Saturday, April 22, 2006

CISWF Tix @ Pages Books!

Calgary International Spoken Word Festival

TICKETS AVAILABLE @ PAGES BOOKS


1135 Kensington Rd NW
info@calgaryspokenwordfestival.com
403.686.4292

Wednesday, April 26
Open Minds

Coach House & Snare Book Launch w/ Open Mic
Beat Niq Jazz & Social Club – 811 1st St SW (downstairs)
8:00 pm - $5

Thursday, April 27
SLAM!

Auburn Saloon - #163 115 9th Ave SE
8:00 pm - $5

Friday, April 28
Queer Conscience

Auburn Saloon - #163 115 9th Ave SE
8:00 pm - $10

Saturday, April 29
Bravo!FACT Video/Poems

Glenbow Museum – 130 9th Ave SE
11:00 am - $10

Saturday, April 29
Oral Traditions & Exhibitions

Glenbow Museum – 130 9th Ave SE
1:00 pm - $10

Saturday, April 29
Big Bang Poetry & Music

Auburn Saloon - #163 115 9th Ave SE
8:00 pm - $15

Sunday, April 30
Champagne & Jalapeños

Art Gallery of Calgary – 117 8th Ave SW
2:00 pm - $10

For more information:

www.calgaryspokenwordfestival.com
403.686.4292

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Eleventh Transmission

Eleventh Transmission is a new monthly magazine. www.eleventhtransmission.org.

Eleventh Transmission is fond of all forms of the written word and visual art,
and has a special but not primary interest in work that is socially engaged.

Eleventh Transmission is Calgary, Canada, and Xenon.

Eleventh Transmission likes music and dancing.

Eleventh Transmission will only ever offend bad people.

Next issue May 1, 2006. If you would like to join our mailing list, please email Kirk Ramdath at admin@eleventhtransmission.org.

Spaces are still available for the June 1 issue. Write us if you would like to submit.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

On the importance of community

Here's the editorial I wrote for the upcoming issue of fS. I thought it would appropriate to post it here given its focus on community, which is something that people need to be reminded of from time to time. Including me.

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In filling Station time, four years is pretty long. I started for fS in February of 2002 reading poetry and helping with other things. I became poetry editor two years later and helped put together the poetry section for 8 issues. I’ve worked with four managing editors (tom muir, Natalie Simpson, Carmen Derkson, and derek beaulieu), two General Editors (Paulo da Costa and Jordan Scott), three poetry editors other than me (Natalie Simpson, Carmen Derkson, and Trevor Speller), five fiction editors (Julia Williams, Adrian Kelly, Christopher Blais, Jani Krulc, and Neil Scott) and one visual arts editor (Sandy Lam). The poetry collective I’ve worked with has contained many brilliant people (other than myself and the poetry editors listed above: Dean Hetherington, Aaron Giovannone, Jordan Scott, Mark Hopkins, and the unfailing Jason Christie) and the other collectives weren’t too bad either (Andrew Wedderburn, Heather Edey, Aaron Grach, Tim Uruski, Garth Whelen, Laurie Fuhr, Chris Ewart, and the super-energetic J Alary spring immediately to mind). Not to mention some super-cool designers (Alden Alfon, Jesse Reardon, Warren Lysechko, Twila Niblock, and Andy Kennett). If it sounds like I’m taking an account, it’s because I am. After all, this is my last issue. I’m allowed.

For me, filling Station has always been about two things. The first is the transformative power of the written word. I remember getting in arguments at meetings that were about whether or not we should publish certain poems. There was a specific meeting between Jason Christie, Aaron Giovannone, Jordan Scott, and myself where Jason unrelentingly argued in a piece that I still get flack for today (no, I won’t tell you which one). The fact is that literature and art should show us something about the world, whether through the dramas of character and narrative or the pulsating flux of language itself.

The second thing is community. This is a word that gets me into trouble, because I like to think filling Station is an important literary voice in Calgary even though there are a lot of people here who think filling Station is full of elitist, academic language poetry. Basically just a bunch of shit that doesn’t make sense. It’s not a coincidence that community and communication are so closely couched in each other, and I could make arguments defending what we have published in the magazine’s pages over the past four years, but I won’t. What I will say is that my two proudest moments on the magazine were both massive love letters to the Calgary literary community: fS’ 30th issue and last year’s Blow-Out festival.

Both issue 30 and Blow-Out were all-Calgary love-ins and both were extremely successful in the way they brought different aspects of the community together. The collectives changed drastically in the year between these two events, but the impulse to give back to the Calgary literary community was the same. After all, Calgary is a rich place to grow up as a writer, full of support and challenge if you want it. Many great and important writers have walked through the doors of filling Station as they spent time in Calgary. Just in case you’re new to this, some awesome books by former fSers include Jill Hartman’s A Painted Elephant, Raj Pal’s Pulse, Julia Williams’ The Sink House, Adrian Kelly’s Down Sterling Road, Shane Rhodes’ Holding Pattern, Jordan Scott’s Silt, Ian Samuels’ The Ubiquitous Big, Paulo da Costa’s The Scent of a Lie, and Jacqueline Turner’s Careful. This doesn’t even include the ones that just came out like Shift and Switch (edited by derek beaulieu, Jason Christie, and honorary fSer angela rawlings) or derek beaulieu’s Fractal Economies. It doesn’t include books that are about to come out by Chris Ewart, Jason Christie, or Andrew Wedderburn. It doesn’t include the hundreds of chapbooks that have come out by Calgary writers or the books that we are all waiting to see that just can’t seem to catch a break (dear Canadian Publishers, publish Natalie Simpson already!). Looking at this, anyone who cares about language can see that Calgary is awesome. Totally.

So it feels weird after sitting back and watching the lines shift under me almost constantly during my time on the collective to be the cause of the shift. But filling Station is in good hands. derek beaulieu will continue steering the ship (mostly) on course. Jordan Scott will continue to bring fS some of the most interesting interviews and talks fS has seen, as long as he can keep his pants on. Neil Scott has a few cards up his sleeve as fiction editor before he heads to Vancouver to be replaced by the brilliant Jeremy Leipert (if he can manage it with two kids on the way). Coming of a run as the managing editor of dANDelion, Natalie Walschots will do a great service to the poetry section, and even though I’ve joked that the issue you’re holding is my attempt to show her up, she and her collective will no doubt produce issues as good as this one, if not better. Sandy Lam will continue the work of making filling Station’s visual arts section as challenging and wonderful as it has been. And events coordinator Mark Hopkins will keep the flywheel turning alongside some other great events including the second-ever Blow-Out (fingers crossed). Also in this issue you’ll see the beginnings of fS’ new film section, which is another way fS is trying to bridge the arts. See guys, it’s all milk and honey from here on in. And you were worried.

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Monday, April 10, 2006

kid rocket

hello lovers of all things literary,

Please see attached call for submissions from brand spankin' new rag, KID ROCKET.

I'm not directly involved with the mag myself, but it is the project of a friend of a friend. Check them out, and happy writing.

love,
Nikki Reimer


Call for Submissions

KID ROCKET! The new voice in literature!
KID ROCKET! Enemy to stodginess everywhere!
KID ROCKET! The genre-crossing wunderkind!
KID ROCKET! Champion of a new literary generation!

Kid Rocket, the new literary magazine from upstart media company Rocket Ace, is setting out to prove that short-form writing can be both entertaining and intelligent. We are seeking submissions of short fiction and poetry in any genre, with a particular interest in those that blur the genre boundaries. Contributors will receive a percentage of any profit made by the issue in which their work appears, as well as a complimentary copy of the issue.

All submissions must be in standard manuscript format (double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman font). Short fiction submissions should be below 1kidrocket@rocketace.ca2000 words. Multiple poems may be submitted simultaneously, up to a maximum length of ten pages. Please send all submissions as email attachments to kidrocket@rocketace.ca, in Rich Text Format or Word Document. Please allow three weeks for a response to your submission. For further information, email Shane at kidrocket@rocketace.ca.

Deadline: June 10th, 2006

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

April flywheel

filling Station magazine presents:

the April flywheel reading!

featuring:

Möe Clark
Rosemary Griebel
Richard Harrison
Joan Shillington


… and hosted by Mark Hopkins

Thursday, April 13 – 7:00 pm
McNally Robinson – 120 8th Ave SW


The flywheel just keeps on turning! Join four stunning writers as they share their words at the always-scintillating, occasionally-scandalous flywheel series.

CONTACT: Mark Hopkins
403.710.0093 – mark.c.hopkins@gmail.com

Syn Spoken Word

Thursday, April 6 - 9:00 pm
@ Koi, 100 - 1011 1st St SW
$5

featuring performances by:

Reuben Bullock
Möe Clark
Guido Conrad
Mark Hopkins
Tessa Partridge


For the very first time, Koi presents an evening of 'Syn', featuring a poetic feast from five emerging artists with never before heard spoken word poetry that is sure to stimulate the senses. Sit back, enjoy some food and drink, and listen to amazing words by these incredible performers.

CONTACT: Möe Clark
moe.clark@gmail.com


Who's on the menu:



Mark Hopkins

Mark recently graduated from the University of Calgary and he's since decided that sleep is overrated. He works with the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival, Calgary Young People's Theatre, Bubonic Tourist and filling Station magazine, and his freelance writing appears regularly in Swerve and other local publications. He dabbles in poetry, fiction and playwriting, and much of his work attempts to tackle the complexities of gender and feminism.



Tessa Partridge

Tessa Partridge, a Communications graduate from the University of Calgary , recently started her own PR company called LadyBird Promotions. Currently working contracts for both the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts and The University of Calgary, she enjoys promoting arts & cultural events in Calgary's vibrant and growing community. Inspired by interdisciplinary art practices that blur the line between artist and audience - she dances, sings, speaks & documents her way through life.



Guido Conrad

"Biographies for me, as simple as they could be, are always impositions on somebody else's life by the way of impressing." – Guido Conrad '06



Reuben Bullock

Life, a medium for expression, a means to measure beauty. The seed planted by dreams of grandeur fell too far from the sun. After the first publication of "My Trip to the Dentist" appeared in Skateboard Canada magazine, Reuben has had a lot of time to reevaluate his writing and direction. This new path has been paved by music, poetry, and rapping more. He tends to avoid bright lights and shiny objects. Reuben is drawn to the silence between thoughts where the soul sings lullabies and dreams find sleep comforting.



Möe Clark

A graphic designer by trade, Moe's entering her final year at ACAD in the Graphic Design program. Stepping out of her designer shoes, she began performing spoken word poetry at the 2005 Calgary International Spoken Word Festival, then carried on to the Calgary Stroll of Poets, Liberate the Voice Evening, Wawapalooza, and most recently, CBC "Irresistible" Poetry Slam. Passion is what drives her, since she doesn't have a car, and her love of music, dancing, and riverside romancing are what her dreams are made of.