Four-alarm launch

By Vincent Tinguely

Since moving to Montreal from points west, a lot of Kaie Kellough's writing time has been spent trying to get a handle on the city. "The place just seems to absorb you, especially when you first get here," Kellough says.

Now he's collected some of these pieces in a new chapbook, Fire Escapes. Word activist, artist and organizer Stefan Christoff helped Kellough design and assemble the book, which includes a silkscreened cover featuring visual art by Christoff. Kellough thinks the venerable DIY chapbook format is ideal. "You get to deal with a cohesive subject in a short space and you get to have a launch party too!" Joining the onstage party tonight, Christoff will be backing up Mia Brooks's storytelling with his guitar. The guest lineup also includes Nah-ee-lah dropping a few incendiary rhymes, David Neudorfer reading from his latest chapbook, Rough Earth, and Belinda Ageda delivering words spoken and sung. Thursday, Aug. 23, 9 p.m. at Casa del Popolo, 4873 St-Laurent. $5.

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