Cumulus Press

Cumulus Press closes its doors in the fall of 2008 after ten great years of indy publishing!

A few of its titles have been taken on by fellow indy: conundrum press.The other titles are available on this site for free in .pdf format. See below for details. info[at]cumuluspress[dot]com

titles

TITLES

picture this

available from conundrum press

Picture This! : posters of social movements in Québec (1966-2007)
edited by Jean-Pierre Boyer, Jean Desjardins & David Widgington

$32 - 7.5" X 9" - 360 pages - fully bilingual

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French cover edition available by Lux Éditeur

These 659 posters, assembled for the first time in one album, offer a veritable journey through Québec’s social history and political imagination of the past four decades.

This collection of union, political, community, feminist, sociocultural and anti-globalization posters brings to our collective memory the popular struggles that have marked the history of social movements in Québec. It gives a voice to those who, through the strength of their commitment and creativity, have contributed to a more humane, just and democratic world.

the hero book

available from conundrum press

The Hero Book : an illustrated memoir
by Scott Waters (author info)
$15 - 5.5" X 8.5" paperback with flaps 64 pages
an illustrated memoir (colour & b/w images)
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"Deviant behaviour and homosocial elements in a military society."

 

Maps of Our Bodies

available from conundrum press

Maps of Our Bodies : & the borders we have agreed upon
by Taien Ng-Chan (author info) with musical collaboration with Scott W. Gray
$14 - 6" X 6" paperback with flaps
poetry, spoken word, video (includes multimedia CD)
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Maps of Our Bodies draws on themes of travel, location/ dislocation, and that old workhorse, love. These poems and prose poems are a series of maps and meditations on the act of traversing space, both physically and emotionally; together, they sketch out a narrative arc about the course of a relationship, from its intense and sleepless beginnings to the negotiations of boundaries and space, to separation over long distances and a solitary road trip across the huge expanse of land that is Canada.

The accompanying CD, Roadmaps, is a word/music collaboration between writer Taien Ng-Chan and musician Scott W. Gray of The Sally Fields. These 13 songs explore a range of musical styles from traditional pop guitar and percussion to technological soundscape. Enhancing the CD are six videos, featuring a contribution by cartoonist/animator Joe Ollmann.

autonomous media

Autonomous Media : activating resistance and dissent
edited by Andrea Langlois and Frédéric Dubois
168 pages
communications, media studies, non-fiction
French language translation by Lux Editeur

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"Autonomous media activists deploy their weapons of choice – video cameras, spray cans, blogs, laptops – to liberate “meaning-making” from PR specialists and corporate board rooms. As they engage, connect, and project the voices of people around the world who are demanding freedom and justice, they crack open spaces in which social movements can grow and genuine democracy can flourish."
— Naomi Klein

extraction ! : comix reportage

Extraction! : comix reportage
edited by Frédéric Dubois, Marc Tessier & David Widgington
128 pages
comics, journalism
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download entire book (pdf 41.2Mb) click here 

Take 4 journalists. Send them on assignment to each investigate a mining project by a Canadian company in 4 extractive sectors: GOLD. BAUXITE. URANIUM. OIL. Have the reportages converted into scripts destined for graphic interpretation. Give the scripts to 4 award-winning comix artists to illustrate and EXTRACTION! is the result Comix journalism will never be the same!

counter productive

Counter Productive : Quebec City convergence surrounding the summit of the americas
compiled and edited by David Widgington & Luca Palladino
132 pages
+ CD of sound art, radio documentaries, speeches, music, etc.
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lettricity

by kaie kellough author info
112 pages
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poetry

"Kaie Kellough declares Cool Age Québécitude, / remixing urban vibes with négritude. / His poetry, spare chic Shakespeare, shakes / CanLit with reggae riff, steelpan quakes."-- George Elliott Clarke

the freedom I stole

 

poetry by Jason 'Blackbird' Selman
112 pages
 
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As your eye scans each poem’s lithe, lettered lines, an airplane touches down on a narrow landing strip. a needle slices into a jazz record’s waxen groove. suited musicians improvise on Oscar Peterson’s hymn to freedom. a traveler wanders through narrow, moonlit streets. freedom becomes a flight of imagination, a silver-winged melodic arc linking cities distant as habana, bridgetown, montréal. these flights are recorded here, in the jazz poems and wayfaring lyrics of Jason “Blackbird” Selman.

talking book

 

Talking Book : blues, jazz, dub, rap, song and freedom in the literature and orature of Montréal's Kalmunity Vibe Collective
edited by Kaie Kellough (author info) & Jason "Blackbird" Selman (author info)
5.5" X 7.5" - 240 pages
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Two percussion players, one trap drummer, a bassist, a guitarist, a keyboardist, and three horn players cram onto a floor-level stage. Twelve vocalists squat stage right, waiting for their chance to touch the mic. The air crackles with anticipation. In the crowd, Blacks, Browns, Whites are packed together so tightly that, as in the Langston Hughes poem about riding the New York subway, there is “no room for fear.” One person inhales another’s language. Welcome to Kalmunity’s Live Organic Improv at Sablo Kafé.
This anthology collects the words and thoughts of Kalmunity’s rappers, dub poets, jazz poets, singers, and musicians as they reflect on collective improvisation, freedom, love, history, politics, and the divine.

north of 9/11

novel by David Bernans (author info) (author nearly censored by Concordia University)
5.5" X 8.5" paperback
256 pages
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North of 9/11 is political science at its best. Centred at Concordia University in Montréal during the tumultuous months following 9/11, this historical novel lays bare Canada’s complicity in the American-led war on terror and related state-sponsored repression of dissent. With its focus on a small group of pro-Palestinian activists and their Zionist antagonists, the novel brings to life the realities and subtleties of politics in our times. Bernans’ poignant description of the relationship between a conservative father and his radical daughter is reminiscent of Philip Roth’s American Pastoral.
David Noble, historian & author of Beyond the Promised Land

throw the captain overboard

by Mia Rose Brooks author info
48 pages + CD of spoken word performances (with musical accompaniment)
written & spoken word
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"The moody lyricism in throw the captain overboard!, as I soon discovered, balances print and sound with a rare and remarkable grace." mRb

the dead beat scrolls

The Dead Beat Scrolls: the incomprehensible teachings of harvey christ redeemer
by Reverends Norm, Anna Montana, Joalien & Randy Peters
240 pages includes CD
humour, religion, fiction (200+ illustrations)
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"Harvey Christ's paradoxical expression of both reverence and rebellion, low budget mystique wrapped in the baroque imagery of Catholicism, and a general bohemian respect for the absurd mirrored perfectly a time when all [in Montréal] were living in 4-bedroom apartments with 12-foot ceilings whilst scrounging for milk money." -- Rufus Wainwright

for everyone at the back

by Kirk Johnson author info
3.5" X 5.75" paperback with flaps (104 pages)
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poetry

During the Bolshevik Revolution, a young activist woman loses the cherished book of poems she has carried in her undercoat pocket since the battles began. She referred to it for comfort while hidingout behind the crumbled ramparts of the citadel. She remembers reading “Notre-Dame” while standing in line for a cup of soup. She penned her first poem on its printed pages shortly after the massacre and inked-in flowers right after the last frost. This is her lost book. Found. It is personal reading for anyone left behind. In this bold collection, Kirk Johnson is part archivist, biographer and archaeologist. Extracted from speeches, conversations, letters, manifestos and memoirs that chronicle the Bolshevik Revolution and the violent overthrow of the Russian Monarchy, the metrics of his historical method defy tradition.

Companion Pieces

poetry by Kirk Johnson author info
(64 pages

Montreal Up Close

Montréal Up Close : a pedestrian's guide to the city
by Kirk Johnson & David Widgington
6" X 9" trade paperback (76 pages)
incl. 2 fold-out colour maps, archive + recent photos, index, biblio.
french transtlation by XYZ editeur isbn 2-89261-327-2

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" A deeply researched book, chock-full of walking tours, colour foldout maps and insights into the history, society and architecture of Montréal. " -- Lonely Planet

TENDRIL ANTHOLOGY SERIES

navigating customs

Navigating Customs : travel stories by 13 young writers <25
edited by Dana Bath & Taien Ng-Chan
168 pages
+ 16-page chapbook by Cleo Paskal
tendril anthology series -- book 3 -- travel writing
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"What's the difference between exploring and being lost? The journey is the destination." -- Dan Sheldon

rising to a tension

Rising To A Tension : new short stories by 13 young writers <25
edited by Neale McDevitt & Tom Abray
168 pages
+ 16-page chapbook by Elisabeth Harvor
tendril anthology series -- book 2 -- short fiction
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Running With Scissors

Running With Scissors : new poetry by 19 young writers <25
edited by Andy Brown & Meg Sircom
78 pages
+ 16-page chapbook by George Elliott Clarke
tendril anthology series -- book 1 -- poetry
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