Unholy Union - Words, Witchcraft, and Camp
The strangest book launch I have ever had the privilege to attend was tucked away in Casa del Popolo’s showroom. The intimate venue rippled with energy throughout the spectacle as performers created a world teeming with magic and sensation.
Unholy Union featured five artists and genre-bending performances, an amalgamation of book launch and spectacle. The authors were able to share their work in its most realised form, combining experimental visuals and sound to add another layer of drama to the texts that were being read. The show was created to highlight John Nyman’s new full-length poetry collection, A Devil Every Day (2023), and Jessica Bebenek’s chapbook, I REMEMBER THE EXORCISM (2022).
The show began with Erin Lindsay singing a shockingly beautiful operatic performance which then morphed into a spoken word poem, written herself. Erin Lindsay holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and is trained in theatre and vocal performance.
John Nyman then performed a delightful poetry reading, pulling from A Devil Every Day. John Nyman holds a PhD in Theory and Criticism from Western University. He has released a number of other creative works including the book of poetry, Players, which was shortlisted for the 2017 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award.
John incorporated a refreshing amount of levity, and his clever introductions flowed seamlessly into poetic musings on evil. A Devil Every Day dissects the normally banal details of daily life with a sharp philosophical knife to uncover the sins of white Western culture. John discussed everything from houseplants to McDonald’s with the utmost significance and left me looking out for the sinister nature that lurks beneath the things I had previously taken for granted.
Rasiqra Revulva followed with a sonically sensuous reading from her debut collection Cephalopography 2.0 (2020) which was longlisted for the 2021 Laurel Prize. Cephalopography 2.0 consists largely of found poetry, a literary medium that was unexplored by me before Unholy Union.
Rasiqra mixed sounds throughout the series of performances, incorporating ambient and glitchy transitions from her band, The Databats. Her electro-acoustic chops were most showcased during her own reading, in which she manipulated her voice and inserted audio clips. The result was at times wonderfully witty, and at others perfectly unsettling, but immersive throughout.
After Rasiqra, a cloaked figure emerged and ceremoniously placed flickering electric candles in a circle. Suspense hung in the air as the lights went down and Jessica Bebenek began her performance of I REMEMBER THE EXORCISM. Jessica is an interdisciplinary artist who graduated with a MA in English and Creative Writing from Concordia. She told me that witchcraft is inseparable from her writing practice. In addition to being a writer, Jessica is a bookmaker, knitter, and risograph printer.
Writhing on the carpeted stage, she recounted her undergraduate years in Toronto: being wronged by men, dying her hair, grappling with an eating disorder— you know, all the classics that come with being in your 20s. Her cathartic reading certainly lived up to the concept of exorcism. It was a powerful moment, and even Jessica herself seemed surprised at how intense it had been. Yet, as with the rest of the show, there were moments of laughter, of resilience. Just as much as I REMEMBER THE EXORCISM is a discussion of past trauma, it is a celebration of survival.
Mina Minou rounded out the show with a spellbinding burlesque performance. Mina is an experienced performer and visual artist, with nine years of performing Burlesque under her belt. I was absolutely mesmerised by her stage presence, and thoroughly gagged when she seran-wrapped her face. It was dramatic, sexy, and fun- the perfect way to end the night.
Unholy Union was testament to the talent within the Montreal artistic community and the power of artistic collaboration. Despite the diverse range of performers, from opera to burlesque, every performance made sense within the tapestry of the evening. And, to my surprise, Jessica told me that Unholy Union had been basically unrehearsed, adding another ephemeral, magical layer to this one-in-a-lifetime show. The collaboration of the performers at Unholy Union created a uniquely impactful book launch that challenged the boundaries between literature, music, and art.
Photography by Michelle McSweeney