AT THE RISK OF LISTENING Book Launch & Celebration
Friday Jun 13th, 2025
7pm
Take Cover Books, 59 Hunter Street East
Tickets $10 or PWYC
We are very excited to host the launch of Ziysah von Bieberstein's collection of their work as Peterborough's Poet Laureate, At the Risk of Listening. It's all happening on the evening of Friday, June 13!
At the Risk of Listening (2025, 65 pages) is a collection of works presented during Ziysah's time as Peterborough's Poet Laureate with artwork by Bruno Merz. Whether pleading with City Councillors to listen more deeply, rallying a crowd to demand justice, or offering a prayer at a vigil, Ziysah challenges us to connect our daily acts of care to our broader movements for belonging. At the Risk of Listening invites us into radical optimism, showing us the flip-side of greed and destruction without denying their real costs. Viewed from this angle, attacks on trans rights become evidence of the power of queer movements “tearing open space for the possible,” while depression and anxiety are signs of "our deep knowing that a better world is possible." At the Risk of Listening explores themes of grief, homelessness, genocide, intergenerational trauma and accountability all within a container that is ultimately nourishing and connective. A love letter to Nogojiwanong, the place at the end of the rapids, this book will resonate with anyone yearning for collectivity in a time of dangerous polarization.
"Ziy's words help us to remember where we are and who we are walking with." - Jenn Cole
Ziysah will be joined by Nathanael Larochette. Nathanael is an Ottawa-based guitarist, composer, writer, spoken word poet and arts educator. He is a founding member and guitarist with the chamber folk trio Musk Ox, the groove trio Archivers, and the defunct progressive metal band The Night Watch. His most recent album Old Growth, a collection of solo guitar miniatures released in 2023, was published as a tab book by Norway's Raven Music Editions. He represented Ottawa at the 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, and the 2013, 2014 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championships. He has been facilitating creative writing and performance workshops for over 18 years and was awarded the 2023 Ontario Arts Foundation Artist Educator of the Year award. Nathanael lives to create, hope and dream for he believes these are the keys to the meaning of our being.
TICKETS
Tickets are limited and are priced on a sliding scale in increments of $10, $5, and Pay-What-You-Can (PWYC)**.
**PWYC tickets will be processed online at $0 and payment/donations can be made at the door on the night of the event.