Thursday, October 20, 2005

flywheel SLAM!

filling Station magazine presents:


The flywheel POETRY SLAM!


Thursday, November 10, 7:00 pm
McNally Robinson, 120 8 Ave SW


Ten writers bring the page to the stage in the first ever flywheel slam! Each artist gets three minutes to wow the randomly-selected panel of judges with their words, voice and performance (but without any props or music!) for the chance to move on to the second round and a shot at cash prizes. This rowdy night of wordplay invites audiences to make some noise at one of Calgary’s longest-running reading series.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Two Dogs Enter One Dog Leaves?

"Cool Cats and Hot Dogs Poetry Night"
Wednesday, October 26, 7:30
Tubby Dog
103 1022 17th Ave SW

This is for the annual CJSW Funding Drive. I'll be reading as a two-woman-TWAT Team-- Brea Burton and I are reading our pirate poems. I think, when it is just Brea and me, it'll be the TWATs, and when Cara is reading too, we are TEAM.

Also reading: Samuel Garrigo Meza of Single Onion fame, Ali Riley, and the lovely Andrew Wedderburn. Ali Riley is lovely too. As is Samuel. I think the only dogs will be the kind they serve with fried eggs, wasabi, etc. Boy, those gourmet hot dogs are a little weird.

Monday, October 17, 2005

CHRISTAKOS!

Coach House Books & The NEW Gallery are proud to present:

MARGARET CHRISTAKOS
reading from her new book of poetry "Sooner"

at

The NEW Gallery
MONDAY OCT 24, 7:30pm

"Sooner" is the 6th collection of poetry by Margaret Christakos, her 3rd with Coach House. In it, a wide range of short poetic fragments and longer, narrative poems negotiate the sonars of expectation, desire and arousal, sequentiality and perception.

Eschewing prevailing poetic fashion, "Sooner" reimagines poetry as a kind of cubist fascination, at times even a fascination with fascination itself. Christakos' most lucent, tender book to date, "Sooner" explores the delusory spiral of reasoning of artistic schools, the fluid politic of desire, gender and domesticity; the alien geography of parenthood; the recurrent trials of revulsion and arousal -- these topics are all shined through Christakos' unique prismatic style, emerging in new, striking and often dissonant syntaxes.

The New Gallery
516d - 9th ave sw
calgary, AB
233-2399

Post-Prairie Launch!

Don't Forget!!!

Saturday, October 22, 6:00 pm • Prairie Ink Restaurant
McNally Robinson on the Stephen Avenue Walk • 120 8th Ave. SW, Calgary

POST-PRAIRIE
An Anthology of New Poetry
edited by Jon Paul Fiorentino & Robert Kroetsch

Reading and Launch featuring

derek beaulieu
Louis Cabri
Jason Christie
Jon Paul Fiorentino
ryan fitzpatrick
Jill Hartman
Natalie Simpson

Thursday, October 13, 2005

"Heart of a Poet"

The episode of "Heart of a Poet" that caused all of Toronto to think that Calgarian writers are stuck-up idiots (when, in all innocence, TEAM took over Lexiconjury with camera crew in tow) airs on BOOK TV on December 14th. Even our charming raffling off of a treasure box of pirate booty failed to win over the hearts of poets at Lex that night-- but I imagine they've forgotten all about it by now... Right?

Anyway, "Heart of a Poet" is also on Canadian Learning Television. I don't have satellite TV so I can't watch it. But X-Box (Christian B) is also featured in an episode, and the show is hosted by the always delightful angela rawlings, so if you have lots of channels, look for it.

I also started a blog.

To be a contributor.

http://semi-p.blogspot.com/

CFP: Extreme Write

Hey all you formally innovative Calgarian writers-- I am putting together an anthology of essays and creative writing from Calgary's oh-so-exciting creative writing scene and I am calling it "Extreme Write" (clever huh? Paul and I came up with that). If you have an essay or thesis excerpt or etc. that addresses avant-garde writing in Calgary, send it to me!

This is all part of my scheme to become a contributing member of society. Do you think it is a good idea?

Hallow-martinis at Jill and P-Doody's House

A meeting of the mimes!

Saturday, October 29
8:00 and after

Wear a costume!

We are celebrating Paul's 30th Birthday and also Halloween.

Monday, October 03, 2005

A sneak prieview






Remember, the beloved derek beaulieu's fabulous art show is premieres this week. On Oct. 6th, 4pm in the Little Gallery (U of C, Art Building, 6th Floor), there's even going to be a nifty keen reception. It is going to be amazing.

And just in case you don't believe me, here's some scumptious tidbits to tide you over.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

VOICE, SOUND AND SONG

Spoken Word Performances by:

Brendan McLeod
Möe Clark
Jordan Dack
Mat Mailandt

with music by Smithjosh, Jaimie Carrick, and special guests from The Russian Artist Factory

Monday, October 17, 2005, starting at 8:00 pm
@ The Soda, 211 12 Ave SW
$5 at the door, 15% of profits going to the Kids Cancer Foundation

Vancouver spoken word superstar Brendan McLeod returns to Calgary with more of the stunning wordplay that wowed crowds at two appearances in July. Local performers Möe Clark, Jordan Dack and Mat Mailandt, along with musicians Smithjosh and Jamie Carrick, join Brendan to make the night sizzle with their energy and art!



BRENDAN MCLEOD is a spoken word artist and musician based out of Vancouver, and has been called “one of Canada’s top SLAM spielers” by CBC. He is the winner of the National Individual Final at the 2004 Canadian SpokenWordlympics, awarded to the top SLAM poet in Canada. In 2005, he was Vancouver’s Grand SLAM Champion. He finished second at Holland’s World Slampionship in June 2005. He has toured extensively in North America and Europe, both as a solo performer and member of The Fugitives. He received his MA in Philosophy in 2001.

As a musician, he led Ontario’s seven-piece jazz/folk/funk group Eden Express, the Vancouver-based acoustic trio Bernie, and is currently a member of the spoken word/music troupe, The Fugitives, with Barbara Adler, CR Avery and Mark Berube.

Prior to his visit to Calgary, Brendan and The Fugitives will perform at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Vancouver. Brendan will then travel to Ontario before heading to Munich for multiple performances alongside Barbara Adler and the Fugitives.


MÖE CLARK, an inspired artist, lyricist and poet, currently lives in Calgary, where she practices graphic design and illustration. In the year to come, she will receive her Bachelor of Design degree in the Visual Communications program at the Alberta College of Art & Design. Her first foray into the professional design community was the book cover design for Sheri-D Wilson’s book, Re:Zoom, released in April 2005. While visual art is her primary focus, Möe’s background in performance arts spans from musical theatre, dance and vocal performance to, more recently, spoken word. Through the constant exploration of language and its relation to rhythm, repetition and resistance, Möe defines her poetic aesthetic.


JORDAN DACK, formerly a member of Calgary-based hip-hop troupe Internal Affairs, is currently the frontman of the hip-hop/folk/spoken word group Lucidream. The band spent July in Toronto at Cherry Beach Sound recording their first album, Choose the Madness. Jordan and his brother Mikkel were the organisers of the summer’s Channel Freedom Festival, dedicated to providing an entertaining alternative to television-watching. At this event, Jordan will perform solo with material from his chapbook, not the truth but honest.


MAT MAILANDT is the new Artistic Director of the well-known children’s theatre organisation, Calgary Young People’s Theatre, administrates and acts for Kid’s Play Klassics, and just appeared in Reckless with Mob Hit Productions. He is part of the editorial collective for Originality of Orality Online, a literary e-zine, and recently performed his fiction in the flywheel reading series. Mat performs with the Curiously Canadian Improv Guild and in Drunk on Monday, a weekly improvised soap opera run through the University of Calgary.


JOSHUA SMITH is a writer and musician currently completing a degree in English at the University of Calgary. Last year, his poetry made appearances at both the Spoken Scribblings and flywheel reading series and his music was selected as a finalist in the Calgary Folk Music Festival’s Singer/Songwriter Contest. Currently, he is the associate editor for NōD magazine, a new write/art/design/crit magazine supported by the English Literature Students’ Society at the U of C, and has an EP for sale entitled 3+1.

NEW ARRIVALS

readings by the freshest faces to hit Calgary’s lit scene:

Shady Cosgrove
Robyn Read
Caleb Zimmerman

hosted by Mark Hopkins

Sunday, October 16, 2005, starting at 7:30 pm
@ The Oolong Tea House, 110 10 St NW (Kensington)

Join us in welcoming some of the newest writers to appear on Calgary’s literary landscape! Shady Cosgrove, a creative writing professor from the University of Wollongong in Australia, is in Calgary on an exchange with the U of C, and she leaves town in mid-October, so this is your last chance to catch her! Robyn Read and Caleb Zimmerman have recently come to the University of Calgary as grad students in the department of creative writing, and this is their first public reading since arriving in town.


SHADY COSGROVE, a professor in the Faculty of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong in Australia, is currently teaching at the University of Calgary as part of an exchange between the two institutions. She just completed her first novel, The Golden Courtesan, which responds to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre by exploring the life of Edward Rochester’s mistress, Celine Varens. Excerpts of the novel have been published in Southerly, Hecate and Antipodes.

She graduated from Vassar College, New York, with departmental and general honours in Women’s Studies and English before completing her doctorate at the Australian National University. She has previously worked in journalism, covering the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as a sports journalist as well as specialising in feature writing and sub-editing.