From Patrick Coleman: Les Boys of October
Quebec novelist Louis Hamelin is a talented writer with a genuine passion for his cause, but his new book La Constellation du lynx is remarkable as much for what it leaves out as for what it includes.

So how are the organizers of the $50,000 Montreal International Poetry Prize doing? You might remember the announcement and my piece here on March 28, 2011
What has happened since is the publication of a longlist of almost 150 poems in October. It would have been 150 except that a few were disqualified as they had been published previously. The names of all the poets on the longlist are on the site now, and a Longlist e-Anthology published by Véhicule Press will be made available shortly for free download.
A shortlist followed on November 17. You can check out the 50 shortlisted poets, among whom are several Canadians. Two poems per day from the shortlist are now appearing on the prize site, along with MP3s of most of the poems in the poets' own voices.
The winning poem will be announced Thursday, December 15, at 7 p.m. EST.
An as-yet-unnamed “prominent US artist” has agreed to do a broadside of one of the shortlisted poems. That announcement, too, on December 15. “This is all part of our hope to bring attention to new poetry,” says prize director Len Epp.
© Linda Leith 2011
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Quebec novelist Louis Hamelin is a talented writer with a genuine passion for his cause, but his new book La Constellation du lynx is remarkable as much for what it leaves out as for what it includes.
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ReLit winners show off their rings: (L-R) Craig Francis Power, Tony Burgess, Dani Couture, and ReLit founder Kenneth J. Harvey. (Photograph of ReLit Award recipients © 2011 John W. MacDonald. Used by written permission. All rights reserved. Duplication, reproduction, storage, or transmission of this work in whole or in part in any medium without the express written permission of its copyright holder is strictly forbidden. Just so you know, y'know?)
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