Jay Quint is a writer in Montreal. His book, Village Dreams, is being published this spring by Guernica Editions. Jay worked for nearly a decade on the book. After years of travel (he lived in Sydney, Miami, LA, Paris, London, Toronto), he settled a life of reading, tackling “intellectual”/cultural history. Deciding to pursue an all-around (rather than specialized) education outside of academia was isolating for him; to be immersed in such intensive activity with no community, and being surrounded by people with dissimilar interests, was trying for him. The sense of isolation and individuality, as well as his attempt to balance the outsider-ness he feels writers and artists should have, with the present-ness and sociability most people require, was sublimated into Village Dreams. From the start, Jay didn’t want to spend his time writing yet another book that repeats the same tired norms in different words. His goal was expressed by one of Sartre’s characters: he sought “to write something hard as steel that makes people ashamed of themselves.” Village Dreams is a coup for Jay. After years of toil, and without any industry contacts, his book is being launched by a reputable independent publisher. Village Dreams has also received tremendous reviews from a range of writers and academics. The book is fascinating, both clever and creative, somewhat experimental. It is bound to appeal to different types of readers because it unconventionally merges various strains of interests.
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Which ’hood are you in?
Shaughnessy Village
What do you do?
I’m a writer. I spend my days at a cafe where I’ve become a bit of a mascot. I either read or right there, depending on where I’m at in my process. I may go to the gym afterward, then I’ll go home to do more reading/writing, or I’ll go to another cafe, in a different neighbourhood, if it’s early enough and I’m not too tired. As a homebody, I’ll hang in at night and watch a film, usually something old or from the “New Wave.” I incorporate lots of film into my writing, so everything I engage with tends to have a productive value. The ambiance of my apartment was set up with lots of couch time in mild. I have an eclectic homey style that people tend to like.
What are you currently working on?
My book is about to be released, so I’m working on publicity for it. This has been a long project and a labour of love. I cannot drop the ball now! I’m lining up podcasts and reviews to coincide with the book launch. That’s my main activity at the moment. It requires a lot of work to explore the contemporary media landscape (which I’m otherwise detached from) and to find the channels that may work for me and fit with the themes/perspective of my book.
Where can we find your work?
The book is presently available for preorder everywhere online from Chapters-Indigo to Barnes and Noble. Once it’s launched, it will be physically in bookstores across North America–hopefully beyond.
