On October 4, lauded writer Abou Farman teams up with Montreal's own Maisonneuve Magazine for a joint launch at Casa del Popolo (4873 St. Laurent). Together, they'll celebrate the release of Farman's first book, Clerks of the Passage (Linda Leith Publishing), and Maisonneuve's new Fall 2012 issue.

Clerks of the Passage is an engrossing, wide-ranging reflection on movement and migration, across eras and cultures: from the 3.5 million-year-old bipedal hominids of Laetoli, Tanzania, to an Iranian refugee who spent seventeen years in the transit lounge at Charles de Gaulle airport, from Xerxes to Milton to Revelations. Rawi Hage, the author of De Niro's Game and Carnival, describes it as "witty, satirical, informative and profound. Farman is a contemporary voice with a deep understanding of the various histories and what connects them."

At Casa del Popolo on October 4, Farman will read from Clerks of the Passage, and he will be joined by writer Michael Nardone, who will read from his essay "The Striking Life" in Maisonneuve's Fall 2012 issue. The issue features a cover story on gay evangelical Christians by author and Harper's contributing editor Clancy Martin, as well as writing on art storage, the Quebec student strike, and the death penalty in Canada.

The launch begins at 5 p.m. Copies of Clerks of the Passage ($17) and Maisonneuve ($5) will be available for sale. Check out the event on Facebook.

Clerks of the Passage, ISBN: 978-0-9878317-4-3
Available in print and electronic formats here.