Literature goes out into the wild with “survival libraries”

Charles Sagalane’s “survival library” project is both an initiative to disseminate literature in rural and natural spaces and a poetic work inspired by the Canadian landscape.

A protean creative process stretching from Moncton to Winnipeg

After installing several open-air “survival libraries,” consisting of books for passing boaters or snowshoers on the islands of Lac-Saint-Jean in Quebec, Charles Sagalane is repeating the experience over 17 months in 17 iconic sites in Canada. In each of these natural settings, he meets local artists and generates a national discussion that inspires his own nomadic writing, using literature and other arts to make a connection to the land.

A collection of nomadic poetry intended for nature-lovers

After completing his East-West odyssey, the artist, with the support of the Canada Council, will publish an “experience collection”—a blend of botany, geography and literature that will describe his encounters and express the beauty of the Canadian landscape in a way that will echo various forms of Japanese poetry and the writings of Henry Thoreau.