Dear Friends &: Jordan Abel, Phanuel Antwi, Tiziana La Melia

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 his 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.

This event included readings by Phanuel Antwi, Tiziana La Melia, and 2024 writer-in-residence Jordan Abel.

Tiziana La Melia opened the evening with a selection of poems from her recent collection lettuce lettuce please go back (2024).

Phanuel Antwi then presented three pieces: a poem titled “Sweat” (2022), a poem from his book On Cuddling: Loved to Death in the Racial Embrace (2024), and an excerpt from an ongoing hybrid text titled “Betweener.”

To close the evening, Jordan Abel read the opening chapter from his novel Empty Spaces (2024). 

The reading unfolded against a projection of resident artist Jonathan Alfaro’s monotype print Sleeping Dictionary from the series Daylight Lover (2024). Produced especially for Dear Friends &, Alfaro’s new suite of works were inspired by the imagined flourishes that might be found in the margins of love letters. 

The evening was hosted by Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross and Kiel Torres.

Presented with support from the BC Arts Council.