This is an unauthorized edition of the collected writings of Collette Peignot, who wrote under the name Laure. This particular edition was time-limited, for sale only during the 2020 Vancouver art book fair, although we may produce a different edition of the same work at some point.
Laure was born in 1903, and spent much of her adult life involved in radical politics in Paris. She suffered from ill health after a bout with tuberculosis at age 13, and died at age 35 in the house of George Bataille, one of several radical intellectuals who were her peers and lovers. I would try to provide a short description of her writing here but it would be unfair to summarize it, the complexity of her anger and honesty makes my head spin sometimes, in a good way. However, you can also read this edition’s preface, written by Vancouver-based poet Danielle LaFrance, for some insights. Call me to get a copy.
One thing that made that weekend’s version distinctive is that $10 from the sale of each copy will be donated to help with the daily needs of the residents of Camp KT, a tent city of otherwise unhoused people here in Vancouver, through the K.T. Tent City Laundry Fund.
