Showing posts with label Ottawa Poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ottawa Poetry. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Arc Walk Ottawa #1 : Centretown : curator/guide: rob mclennan



Arc Walks Ottawa is a series of guided walks based on poetry themes and capitalizing on the rich poetry history of Canada’s capital. Residents and visitors alike are welcome to join in on the walks to learn and revel in Ottawa’s poetry. 

Join in the first walk on World Poetry Day (Wednesday, March 21st). This walk, led by rob mclennan, will be a contemporary introduction to Ottawa’s literary history, visiting sites significant to poets of the National Capital Region such as John Newlove, William Hawkins, Judith Fitzgerald, Thomas D’arcy McGee, Michael Dennis and jwcurry, among others. 

The walk will begin at 4:30PM in front of 248 Bank Street, and it will continue to visit sites in Centretown. During the hour-long walk, participants will visit five locations where they will hear about some of Ottawa’s contemporary poetry history, and hear from a special guest poet. Come prepared for rain or snow or shine!

Concluding around 5:30PM, there will be plenty of time and opportunity to grab a bite to eat before VERSeFest’s second day of scheduled events: http://versefest.ca/year/2018/schedule/?day=Mar21

See the Facebook event for such here.

For any questions or concerns, contact Chris Johnson: managingeditor@arcpoetry.ca 

Guide Bio: 
Born in Ottawa, Canada’s glorious capital city, rob mclennan currently lives in Ottawa, where he is home full-time with the two wee girls he shares with the brilliant and utterly delightful poet and book conservator Christine McNair. The author of more than thirty trade books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, he won the CAA/Most Promising Writer in Canada under 30 Award in 1999, the John Newlove Poetry Award in 2010, the Council for the Arts in Ottawa Mid-Career Award in 2014, and was twice longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize in 2012 and 2017. He has published books with Talonbooks, The Mercury Press, Black Moss Press, New Star Books, Insomniac Press, Broken Jaw Press, Stride, Salmon Publishing and others, and his most recent titles include notes and dispatches: essays (Insomniac press, 2014), The Uncertainty Principle: stories, (Chaudiere Books, 2014) and the poetry collection A perimeter (New Star Books, 2016). His next poetry title, Household items, is out later this spring from Salmon Publishing.


Wednesday, June 04, 2014

Sarah Pinder & Antonino Mazza!

More info: abseries.org
Join us for readings & conversation with

Sarah Pinder & Antonino Mazza!

8pm
Thursday, June 5, 2014

Ottawa Art Gallery
Arts Court
2 Daly Ave.
Ottawa, Ont.

Free
A hat will be passed.

ANTONINO MAZZA is the author of acclaimed translations of Eugenio Montale, The Bones of Cuttlefish (1983), and of Pier Paolo Pasolini, Poetry (1991). For the latter he was awarded the Italo Calvino Translation Prize from Columbia University (1992).  He has published two books of his own poetry, one of which, The Way I Remember It (1992), was first released as a recording (1988), choreographed by the Vancouver-based E.D.A.M. Dance Company and widely performed. For the same book published in Italian translation, La nostra casa è in un orecchio cosmico (Molteleone editore, 1998), he was the recipient of the 2001 Grotteria Prize. His reissue of The City Without Women: A Chronicle of Internment Life in Canada During World War II, won the Brutium “Calabria” Gold Medal in Rome and inspired the NFB documentary Barbed Wire and Mandolins (1997). More recently he has published Urban Harvest (Trans-Verse, 2004), Immigrant Songs, The poems, fiction and letters of Saro D’Agostino (Quattro Books, 2012) and The Other Passenger (Trans-Verse, 2013). He lives in Ottawa and teaches at Carleton University. http://antoninomazza.wordpress.com/about/

SARAH PINDER is the author of the poetry collection, Cutting Room (Coach House Books, 2012). Her writing has been shortlisted for the Expozine Small Press Awards and included in the anthology She’s Shameless, and magazines like Geist, Arc and Poetry is Dead. A zine-maker of over a decade, you can find her work in Montreal’s Distroboto art vending machines, as well as a mailbox near you. She lives in Toronto.

Thursday, May 08, 2014

A B Series Presents

Join us for readings & conversation with
Sharon Harris and Christian Bök!

8pm
Sunday, May 11, 2014

Daily Grind Café
601 Somerset Street West
Ottawa, Ont.

Free
A hat will be passed.


More info: abseries.org


Christian Bök is the author not only of Crystallography (Coach House Press, 1994), a pataphysical encyclopedia nominated for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, but also of Eunoia (Coach House Books, 2001), a bestselling work of experimental literature, which has gone on to win the Griffin Prize for Poetic Excellence. Bök has created artificial languages for two television shows: Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict and Peter Benchley’s Amazon. Bök has also earned many accolades for his virtuoso performances of sound poetry (particularly DieUrsonate by Kurt Schwitters). His conceptual artworks (which include books built out of Rubik’s cubes and Lego bricks) have appeared at the Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York City as part of the exhibit Poetry Plastique. The Utne Reader has recently included Bök in its list of “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.” Bök teaches English at the University of Calgary.

Sharon Harris is a Toronto artist/writer whose poems have been anthologized in The Broadview Introduction to LiteratureThe Last Vispo, and Shift & Switch: New Canadian Poetry. She is the author of chapbooks from bookthug, In Case of Emergency Press, and above/ground, and her first full-length collection, Avatar, was published by The Mercury Press. She has written articles for GeistThe Globe & Mail, and Open Book Toronto; is a past contributor to Torontoist and Word Magazine; and her work has been published in The National Post, dANDelion, The Capilano Review, Drunken Boat, The Volta, broken pencil, and Vallum. I Love You Toronto, her exhibition of photographs, appeared in newspapers, magazines, and on radio and television across Canada.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

BLOOD IS BLOOD: THE BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN




ENDRE FARKAS and CAROLYN MARIE SOUAID are taking poetry to the next level! The two major Montreal poets have come together to create BLOOD IS BLOOD. Both a film and a book, BLOOD IS BLOOD draws on the authors' diametrically opposed backgrounds, whose cultural and personal lives intersect, clash and confront the truths and fictions that have become the destructive reality of Jews and Arabs trying to co-exist in the Middle East.

A B SERIES PRESENTS A SCREENING OF BLOOD IS BLOOD + READINGS & CONVERSATION WITH THE AUTHORS!

8pm
Thursday, November 28, 2013

Ottawa Art Gallery
Arts Court
2 Daly Ave.
Ottawa, Ont.

Free
A hat will be passed.

More info:
abseries.org

The trailer for Blood is Blood:

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

bill bissett, Glenn Nuotio & friends - an A B Xmas Party!

abseries.org

A B Series presents its 2nd Annual Xmas Party with bill bissett! 

Featuring a musical set by Glenn Nuotio and friends!

With prizes to be won!

8pm
Saturday, December 8, 2012

Raw Sugar Café
692 Somerset West
Ottawa, Ont. 

bill bissett's charged readings, which never fail to amaze his audiences, incorporate chanting, sound poetry and singing, the verve of which is matched only by his prolific writing career: over 70 books of bissett's poetry have been published. An energetic "man-child mystic," bill bissett is living proof of William Blake's adage "the spirit of sweet delight can never be defiled." 

Combining chamber music and folk, Glenn Nuotio delivers unnervingly complex pop. As Ottawa Xtra! notes, "he channels it through an indie musician's paper heart and the results are invariably stirring." 

Saturday, November 17, 2012

KATALIN LADIK & GERRY SHIKATANI

ABSERIES.ORG

On November 21 at Arts Court Theatre, join us for a multimedia extravaganza featuring the Canadian premiere of Budapest artist, KATALIN LADIKPresented by A B Series, Ladik comes direct from Hungary for this exclusive engagement. Her performance will incorporate voice, multimedia and on-stage action.


GERRY SHIKATANI, Canadian innovator of multimedia poetry, joins Ladik on the program. Shikatani screens excerpts from his film, 'Kokoro is for Heart' as part of the event.



7:30pm
Weds, November 21, 2012

Arts Court Theatre
2 Daly Avenue
Ottawa, Ont.


Tickets available through the Arts Court box office in person at 2 Daly Avenue, by phone at 613 564 7240 and online at artscourtottawa.ca/en/events/


A polymath artist accomplished in theatrical, literary and visual disciplines, Katalin Ladik’s appearances incorporate voice, multimedia and on-stage action. Author of more than twenty poetry collections, Ladik’s work has been translated into a dozen languages. She is the winner of numerous awards including the bestowal this year of the Laurel Wreath of Hungary. Since her ground-breaking performance at the 10th International Festival of Sound Poetry in Amsterdam in 1977, she has been at the forefront of Europe’s vibrant sound-poetry scene. 

Gerry Shikatani’s most recent poetry collection, The Port's Seasonal Rental, was published last year by Mercury Press/Teksteditions. Shikatani’s diverse writing projects include poetry, prose, text-sound performance, concrete poetry as well as collaboration in experimental film. His journalism has involved sports, travel and international culinary criticism.

**

A B Series - Ottawa's Nexus for Global Poetry

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Jenny Sampirisi & kevin mcpherson eckhoff

More info: abseries.org

Join us for an evening of visual poetry and poly-vocal performance!

8pm
Saturday, October 20, 2012

Ottawa Art Gallery
Arts Court
2 Daly Ave.
Ottawa, Ont.

Jenny Sampirisi is the author of the novel is/was from Insomniac Press. She is the former Managing Editor of BookThug and current co-director of the Toronto New School of Writing, a series of reading and writing workshops designed and facilitated by working writers. She teaches English Literature, Creative Writing and Composition at Ryerson University. She is the 2011 recipient of the K.M. Hunter Artist Award for Literature. Croak, a libretto of hermaphroditic Frogirls, is her first poetry collection. It is a poetic narrative of love, loss, and compromise played out on a Beckettian stage. She will present a poly-vocal rendering of the text at the A B Series.

kevin mcpherson eckhoff equals rhapsodomancy plus easy peasy! Will he win the ReLit award this year? Join whobet.com to make it interesting. His bestfriend is named Jake Kennedy; together they enjoy art, popcorn, hugs, Open Letter, musick, kindness, whey protein, students at Okanagan College, clinamen, Tim & Eric, Denny's, pretend violence, and eventually finishing their community-written novel, Death Valley. kevin’s words have been made for real totes in-print, like, within West Wind Review, Fact*Simile and Descant. He lives & loves in Armstrong, BC, with some rescue dogs and a dog-rescuing super-lady, Laurel. She & he are merely weeks away from welcoming their first & craziest collaboration ever, which remains, as of yet, untitled.

More info: abseries.org

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Geof Huth launches A B Series Season #6

More info at abseries.org

A B Series launches its sixth autumn to spring programming season with a multimedia presentation by renowned visual poet, archivist and popular blogger, Geof Huth!

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

OIW: A Talk on Contemporary Poetry Feat. rob mclennan and Pearl Pirie



 “Be careful not to scratch and make too much noise with that,” said Brian, motioning to the pen and paper I’d removed from my bag. “I might be trying to commune or something!” Maybe it was due to the fact that I’d only met him minutes earlier in line to attend Ottawa Independent Writers’ latest discussion but gauging whether Brian was kidding or not proved difficult. In either case, writers young, old, experienced and curious alike had convened to soak up the wisdom of two of Ottawa’s foremost poets, robmclennan and Pearl Pirie – scratching away with my pen felt as natural a reaction as listening in.

It takes a poet-publisher of considerable expertise to tackle a topic as broad and massive as Contemporary Poetry but, as luck would have it, this evening delivered two. Calling upon proven skills and noteworthy anecdotes from careers waist-deep in the literary arts, mclennan and Pirie discussed some of the many poetic forms (examples being haiku, tanka) that stream and intersect contemporary verse. Those in attendance were encouraged to ask questions or even interrupt the flow of conversation, the latter option proving popular when the introduction of visual poetry came under fire. Make no mistake, the OIW isn’t a group of starry-eyed pacifists; for some members, the art of arranging letters in a way that deepens the author’s intent sparked a vocal debate on the merits of certain poetic styles. A surprising change of pace for the event, perhaps, but these stubborn viewpoints and insightful defenses provided even the quiet attendees with some food for thought.

At the very least, no one could refute the effectiveness of visual poetry any longer with so many convictions flying about!  One writer stood and passionately recited his criteria for good poetry, to which everyone applauded. Another scoffed at the example of several contemporary forms but took detailed notes on each. Even my new colleague Brian, who had worried about the sound of my pen on paper, stood arms-crossed away from the table, peppering the guest speakers with questions. Now this was unfiltered discussion! And as one of those demure individuals taking it all in, I found the heated yet respectful exchange life-affirming to any poetry-lover’s ears.

The immeasurable size of the topic at hand allowed mclennan and Pirie freedom to dive into certain facets or styles upon the whim of the audience. Some inquiries had concrete solutions, such as Pearl Pirie’s insightful breakdown of approaches that distinguish and shape a writer – a classification that caused the group to pause and consider their work’s intention. Concentrated dialogues also arose on the subject of prose poems – and by extension, knowing when to keep poetry and prose apart – plus ways of promoting one’s work in a changing industry.

Other questions were impossibly pointed; when asked to define poetry in two or three words, rob mclennan enunciated as though counting each word: “I don’t know”.  It was one of many refreshing exchanges during an evening dedicated to uncovering the joy of poetry’s borderless playground. Riffing off of each other’s leads and shedding light on how the expectations on contemporary poetry have changed from an editor’s perspective, mclennan and Pirie defied expectations with an engaging talk that refused to pull punches.

As a non-member, I witnessed many potential perks to enrolling with the OIW, including notice on inclusive submissions, writer’s retreats and a whole lot of local support. Get more information here: www.oiw.ca

Tuesday, March 27, 2012




Celebrated creator of visual poetry, derek beaulieu is in Ottawa to give a special presentation of his work in a slide show format. Join us for a thought-provoking evening of visual poetry display and discussion. It happens at Gallery 101 as part of A B Series programming.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Admission begins at 7:30pm
Presentation at 8pm

Gallery 101
301 1/2 Bank Street
Ottawa, Ont.

More info: ABSERIES.ORG

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Ron Silliman in an A B Series Presentation


RON SILLIMAN

in an A B Series presentation

at Gallery 101 
301 1/2 Bank Street
Ottawa, Ontario

Seating commences at 7:30pm 
Reading at 8pm

Saturday, March 10, 2012

RON SILLIMAN is an internationally renowned USA poet, editor and blogger. He has written and edited over 30 books, most recently Wharf Hypothesis from Lines Press, and has had his poetry and criticism translated into 12 languages. His long poem, Ketjak, has evolved in stages rather like nested Russian dolls: the first and innermost being collected in The Age of Huts, the second in Tjanting, the third in The Alphabet. He is now at work on Universe. His anthology, In the American Tree, published in 1986, is still the definitive anthology of language poetry, and his collection of essays, The New Sentence, has stayed in print for 25 years. Silliman’s Blog has received over 3 million visits.

Co-sponsored with the U.S. Embassy. A B Series gratefully acknowledges support from Gallery 101, City of Ottawa, Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts. Last year, the Canada Council invested $154 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.

Admission for this special event is free.

More info ABSERIES.ORG

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

GEODE Music & Poetry



The poster for the February 16 GEODE show -- pictured left to right are JENNIFER GILES (keyboards), ALRICK HUEBNER (bass) and SUSAN McMASTER (poet). They'll be joined in performance on February 16 by DAVID BROSCOE (winds), JOHN HIGNEY (steel guitar) and MIKE ESSOUDRY (percussion). GEODE's inimitable repertoire blends poetry with music drawn from a variety of genres including jazz, blues, new music, world music, contemporary and classical. And  see a performance of WordMusic with special guest DEAN STEADMAN!

8:00pm
(Admission and seating begin at 7:30pm.)

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Gallery 101
301 1/2 Bank Street
Ottawa, Ontario

$9 admission / $7 for students

Monday, January 16, 2012





A B Series Presents

Cat Kidd 
& Kaie Kellough

in performance 

Gallery 101 
301 1/2  Bank Street
Ottawa, Ontario

8pm
Friday, January 20, 2012

More info: ABSERIES.ORG