José Claer has published a dozen books and has been, for many years, ubiquitous on the literary scene and spoken word stages throughout the Outaouais and beyond. He is a novelist, short story writer, cultural journalist and slam artist, and in everything he does, he is first and foremost a poet. His poetic fiction À l'abattoir des anges in 2012 and his 2016 poetry collection, À l'épicentre de l'éternité, both published by Les Éditions L'Interligne in Ottawa, were finalists for the city of Gatineau's Prix coup de cÅ“ur. In his own words: "œAs soon as the key enters the keyhole I start spewing electric words, though not as in a collective memory spill, and because the slam scene is a shouting room for my emotions, I prowl it like a beast (though without spelling mistakes) "“ So watch out! For my madness is willingly contagious and I'm on the lookout for embrace by way of a straitjacket."