Véhicule Press celebrated its fiftieth anniversary this past weekend. One of eight people invited to speak at the celebration, I kept kept my comments short, but only because Mark Abley, who co-hosted the evening with Nyla Matuk, threatened hook and hammer if I went over my allotted time. I left the stage unscathed by channelling Big Star... as opposed to, say, Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
Fifty years is a remarkable achievement, particularly in this country. The press has survived while others, large and small have ceased or been absorbed by foreign multinationals. I'm proud to have played a small role in its history.
For you bibliophiles, I've have put together a list of ten old favourite Véhicule Press books from my collection:
Yellow-Wolf and Other Tales of the Saint Lawrence [Divers]
Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé [trans Jane Brierly]
1990
Jane Briery translated the complete published oeuvres of Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, beginning with Les Anciens Canadiens (Canadians of Old), one of this country's most translated works. The last, Yellow-Wolf and Other Tales of the Saint Lawrence, received a Governor General's Award for Translation.
Veiled Countries/Lives
Marie-Claire Blais [trans Michael Harris]
1984
Marie-Claire Blais is my favourite Québécoise writer. To think that we've both been published by the same press!
Comprising Pays voilés (1963) and Existences (1967), this volume is the only translation of her poems.
The Crow's Vow
Susan Briscoe
2010
The poet's only book. How I looked forward to her next.
It was not to be.
A wonderful friend and a beautiful soul.
Neons in the Night
Lucien Francoeur [trans Susanne de Lotbinière-Harwood]
1980
The oldest Véhicule Press book in my collection. Francoeur inscribed it to "Joe," describing a 1981 John Abbott College class as "wild and crazy." I was a John Abbott student at the time, but do not remember his visit. If memory serves, I purchased my copy at Aeroplane, a basement-level book and record store on Sherbrooke Street in NDG.
The Heat Accepts It All: Selected Letters of John Glassco
John Glassco
2013
A Gentleman of Pleasure, my biography of Glassco, was the culmination of seven years' work.
The Heart Accepts It All was edited in its wake. Credit goes to Carmine Starnino for proposing this book. For a time, I thought of it as my farewell to things Glassco, but I now realize I was just taking a breather.
Dr. Delicious: Memoirs of a Life in CanLit
Robert Lecker
2006
Best to leave the description of this book to the author:
The idea of being Dr. Delicious instead of plain old Professor Lecker made me think about the kind of writing I would have done if I was really the tasty version of myself. Professor Lecker would be reluctant to tell stories about his own life. He would resist the temptation to make his life in Canadian literature personal. He would not gossip. He would write scholarly articles and books that no one would read. But Dr. Delicious would lead a completely different life. He would delight in his classroom experiences. He would take liberties with his life story. He would talk about the ups and downs of being a Canadian publisher. He could bring in music, painting, hypochondria, malt whisky, deranged students, government grants, questionable authors, bank debt, termite infestations, a teaching stint in Brazil, lawsuits, the pleasures of hot-sauce. He would write about his passions, his failures, how the whole business of CanLit drove him crazy, lost him sleep, drove him on.
Stepping Out: The Golden Age of Montreal Night Clubs
Hello Montreal! Stepping Out covers thirty years – 1925 to 1955 – during which Montreal's night clubs presented the finest jazz musicians, crooners, and burlesque acts in North America. Oh, the photos!
Remember the scene in The Great Gatsby when Nick suggests Gatsby lie low in Montreal? This is the city he had in mind.
David Montrose [Charles Ross Graham]
2010
A second sentimental favourite,
The Crime on Cote des Neiges was the first title in the Ricochet series. Sixteen have followed. I'm most proud of the John Buell reissues –
The Pyx and
Four Days –
but this stands as one of this country's three best private dick novels
Remarkably, after all these years, Montrose/Graham remains a mystery. For all my efforts, I've yet to find a single person who so much as remembers meeting the man.
Wardlife:
The Apprenticeship of a Young Writer as a Hospital Clerk
Andrew Steinmetz
1999
Another book by a friend. I first met Andrew in the summer of '85 at Station Ten, which I maintain was the smokiest of all Montreal night clubs. My eyes still sting. Andrew was then a member of Weather Permitting. We two were young pups, each imagining that we might one day produce a book. Andrew was the first to realize the dream. As much a fan of his writing as I was of Weather Permitting.
Lasting Impressions:
A Short History of English Publishing in Quebec
Bruce Whiteman
1998
Short and bitter sweet, Bruce Whiteman's history of English publishing is an invaluable resource. Véhicule Press figures. How could it not?
It's only in writing this that I realize
Lasting Impressions was published a quarter-century before last weekend's half-century celebration.
Here's to the next fifty!
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