ECOLOGY & LITERATURE
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Staunchly literary and socially engaged for nearly 25 years now, the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, under the banner of “Ecology & Literature”, brings together a wide variety of initiatives, editorial contents and projects that address, with literature’s help, subjects with strong links to ecology, sustainable development and, more generally, our relationships with the living world.
Sustainable development starts with the principle that the current development model, predicated as it is on economic growth, has shown its limits, and that we must rethink society’s organizational modes for the long-term while ensuring the renewal of resources.
Literature itself is built to last. It’s no stranger to any subject touching human beings. Mobilizing the themes of sustainable development, science, and literature is therefore likely to lay the groundwork to connect scientific disciplines, literary genres, aesthetic sensibilities, and even convictions, perspectives that complement or oppose each other, and debates most nourishing to the mind and sometimes most likely to move the goalposts. Writers, artists, philosophers, historians, researchers, scientists—their words, their work, their interrogations take the stage at Blue Metropolis. Here’s how.
DISCOVER OUR ENGAGED INITIATIVES
SYLVAIN TESSON REÇOIT LE PRIX PLANÈTE LITTÉRATURE
April 29, 2023, 1:00 pm – HOTEL 10, Espace Godin
L’écrivain français Sylvain Tesson (Blanc, La panthère des neiges) reçoit le prix Planète littérature Metropolis bleu. Ce Prix est décerné à une œuvre littéraire qui montre la beauté du monde vivant, donne la mesure de sa fragilité et, ce faisant, favorise une plus grande conscience écologique, tout en affirmant la puissance de la littérature devant le réel.
FRENCH – $10
ECOLOGY AT THE 2023 FESTIVAL
Online, starting April 12, and in person, starting April 27, Blue Metropolis will offer about 15 ecology-related events. Literary walking tours, podcasts, interviews, panels and discussions, explore this year’s Festival program!
GREEN MONTREAL LITERARY WALKING TOUR
Unveiling on April 17th, 2023
Many projects around town prove it: a greener Montreal is emerging. What is green Montreal today? What will it be tomorrow?
This walking tour in podcast form proposes the perspectives of three Montreal writers on various places emblematic of the current state of green Montreal, including the Échappée belle green alley, the Saint-Lawrence River, and the channels of the Boucherville Islands.
Each writer presented in this series has combined documentary research with a creative touch to explore one of these places in an original literary essay both informative and personal.
WORKING FICTIONS
New podcasts available on March 30th
Working Fictions is a new bilingual podcast series produced by Blue Metropolis in collaboration with À voix haute / Reading Aloud that brings big challenges of the moment to bear in original short stories by leading literary voices.
This first time around, Working Fictions tackles the stakes of sustainability, social justice, and age with stories written and performed by emerging and established Canadian voices.
YOUNG ECOLOGIST CLUB
New podcast on April 17th
Blue Metropolis offers four original stories for young readers and listeners performed by each author in podcast form. Mireille Messier, author of Nutcracker Night (Pajama Press Inc.), Sylvain Rivard, author of Le Mocassin / The Moccasin / Ma’g’sn (Hannenorak), Andrew Katz, author of I Just Want to Be Super! (Chouette Publishing, Inc.), and Elise Moser, author of What Milly Did (Groundwood Books Ltd) joined the fun this time around.
These texts aim to sensitize children, from the youngest age, to ecological causes. In so doing, Blue Metropolis is working to contribute to developing an ecological conscience among kids and to educating future generations.
THE MARITIME SERIES
Since 2018, the TD-Blue Metropolis Children’s Festival has presented a series of youth workshops at the libraries of riverside communities on the South Shore of Montreal. Within this context, storytellers well as children’s authors have facilitated creative workshops that mix writing and drawing in order to instill in children an awareness of the world of the Saint-Lawrence in particular and of the nature of Quebec more generally.
In 2022-23, the series was enriched by a special visit. Nicolas Bérubé, a biologist associated with the Port of Montreal, employed visual and other support materials to illustrate the steps taken to protect the swallow and bat populations that frequent the shores of the river.
VEGGIE PATCH ADVENTURERS
Combining literature, music and ecology, Veggie Patch Adventurers proposes a unique second-language learning experience for grade-school children.
With creative writing workshops created by bilingual authors (French and English) and visits from gardening and cooking specialists who cater to children, two language immersion classes will explore themes related to good life habits and will familiarize themselves with the vegetables of the garden. Their “adventure” in the veggie patch will lead them to compose (lyrics and music) a bilingual song.
CHILDCARE AND DAYCARE DAYS
Since 2016, the TD-Blue Metropolis Children’s Festival organizes a yearly Childcare and Daycare day to highlight educators’ contribution to the growth and wellbeing of preschoolers.
In 2022-2023, two Childcare and Daycare Days are planned. The first event, held in French, occurred on November 25, 2022 and was about discovering numbers. On April 21, 2023, we’ll introduce children to ecology and the environment.
Register now!
YOUR OPINION IS IMPORTANT TO US!
FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY ALL WHILE LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE NATURE THAT SURROUNDS US
FRUITS & VEGETABLES QUIZ
Fruits and vegetables have been a central part of the human diet for centuries. Their importance is such that numerous children’s authors propose engaging and appetizing picture books, not to mention dozens of cookbooks, on these foods. To test your knowledge of oranges, peas and nature’s various other delights, here’s a quiz game for the whole family.
(Only available in French)
WATER, RIVER, SEA QUIZ
Do you and your kids really know this river? What about the oceans? Know a thing or two about maritime trades? About types of boats? Do you know what lives in the river’s waters? Put your knowledge to the test with a little literary and educational quiz. You’ll be amazed at the discoveries that await you!
(Only available in French)
ENGAGED INITIATIVES FROM PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE FESTIVAL
READING IN THE GARDEN – MEET & GREET AMONG THE TREES
Slowness, interiority, mystery, and discovery: Nature and literature share common ground. In 2022, two writers, one from Quebec, one from Wales, have read excerpts from their novels, in tandem with scientific commentary from a Montreal Botanical Garden botanist—an enchanted interlude amid the Garden’s greenery.
Presented in partership with Llenyddiaeth Ar Draws Ffiniau / Literature Across Frontiers and the Montreal Botanical Garden.
WRITING FOR THE OUTDOORS
Initiated in spring 2020 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Blue Metropolis’ Writing for the Outdoors online platform will take us right through to the next edition of the Festival, in spring 2022, when we will present a series of outdoors literary events so as to take advantage of Greater Montreal’s beautiful parks and natural settings. This will also be a way to enjoy the city’s culinary creativity as well as the riches and cultural vitality of its many neighbourhoods.
READING RECOMMENDATIONS
TAKE A BRAKE WITH A GOOD BOOK
The Bedside Book of Birds: An Avian Miscellany, Graeme Gibson, Nan A. Talese, 2005; Doubleday, 2009
To Speak for the Trees, Diana Beresford Kroeger, Random House Canada, 2019
Green City: People, Nature and Urban Places, Mary Soderstrom, Véhicule Press, 2006
Bright Stars, Dark Trees, Clear Water: Nature Writing from North of the Border, Wayne Grady, Nonpareil Books, 2001
The Lost Words, Robert Macfarlane, House of Anansi Press, 2018
Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, 2015
Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural history of Mosses, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Oregon State University Press, 2003
H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald, Grove Press, 2015
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, written by Annie Dillard, Harper Perennial, 2013
The Invention of Nature. Alexander von Humboldt’s New World, Andrea Wulf, Vintage Books for the paperback edition; Alfred A. Knopf for the hardcover, 2015
The Journal of Henry David Thoreau (1837-1861), Henry D. Thoreau, NYRB, 2011
Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854), Henry D. Thoreau, Princeton University Press, 2004
Les crépuscules de la Yellowstone, Louis Hamelin, Boréal, 2020
WATER, RIVER, SEA
The Coral Bride, Roxanne Bouchard, Orenda Books, coll. Detective Morales, 2021
Moby-Dick, Herman Melville, Penguin Publishing Group, 2002
The Crab with the Golden Claws, Hergé, Farshore editions, Coll. The Adventures of Tintin, 2012
Corto Maltese. La balade de la mer salée, par Hugo Pratt, Éditions Casterman, Coll. Corto Maltese, 2017
Groenland et la route du Nord, par Boucar Diouf, Éditions La Presse, Coll. Jeunesse et BD, 2020
CONTES ET POTAGER (Only available in French)
Des fruits et des légumes… de toutes les couleurs, Lina Rousseau (textes) et Marie-Claude Favreau (illustrations), Dominique et compagnie, 2017
Le jardin de Jaco, Marianne Dubuc (texte et illustrations), Casterman Éditions, 2018
La saga des trois petits pois, Pierrette Dubé (textes) et Yves Dumont (illustrations), La courte échelle, 2018
Mon beau potager, Anne-Marie Fortin (texte) et Julien Castanié (illustrations), Éditions de l’Isatis, 2019
L’abeille à miel, Kirsten Hall (texte) et Isabelle Arsenault (illustrations), Éditions La Pastèque, 2018
La soupe aux lentilles, Carole Tremblay (texte) et Maureen Poignonec, La courte échelle, 2018
Le fan club des champignons, Élise Gravel (texte et illustrations), Les 400 coups, 2018
L’eau, Annie Groovie (texte) et Alexandra Hontoy (illustrations), Éditions Groovie, 2016
Les enfants de l’eau, Angèle Delaunois (texte) et Gérard Frischeteau (illustrations), Éditions de l’Isatis, 2019
Notre environnement, Jacques Pasquet (texte) et Yves Dumont (illustrations), Éditions de l’Isatis, 2018
La nature du Québec, Jérôme Carrier, Auzou, coll. Mon premier doc, 2019
Les arbres du Québec, Jérôme Carrier, Auzou, 2017
Mon très grand herbier du Québec, Jérôme Carrier, Auzou,
Mon très grand animalier du Québec, Jérôme Carrier, Auzou, 2019
Les insectes du Québec, Jérôme Carrier, Auzou, coll. Mon premier animalier, 2019
SÉRIE MARITIME (Only available in French)
Le Saint-Laurent, Jacques Pasquet, Bayard, 2015
L’eau, Pierre-Marie Valat, Gallimard, 2010
Les mystères de l’eau, Blaise Hoffman (texte) et Rémi Farnos (illustrations), Éditions Joie de lire, 2019
Tout un monde sous l’eau, Kate Messner (texte) et Christopher Silas Neal (illustrations), Éditions Grund, 2017
Les poissons, Allison Larin et Bobbie Kalman, Bayard, 2007
Fabuleux navires, Pommier, Gallimard, 2009
Le brunissement des baleines blanches, Boucar Diouf (texte) et François Thisdale (illustrations), Éditions La Presse, 2020
Au fil de l’eau, Daniel Miyares, Éditions Scholastic, 2017
Un fantôme pour L’Empress, Mireille Noël, Québec Amérique, 2018
Léo et les presqu’iles, Gilles Vigneault (texte) et Stéphane Jorish (illustrations), Éditions Planète rebelle, 2010
Une nuit un capitaine, Denis Robitaille, Fides, 2005
Un grand fleuve si tranquille, Louise Turcot, Boréal, 2003
Piégés sur le bateau maudit, Hubert Ben Kemoun, Flammarion jeunesse, 2018
Des poissons et des bulles, Édith Bourget, Éditions de l’Isatis, 2011
L’imagerie de la terre, Émilie Beaumont et autres, Éditions Fleurus, 2019
Mon premier herbier des arbres du Québec, Stéphane Labbé et Iris Martinez (texte) et Laucolo (illustrations), Mammouth Rose, 2019
Absolument tout sur la météo, Kathy Furgang Éditions Scholastic, 2017
La pluie : à la découverte de la pluie, Lauren Taylor, Éditions Scholastic, 2015
Petits animaux de la nuit, Anne Jankéliowitch (texte) et Delphine Chedru (illustrations), Éditions de la Martinière, 2016
100 infos insolites sur notre planète, Jérôme Martin et autres, Éditeur Usborne, 2020
Le livre des saisons, Sophie Coucharrière (texte) et Hervé Le Goff (illustrations), Père Castor Flammarion, 2015
Sous la terre, Sabine Boccador et Maud Bihan, Éditions Fleurus, 2020
Un jardin pour Tipiti le colibri, Lucie Papineau (textes) et Lucie Crovatto (illustrations), Éditions de la Bagnole, 2020
De Jade Janvier à Dany Décembre, Bertrand Gauthier (texte) et Manon Gauthier (illustrations), Éditions de l’Isatis, 2019
La pluie, Catherine Leblanc, Éditions Mijade, 2008
Les redoutables croquins, Elisabeth Brisset des Nos, Éditions Cardinal, 2019
Mandarine et Kiwi : le temps des petits fruits, Laïla Héloua (textes) et Nathalie Lapierre (illustrations), Bayard, 2013
FRUITS ET LÉGUMES (Only available in French)
Les Croquins, Elisabeth Brisset des Nos, Éditions Cardinal, 2017
Inventaire illustré des fruits et légumes, Virginie Aladjidi, Éditions Albin Michel, Mai 2021
La Folie du melon d’eau, Taghreed Najjar (texte) et Maya Fidawi (illustrations), Éditions Crackboom, 2018
Des couleurs à croquer – Cuisine en vert, rouge, violet, jaune et orange, Edito, 2017
Une cuisine grande comme un jardin, Alain Serres (texte) et Martin Jarrie (illustrations), Éditions Rue du monde, 2020
THANKS TO THE BLUE METROPOLIS FOUNDATION’S MAJOR PARTNERS WHO SUPPORT THE 2023 FESTIVAL AND OUR 2022-2023 EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL PROGRAMS
MERCI AUX PARTENAIRES MAJEURS DE LA FONDATION METROPOLIS BLEU QUI SOUTIENNENT LE FESTIVAL 2023 ET NOS PROGRAMMES ÉDUCATIFS ET SOCIAUX 2022-2023
