played on the album taking part, including a choir.

Michael Downing novel/CD release; Saturday, May 7, 7 p.m.; Church of the Good Shepherd, 116 Queen St. N., Kitchener; $15 or $12 in advance at Old Goat Books, Waterloo/$15; www.blaurockpress.com

“Downing, who was born in Trinidad, drew heavily from his family’s history for the framework of Molasses. Loosely explained, it follows the lives of two young women who each face an identity crisis when the man they both love, Molasses, suddenly leaves. “This idea of loss forcing someone into an external odyssey that really is an internal journey is a part of my personal story,” Downing says.
“As a child, the death of my grandmother when I was 12 precipitated my immigration to Canada where suddenly everything that I knew about life was thrown into question. This profoundly shaped the way I engage with the world. I think the journey of (the book’s main characters) Ophelia and Amanda Vrazda are personifications of my own quest to reconcile loss with identity.”
As a writer, Downing describes himself as a sensualist, trying to draw from all five senses. He is also keenly aware of the rhythmic potential of words. “The experience of reading Molasses, I’m told, is very confusing at times but rewarding if you pay close attention to the unfolding sensations. I’m very fond of Michael Ondaatje — another colonial island child-immigrant — Albert Camus and Kathy Acker. But I really think my love of jazz and punk rock music like Miles Davis and the Clash, and the hymns I learned on my grandmother’s lap in Trinidad, has had more influence on how I write.” — The Record, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada