Wag nasty

It’s possible that the mere phrase “independent Canadian review of poetry, fiction, essays and light-hearted, literate comics” might cause you to spit out your rotgut whiskey and claw around inside your filthy trenchcoat for that steak knife you always carry, while a vein pops out on the side of your neck. Hold on there, sailor! Joe Ollman’s Wag!, a zine the now-Montrealer has produced for close to a decade and a half, offers precisely the kind of poetry, fiction, essays and above all witty, wacky comix that would gratify the whiskey-trenchcoat-steak-knife-popping-vein set. Conundrum Press has gathered the best scraps together in The Big Book of Wag!, which Ollman launches (along with some recent animation work of his) at Korova (3908 St-Laurent) on Monday, Oct. 17., 9 p.m., free. —Rupert Bottenberg

Directors duke it out

Marc Mayer, fairly new director of the Musée contemporain, wants to make the city’s foremost contemporary art museum hip, porous and more accessible. So who’s he looking to for ideas? Zeke.

Chris “Zeke” Hand, if you haven’t heard, is the director of the much smaller Zeke’s gallery (3955 St-Laurent) and the city’s foremost button pusher on all things art scene, opining on exhibitions, art politics and most often media coverage through his popular blog. The air he exhales may be hot, may be fresh—depends who you ask.

“I respect him,” says Mayer. “He has a presence in the community and he provides an enormous service. I’m a strong supporter of the parallel scene between museums and galleries, and I want to say, ‘Hey, we’re open. We’re not élitist.’”

Says Zeke, “I’m older and wilier.”

“He’s going to ask me some awful questions, I’m sure,” Mayer says. “And I’m going to do my best to answer them, then pass them out to the audience. But I know one thing: He better do his homework. When I was director of the Power Plant in Toronto, we used to have these kinds of discussions at the Rivoli nightclub, and I got my where people were smoking and drinking and asking hard questions, so I’m used to this... We’ve been keeping our distance—kind of like boxers before a fight.”

Face Off takes to the ring Oct. 18, 6 p.m., at Zeke’s, and Nov. 2, 6 p.m., at the MAC. —Matthew Woodley

Hands for Franz

The folks at Vallum have got another issue ready for the printers, themed “Japanese Imaginings.” Due to hit the stands in a couple of weeks, it features contemporary Japanese poetry in translation, and pieces by an American literary heavyweight who’s coming to Montreal for the first time this Monday, Oct. 17. Known for his ability to give voice to extreme states of mind, Franz Wright has a Pulitzer Prize and a Guggenheim fellowship under his belt, as well as several critically acclaimed volumes. “He’s very honest,” says Vallum co-editor Eleni Auerbach. “He’s playful and at the same time really serious and haunting.” Oct. 17, 6:30 p.m., at the Lande Reading Room of McGill University’s Rare Books & Special Collections Division (3459 McTavish, 4th floor). $5, free for students. —Vincent Tinguely

Fashion forward

“There’s a definite void in Montreal when it comes to places for up-and-coming designers to market their work,” says fashion designer Kafi Dublin—who just so happens to be opening one with fellow designer Shelly Hauke today, Oct. 13. Le Marché Montreal (3655 St-Laurent) is a brand new weekend sale for independent clothing, handbag and jewellery makers—a place to showcase new designs and, who knows, maybe even make new friends. During the week it’s a regular boutique.

Dublin (a Montreal native) and Hauke got their start at The Market NYC, which follows a similar concept, quickly exposing their work to stores and fashion press across the U.S. “There’s such great talent here,” she says. “We want to open the doors to these designers.” Opening party’s tonight, 6–10 p.m. Interested designers can find more details at www.lemarchemtl.com. —Matthew Woodley

Is it Art?

DOG TIRED: This week amidst the goods that came in the mail to the Mirror was a stuffed dog that smelled funny. Funny like Northern California-grown food-grade 100 per cent organic lavender is what. Turns out the stuff is scientifically proven to relax and enhance sleep, which is what prompted Cloud B® to create the first mass-market children’s product to use aromatherapy ever—and she’s cute too. Lavender Lab™ also works on grownups with Thanksgiving hangovers. To find a select retailer near you, call 381-8088.

ArtsHole

RECYCLED PARADISE: Samuel Roy-Bois underscores utopias in Faire L’Indépendence, an architectural installation he built from recycled materials. The creation is located at the Quartier éphémère (745 Ottawa) till Nov. 20. • HUMAN IN NATURE: Get your first glimpse of snow with Juliana España Keller’s Curio (Curious moments), a video performance she did in the white stuff last winter that sets out her spin on the funny ways people behave in society. It’s at Art Mûr (5826 St-Hubert) until Nov. 12.

ARTISTAT: Number of Montreal artists showing creations specifically inspired by the Wonderland of work of Victorian author Lewis Carroll in L’echo des Limbes, at Concordia’s Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery (1400 de Maisonneuve W.), Oct. 14–Nov. 19: 4

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