Fascinating and contemporary, in Scenes from the Underground a Montreal club kid getting his PhD in medieval studies travels from Montreal to Berlin and Manhattan with stops in New York, Miami and Paris. Originally written as a series of Instagram posts, his journey through the bathrooms and dark rooms of clubs and raves explores gender identity, relationships and the anonymous sex, drugs and techno music that define queer nightlife. The book is a stunning portrait of the Instagram generation. Hear author Gabriel Cholette among others at the Violet Hour reading series, hosted by Christopher DiRaddo on October 5 from 6-7:30pm. The book contains mature content, language and images.
Recrafting jotted social media entries is an insightful, fresh approach to creating an artwork-filled memoir. Accompanied by Jacob Pyne’s full-colour illustrations, which perfectly punctuate the narrator’s occasional self-destructive melancholy, Scenes from the Underground delivers candid, fully uninhibited field notes of the club scene; an adventure of self-discovery, doubt and vulnerability. The fun and moving book is a party in your hands, in small, safe doses. Cholette is likeable throughout, a self-described low-key nerd who’s a bit clumsy. In this fascinating dive into another world for most, his vivid descriptions bring readers along for the voyeuristic ride.
Violet Hour introduces emerging and established LGBTQ writers to a larger audience. Place du Village has invited them to present this evening of writers: Gabriel Cholette, Virginie Savard, Su J. Sokol and Neil Smith.
Gabriel Cholette’s Scenes from the Underground (House of Anansi Press)
Violet Hour queer reading series, hosted by Christopher DiRaddo
Wednesday, October 5, 6-7:30pm Facebook event
Outdoors at Place du Village (a park situated on Ste. Catherine Street east, corner Wolfe)
Gabriel Cholette (@gab.cho) has a doctorate in medieval literature and teaches creative writing at Université de Montréal. He frequently publishes engaging essays in the prestigious arts and politics magazine Liberté. In a short period of time, he has established himself as an essential voice of queer literature in Quebec.
