Dear Friends &: Junie Désil, Tawhida Tanya Evanson, Isabella Wang

Sep 7, 2023
Field:

Performance

Location:

Grand Luxe Hall, Western Front

Time:

7:30 p.m.

Description:

Produced in partnership with The Capilano Review, Dear Friends & is a monthly series showcasing the work of local and touring Canadian writers. Taking place on the first Thursday of each month, readings are hosted in the Grand Luxe Hall and made available to virtual audiences by livestream.

The series’ name draws inspiration from the salutations and sign-offs used by Roy Kiyooka in Transcanada Letters (1975), a collection which details the comings and goings of his literary sociality across Canada, the network of people and relations that enfold his writing, and the longings of his “Heart’s Geography” to be near the ones he loved. Kiyooka was an important figure for both Western Front and The Capilano Review, and this series invites his spirit of kinship, connection, and conviviality into the reading space.

The fourth event of the series included readings by Junie Désil, Isabella Wang, and Tawhida Tanya Evanson. Each writer presented twenty-minute sets that included new work and selections from published texts. Désil opening the evening with selections from her debut collection eat salt | gaze at the ocean (2020), as well as new poems from her forthcoming collection "Allostatic Load." This was followed by a reading by Wang of a new prose manuscript-in-progress titled "Subscript, Annotating Illness." Marrying breath, movement, and drumming, Evanson closed the event with a performance of four texts drawn from her spoken word concert film Cyano Sun Suite (2023). 

The readings unfolded against a projected image by resident artist Christian Vistan, who was invited to inhabit the peripheral spaces of Dear Friends & through a series of conceptual graphics, backgrounds, interventions, and ephemera reflecting on themes of friendship and correspondence through art. The image they produced was informed by the perspiration and heat generated in the Grand Luxe Hall during the previous iteration of Dear Friends &. In observing how sweat imprints on seats and walls, Vistan presented the “sweaty backs” of some of their recent water-based paintings, meditating on both exertion and stillness.  

The evening was hosted by Deanna Fong, literary editor of The Capilano Review.

Presented with support from Kootenay School of Writing.
Deanna Fong stands behind a lectern in the Grand Luxe Hall, leaning on its surface with her elbows locked. Behind her is a projected image by Christian Vistan that is composed of eight water-based abstract paintings in yellow, white, and blue.
Junie Désil stands behind a lectern in the Grand Luxe Hall. Eight yellow, white, and blue abstract paintings by Christian Vistan are projected in the background. Rows of seated audience members can be seen from behind.
Junie Désil gazes towards the audience from behind a lectern in the Grand Luxe Hall. She wears a black shirt and pants, and red-framed glasses. Her glass water bottle is positioned next to her reading material on the lectern’s surface. Yellow, white, and blue abstract water-based  paintings by Christian Vistan are projected on the screen behind her.
Junie Désil reads at a lectern in the Grand Luxe Hall. She gazes down at her reading material, which is positioned on the lectern’s surface next to her glass water bottle. Behind her is a projection of scanned paintings by Christian Vistan.
Isabella Wang addresses the audience in the Grand Luxe Hall from behind a lectern. Behind her is a projection of scanned paintings by Christian Vistan. The first few rows of the audience are visible from behind.
Isabella Wang gazes down at her notes at a lectern in the Grand Luxe Hall. She wears a cream and white checkered button up that is layered over a black shirt. A pineapple Bubly is positioned on the lectern next to her reading notes.
Tawhida Tanya Evanson smiles at the audience from behind a microphone in the Grand Luxe Hall. She wears a gold and green patterned dress and stands with her arms by her sides. A black music stand, metal thermos, and drum are positioned around her. A projected image of paintings by Christian Vistan can be seen in the background.
Tawhida Tanya Evanson gestures energetically while performing a poem. She wears a gold and green patterned dress and is barefoot in the Grand Luxe Hall. A music stand, microphone, silver thermos, and drum are positioned around her. A projected image of abstract paintings by Christian Vistan can be seen in the background.
Tawhida Tanya Evanson’s arms are positioned in an energetic V-shape as she vocalizes into a microphone in the Grand Luxe Hall. She wears a gold and green patterned dress, and stands behind a black music stand. A projected image of abstract paintings by Christian Vistan can be seen in the background. The first row of the audience can also be seen from behind.
Tawhida Tanya Evanson vocalizes into a microphone in the Grand Luxe Hall while holding a drum. She wears a green and gold patterned dress with billowing sleeves.
Tawhida Tanya Evanson reads from a black portfolio in her right hand, while her left hand energetically gestures upwards. She is barefoot in the Grand Luxe Hall, and wears a green and gold dress. A drum is positioned on the floor, and a projected image of paintings by Christian Vistan can be seen behind her.

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Captions:

Western Front is a non-profit
artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.