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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>Dear Colleagues,</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>This is a follow-up note to Hélène Beauchamp's
description of the wonderful exposition / exhibition on "Le théâtre jeune
public: l'art des recontres" which she 'curated' (her official role is as
"commissaire et rédactrice") for the new BNQ which has just opened here in
Montreal. There is also an exposition / exhibit on the theme of "Tous ces
livres sont à toi: De L'oeuvre des bons livres à Grand Bibliothèque 1844--2005"
which is 'curated' (his official role is as "directeur artistique de
l'exposition") by Michel Marc Bouchard. Hélène Beauchamp's exhibit consists of
posters, costumes, maquettes, masks, books, and puppets, all superbly displayed
amidst the book collections, so that one has the impression of theatre and
literary culture happily and creatively infused, interacting in mutual
support. This exhibit is accompanied by an excellent, 40-page text, filled
with photographs, commentary, and finishing with a helpful selective
bibliography. Michel Marc Bouchard's exhibit is arranged according to
different kinds of books, serving different purposes, within different
historical periods; the books are displayed as closed, opened, and
disarticulated texts, using simple but highly theatrical modes of spatial
expression. This exhibit is also memorialised by a handsome text full of
photographs and explanatory details, vividly summarising the complex history of
book publication and dissemination in Québec over 170 productive years.
Both exhibits will be on, I believe, until January 2006. So if you are
visiting Montréal in this period, I would say that both exhibits are must-sees,
as is the new Bibliothèque itself, a striking study in post-modern architecture
in which the emphasis is on transparency, accessibility, and sensuosity. In
preparation for your visit, you might wish to browse the BNQ website at <A
href="http://www.bnquebec.ca/portal/dt/accueil.html">http://www.bnquebec.ca/portal/dt/accueil.html</A></FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>--Denis Salter.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT
color=#0000ff>__________________________________________________</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>"To celebrate this award, and the work it
recognizes of those around the world, let me recall the words<BR>of Gandhi: My
life is my message. Also, plant a tree."--Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004
Nobel <BR>Peace Prize.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT
color=#0000ff>________________________________________________________________________________________</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>" . . . and they shall beat their swords into
plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: <BR>nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."<BR> Isaiah
2.4<BR>___________________<BR>Denis Salter<BR>Professor of Theatre<BR>McGill
University<BR>853 Sherbrooke Street West<BR>Montreal, QC<BR>H3A 2T6<BR>Tel (514)
398 6550<BR>Fax (514) 398 8146<BR><A
href="mailto:d.salter@videotron.ca">d.salter@videotron.ca</A><BR><A
href="mailto:denis.salter@mcgill.ca">denis.salter@mcgill.ca</A><BR>__________________</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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