The Night Is A Mouth
Some bedtime tales keep us up all night, staring into the darkness. Others prompt us to howl with laughter. But those by Lisa Foad do both, at once. Foad will discuss her eagerly awaited debut story collection, The Night Is A Mouth, with celebrated writer Mariko Tamaki. Also on the bill is a live set by Toronto bass and drum duo, Lullabye Arkestra.
Rabid, intoxicating, and unusual, The Night Is A Mouth is a potent short story collection that grapples with abjection, obsession and monstrosity. A girl goes missing and finds a father who's not one. Two young women have a contest; they contest rejection. Seated before a mysterious package, an eccentric family romps through aberration and attempts to collect itself. Lessons in vomit and continence incite other expulsions. Lisa Foad is a fearless storyteller, pared and exacting.
"Lisa Foad's stories are exceptionally funny. They are also sexy, dirty and tight: imagine the Devil's dress, blazing through a hot, dangerous night." — Lynn Crosbie, author of Liar: A Poem
"The Night Is A Mouth is circular, psychic, lucid work." — Tamara Faith Berger, author of The Way Of The Whore
"Lisa Foad is my favourite Canadian writer. Gorgeous, gritty, poetic and precise. If Lynda Barry and Kathy Acker had a child, it would be Lisa Foad." —Zoe Whittall, author of Bottle Rocket Hearts
Lisa Foad is a Toronto-based writer and performer. Her creative work has appeared in Matrix, Exile: The Literary Quarterly, and Red Light: Superheroes, Sluts and Saints. Foad’s cultural commentary has appeared in such publications as XTRA! and NOW Magazine. The Night Is A Mouth is her first book.
Mariko Tamaki is a Toronto-based writer and performer -- "a talented writer getting better and better," says NOW magazine. Skim, the bestselling book that she created last year with her cousin, illustrator Jillian Tamaki, is the first graphic novel ever to be nominated for a Governor General’s Award. She is also the author of 
Cover Me, True Lies: A Book of Bad Advice, Fake ID, and Emiko Superstar, illustrated by indie comics legend Steve Rolston.
Lullabye Arkestra is a Toronto-based bass and drums duo, formed by drummer Justin Small (of Do Make Say) and bassist Katia Taylor. They usually beef up their core sound with a mixture of horns, vocals and organs. Ampgrave, Lullabye Arkestra’s first album for the Constellation label, was widely praised. The CBC Radio Three website, for instance, declares: “Ticking influences ranging from The Gossip’s stylishly driven funk-rock to The Birthday Party’s chaotic grind, Ampgrave is a record like no other - sassy, fun, and seriously blasted.”
