Lise Downe Reads from Propositions and Prayers
Our author reading series continues with multidisciplinary artist Lise Downe, whose poetry collection, Propositions and Prayers, was published by Book*hug Press on November 17th, 2020.
Downe’s first book of poetry in nine years blurs the boundaries between inner and outer experiences of the self, often subverting expectations and habit in its deconstruction of structure and style. It beautifully portrays humanity’s myriad complexities: our various moods and observations, the unpredictable trajectories of our lives—uncertainty, wonder, and surprise, all. “To read Lise Downe’s Propositions and Prayers is to find oneself in the company of a mind both congenial and disquieted,” writes Mark Truscott, author of Branches, which was recently shortlisted for the 2020 Nelson Ball Prize. “Her improvisations—centrifugal, probing, and anchored in the reality of a scarcity of time off work and notes ‘hand-marked “Urgent”’—are motivated by an integrity of intellect and emotion. I find Downe’s poetry refreshing for its lack of emphasis on the performative and its profound trust in the self’s and the world’s mutual unfolding. What a beautiful book.”
We hope you enjoy the following reading, and we encourage you to stay tuned for more on the blog! You can also follow us on Instagram.
Lise Downe is the author of four previous collections of poetry: A Velvet Increase of Curiosity (1993), The Soft Signature (1997), Disturbances of Progress (2002), and This Way (2011). Lise also studied painting, printmaking, and jewellery design for many years. Originally from London, Ontario, Lise lives and works in Toronto.
