Blue Metropolis goes digital for 2020

The international literary festival adapts to the COVID-19 reality

By Byron Toben

In 1996, the tiny Montreal based Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival was inaugurated.

It has since grown from its French and English roots to encompass Spanish, German, Yiddish and other language writers and is arguably the largest such broadly based festival around with its readings, discussions and book sales.

Its past 23 seasons often featured moderators from the CBC such as Michael Enright, Paul Kennedy and Eleanor Wachtel. In 2018 and 2019, Gabriel Safdie sponsored special panels of writers seeking to bring sensible and peaceful voices to the Israel/Palestine discussion. Some lighter highlights were comedy panels hosted by Joel Yanofsky and ‘spoken word’ contributions by Catherine Kidd.

Its 2020 incarnation features 20 innovators and thinkers from Canada and abroad, who look to the future and tell us what they see. The main themes are Social Innovation and Creativity and Resilience.

In 2019, I particularly enjoyed covering Marianne Ackerman’s hosting of the launch of playwright Vittorio Rossi’s revivals at the Rialto Theatre and the discussion on Income Inequality by Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz at the University of Montreal.

Now in this year of COVID-19, Blue Met (like everyone else) has had to go online. Its 2020 incarnation features 20 innovators and thinkers from Canada and abroad, who look to the future and tell us what they see. The main themes are Social Innovation and Creativity and Resilience.

It has already started and WestmountMag.Ca welcomes viewer’s comments on individual items they enjoyed or recommend at this year’s unique digital festival.

Visit bluemetropolis.org/innovation

Feature image: courtesy of Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival

Read more articles from Byron Toben

Byron Toben, a past president of The Montreal Press Club, has been WestmountMag.ca’s theatre reviewer since July 2015. Previously, he wrote for since terminated web sites Rover Arts and Charlebois Post, print weekly The Downtowner and print monthly The Senior Times. He also is an expert consultant on U.S. work permits for Canadians.