Literary Dinner in Montreal



    Drawing © Anne Stratford

    by Nora Alleyn

    On February 24, 1999, the LTAC held another literary dinner in honour of Phil Stratford, one of the founders of the association. Around 25 members showed up at Le Delire, a "café littéraire et gourmand." Discovered by Robert Paquin and Gérard Boulad, the café, in downtown Montreal, lived up to its name on all counts.

    After food and drink, the energetic table talk gave way to an attentive audience. The event started off with Robert Paquin reading a poem by Robert Melançon translated by Phil Stratford. Charlotte Melançon, seated opposite me, beamed with wifely pride. Later, Robert read "The Gift of Time," by Elli Michler, translated by Renée Paschen, who was away in Austria. A lovely piece about the entity that we all need more of.

    Denise Marchand read her own text on the highs and lows of translation. A vivid description written in elegant, flowing language.

    Phyllis Aronoff read an excerpt from "Gratok," a short story by Régine Robin. A powerful, hard-hitting text.

    Jean-Antonin Billard gave us his rendition of a Gallic Irving Layton. A challenging, and well executed, translation of one of Canada's major poets.

    I read excerpts of my translation of Quebec poet-filmmaker Pierre Perrault's narration from his feature documentary Cornouaille. Perrault, a controversial fimmaker with strong sovereigntist leanings, directed Pour la suite du monde, a landmark film in Quebec cinematography.

    We welcomed new member Michael Gourvits, newly arrived in Quebec via Paris from his native Russia. Anne Stratford, seated quietly at a corner table, committed to her sketch pad impressions of the event, which you can see on the LTAC Web site. The evening broke up in an atmosphere of conviviality in sharp contrast to the icy blasts on the other side of the door.