Life… As a Song – October 21, 2021

Blue Metropolis Foundation presents

LIFE… AS A SONG

Ten contemporary poets pay tribute to the classic songs of a golden age of Canadian and Quebec music

The 1960s, 1970s and 1980s literally revolutionized the musical landscapes of Canada and Quebec. The unforgettable songs of artists such as Joni Mitchell, Michel Rivard, Clémence Desrochers, Gordon Lightfoot, Paul Piché, Yvon Deschamps, Richard Séguin, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Diane Dufresne, Sylvain Lelièvre, Francine Raymond and Bruce Cockburn were written into our cultural DNA. Many of them even reached international heights.

Now at the beginning of the 2020s, the Blue Metropolis Foundation, with the support of Canadian Heritage, has decided to pay tribute to them. The La vie… comme dans les chansons – Life… as a Song project will celebrate them in three ways: a one-off poetry and song performance, podcasts, and video shorts.

A one-off poetry and song performance
October 21, 2021, at 8pm at Cabaret Lion d’Or, a unique and original performance mixing new contemporary texts and timeless songs will bring this major project to a close.
Hosted by Sylvain Massé, the performance will bring together Sébastien Desmarais and his band, singer Sylvie DesGroseillers, as well as poets Hugo Beauchemin-Lachapelle, Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay, Maya Cousineau Mollen, Stéphane Despatie, Lorrie Jean-Louis, Rachel McCrum, Emné Nasereddine, Gillian Sze, William Vallières and Derek Webster.

Podcasts
Ten anglophone and francophone poets delighted at the challenge of writing, as in a mirror, an original poem inspired by one of these timeless songs. Taking from their teenage memories, from their innermost worlds, or from their singular perspective, they offer here, in the form of podcasts, their particular responses to the lyrics written by their elders.

Videos
These same authors each invite us to discover their creative process. Each briefly discusses, in a video short, what about the song they chose so inspired them.

To see the videos, poems and podcasts visit: www.bluemetropolis.org/songs/