This month at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, nine members of the Capital Poetry Collective – Prufrock, John Akpata, Danielle K. L. Gregoire, Rusty Priske, Kevin Matthews, Nadine Thornhill, Faye Estrella, Thomas McKinlay, and me (yes, I’m promoting my own show; how self-indulgent) – team up to show you what spoken word in Ottawa is all about. Almost every night there will be a different selection of poets onstage at the Royal Oak on Laurier. And, best of all, if you’re inspired by what you see, you can sign up to participate in the final showcase on Saturday, June 26. All poets are welcome to perform.

Danielle K. L. Grégoire talks about the Spoken Word Show:

Festrell talks about the Spoken Word Shows:

John and Prufrock talk about Spoken Word Shows:

Videos courtesy: Kevin Burton

“Dear Young Rebel…” 

Hodan Ibrahim, making war into poetry

 By the end of sacrifical poet Hodan Ibrahim’s piece, there were tears in a number of eyes, and that set the tone for the emotional, often tense Capital Slam Poetry Finals.

Over 300 people filled Ottawa University’s Alumni Auditorium to capacity Saturday night to watch the eight Capital Slam semi-finalists battle fiercely for the chance to represent Ottawa at the Canadian Spoken Word Festival in October, and to crown this year’s Capital Slam Champion. 

It was a night of bold moves: with only two rounds to qualify for the team, and a third to secure the title of Champion, these “best poets in the galaxy”, as they were introduced by Capital Slam Director Nathanaël Larochette, were prepared to take chances with their performances in order to win. 

John Akpata was the first poet to compete.  Not known for avoiding controversy, he launched into a provocative piece that reached its climax with a direct jab at allegations of a link between Umi Café and the recent Glebe RBC firebombing.  Truth Is… took the stage next with a succinct statement lamenting her disconnection from her African linguistic heritage.  Brandon Wint’s first poem was a departure from his usual repertoire of love poetry, as he shared an intensely personal piece about the effect one’s body can have on one’s destiny, to a standing ovation from a quarter of the crowd. 

Chris Tse is adept at using his cheeky sense of humour to introduce and tackle a serious subject.  In this instance, he approached the topic of labels and divisions by way of an analogy with the conflict between skiers and snowboarders.  Brad Morden followed with a poem about how the media and the news can distort the truth by not telling the entire story, or every story that needs to be told.  Loh El’s first piece of the evening expressed despair at the inequality of the world from the perspective of a person of privilege. 

Prufrock drives his message home

Prufrock, in the first of his three exceptionally strong performances, performed a poem about the inequities faced by immigrants with degrees from other countries that aren’t considered valid here.  Open Secret took the stage to finish up the first round with a piece paying respect to his Nigerian heritage. 

After a break, the second round opened with sacrificial poet Jenna Tenn-Yuk performing a spirited piece on her crisis of cultural identity as a “Jamasian”, of Jamaican and Chinese descent. 

Open Secret started with a bittersweet poem written as a letter to his estranged mother.  Prufrock returned to the stage with a humorous but poignant piece about the perpetuation of black stereotypes.  Loh El’s second piece of the night was an impressively mature poetic offering about confronting others, and confronting shame and fear.  Brad Morden, urging the listener to “be the artist that you are”, performed an imagery-laden poem about writing itself.  Chris Tse’s knack for subtlety brought over a third of the crowd to their feet with a thoughtful, apologetic poem on Christian hypocrisy.  Brandon Wint chose a more typically romantic piece for his second performance.  Truth Is… provided a picture of the consequences of being punished for defending oneself, and the oppression of the individual that starts in school. John Akpata was last before the break, with a piece echoing the injustice of slavery and celebrating the sovereignty of the individual. 

Brandon Wint captures the hearts of the audience again

Marcus Jameel was the sacrificial poet for the third round; the rich imagery and tight rhythm of his vivid depiction of victims rising from the dead to speak went well over the three minutes alloted, but was absolutely worth any time penalty. 

As each of the third-round finalists were announced, confirming their membership in this year’s team, the crowd let loose with wild applause.  Prufrock captivated the crowd with a brilliant piece in a rich Jamaican patois that told the story of an encounter with a crack user which, with its serious underlying message, was screamingly hilarious in content and delivery.  John Akpata, the first ever Capital Slam Champion in 2005, presented a laidback poem about his apparently frequent conversations with police officers.  Open Secret performed his ode to his sister, the source of much of his drive and inspiration, who died at a young age.  Chris Tse rounded out the set with a departure from his usual lighter fare, a detailing of the Rape of Nanking in 1937 through the eyes of his grandfather. 

While the scores were being tabulated, special guest Rob G. from England took to the microphone with something more “fluffy” than “ranty” (like the majority of his repertoire), a love poem filled with unusual turns of phrase that delighted the audience. 

Before announcing the Champion, Nathanaël named Brandon Wint as the alternate (a fifth, backup member of the team), to a round of applause.  When Chris Tse was named Champion, he proceeded to surprise everyone by taking the microphone to perform one last poem for the evening, McDonald’s Girl. 

Chris Tse, 2010 Capital Slam Champion

The season has ended with a beginning: the birth of a new, strong team to represent Capital Slam at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word.  Just because the finals are over doesn’t mean there’s no more slam poetry until October, however.  The Capital Poetry Collective will be performing as part of the Ottawa Fringe Festival.  The Urban Legends finals will be on July 2nd at Roosters Café, Capital Slam will be returning to its home venue, the Mercury Lounge, on July 3rd, and on July 17th, the Lanark County finals will be at Carleton Place High School, from 12-4 pm. 

The 2010 Capital Slam Poetry Team, left to right: John Akpata, Prufrock, Chris Tse, Open Secret, and team alternate Brandon Wint

 Andrew Snowdon is a theatregoer, concert attendee, and writer living in Lowertown, Ottawa, sandwiched between a MacBook and a typewriter.  

Photography by Jes Lacasse. 

On the count of three, the audience throws their clenched fists in the air, shouting “Raise it!”

This is not your average coffee-shop turtleneck-wearing finger-snapping poetry reading.

This is slam poetry.

If you’re not familiar with slam poetry, it’s a competitive form of spoken word that started in Chicago in 1984, and quickly spread to other parts of the world.  As a reaction against the sedate academic tradition of poetry reading, slam poetry is a more visceral, outspoken performance style, the content often political or intensely personal.  Most people are rendered speechless after seeing slam poetry live for the first time; the emotional intensity and skill of the performers is unlike anything they’ve experienced before.  Ottawa boasts Canada’s second-longest-running slam poetry series, Capital Slam.

Sean O'Gorman, slam poet

The way a slam poetry competition works is simple: poets present a spoken word piece that must be three minutes or less in length.  They are judged by five audience members on the basis of content and performance, on a scale from 0 to 10 (much like you see in Olympic figure skating, for example).  To calculate the score for a performance, the highest and lowest of the five scores are removed, and the remaining three scores are added together to give a score out of 30.  The poet is penalized if they run over their allotted time.

The release on the Capital Slam website promised performances by Open Secret, Truth Is…, Chris Tse, D-Lightful, Brad Morden, Loh El, Thomas, Prufrock, Brandon Wint, Greg “Ritallin” Frankson, John Akpata, and Sean O’Gorman.  (Like musicians, spoken word performers often choose a stage name.)   Also slated to perform in a non-competitive capacity was Rusty Priske, who had been a Capital Slam finalist for the previous three years.

Truth Is… addresses the microphone

Like our theatre community, Ottawa’s spoken word community is very tight; the same people crop up at every event.  Handing money to Danielle K.L. Grégoire in exchange for live poetry performances is becoming somewhat of a monthly ritual; there she was at the door taking our ticket money and stamping wrists once again.

The sight of Rusty Priske moving through the audience looking for volunteer judges was familiar.  A year ago, when I first attended a Capital Slam event, I too was given a whiteboard and a marker and the daunting task of rating the performers.  It’s a bit stressful, because the audience will heartily boo what it considers unjustified low scores, as I quickly learned—the hard way.  One of the judges selected this evening was local entrepreneur Jen Butson, who I had invited to attend; she didn’t know exactly what to expect going in, but you can read about her experience on her personal blog.

Nathanaël Larochette, our host for the evening

Nathanaël Larochette, director of Capital Slam, opened the sixth annual Capital Slam semi-finals by explaining how the evening would proceed; each of the twelve poets, in random order, would perform one piece, there would be a short intermission, then they would perform in reverse order. The scores would be averaged, and the top eight would advance to the finals.

It’s traditional to start a poetry slam with a “sacrifical poet”—a first performer who is not actually competing, but is still scored by the judges, to “calibrate” them.  Before inviting arRay of Words to the stage, Nathanaël explained another slam poetry tradition: to welcome each performer to the stage, to encourage them, and to provide a sense of unity, each audience member is supposed to make a fist.  On the count of three, they are to throw their fist into the air, shouting “Raise it!”

Yes, it feels silly the first time you do it.  After the first couple of times, it comes naturally.  Twelve poets later, you feel like a Black Panther.

Sacrificial poet arRay of Words stepped to the microphone with a single sheet of paper in his hand, and began to read his piece.  About a minute in, he crumpled his paper, threw it to the stage behind him, and confronted the microphone with renewed vigor and threw his whole body into the performance.

Sacrificial Poet ArRay of Words

The audience was hooked.  The judges gave him scores of 8.7, 8.0, 8.7, 7.5, and 7.9, for a final score of 24.6 (don’t worry about doing the math; all the final scores for the evening are at the bottom of this article).

Chris Tse, a young Asian man with a thick, bushy head of hair, was the first poet to compete, presenting an optimistic piece about his identity and hopes for the future.  He was followed by the nonchalant, casual Sean O’Gorman, whose poem about laughter was well-received by the audience, but not as well by the judges.  Greg “Ritallin” Frankson followed with his highly metrical, hip-hop style poetry.  It seemed to me that the performers were exceptionally nervous; I guess that’s to be expected given the unprecedented size of the audience, and the importance of the semi-finals.

Graeme "Loh El" O'Farrell

Next up was Brad Morden, in a pale, crumpled fedora.  His piece about searching for his birth mother was delivered perfectly, and won a long round of applause.  Truth Is… took the stage with her soulful, musical voice and varied tempo.  Open Secret took the microphone and broke into a fast-paced, thoughtful political piece.  His performance was met by a standing ovation from half of the audience, prompting Nathanaël to comment “this ain’t no hush-hush live library poetry reading” before introducing the next performer, John Akpata.

John stated “this poem contains words by Rusty Priske” before launching into a powerful piece decrying child abuse, echoing the sentiments and words of Rusty’s A Conspiracy of Shame. “You’re going to die” were the grim opening words of Prufrock’s first piece of the evening, a poem about losing sight of the basics of survival as human beings in our current society.  D-Lightful attacked the microphone with a passionate exposition of the conflict of love.

A cry of “Ezra Pound Lives!” from the audience welcomed Loh El to the stage, where his very personal poem about white privilege seemed entirely at odds with his outwardly sunny disposition.  Crowd favourite Brandon Wint melted more than a few hearts with a poem about love, truth, and illusion.  To close off the first round, Thomas McKinley took the stage; an older gentleman with clear diction, he presented a piece that was as thought-provoking as it was humorous.

John Akpata

Nathanaël called for a “thirteen minute intermission”, during which I bought the Capital Slam 2009 CD from Danielle at the merchandise table.

The second round opened with a second sacrificial poet, Hyfidellik, whose passionate poem describing an uncle being killed for political reasons, with its haunting refrain “There’s a war in me” drew scores of 9.2, 9.1, 8.9, 8.0, and 9.6 from the judges, for a total score of 27.2.

Starting with Thomas, the poets performed their second pieces; Loh El’s poem about his infant son garnered applause from the audience and a personal congratulation from John Akpata.  The clear crowd favourite was Open Secret’s poem commemorating the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre.  Chris Tse ended the second round with a lighthearted, fast-paced piece about girls, ending with his phone number to a wave of laughter and applause.

Brandon Wint melts hearts with his words

For the last performance of the evening, Nathanaël called Rusty Priske to the stage.  Rusty took a moment to mention that Ottawa would be host to the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in October; “so I don’t have to follow the rules.”  He beckoned, and Danielle K. L. Grégoire walked onstage.  She looked up at the audience.

“There’s a lot of people here,” she said.

“You took our money!” joked a voice from the crowd.

Together, Rusty and Danielle performed a piece that was grafted together from two poems they had written on the same subject; the terror felt by someone walking alone at night who thinks they are being followed.  These were two poignant pieces to start with, together they present the same situation from two different perspectives, in a telling commentary on how society has changed the way we live and interact, from two of the region’s most experienced poetic performers.

Danielle K. L. Grégoire and Rusty Priske wrap things up

After Rusty and Danielle’s performance, Nathanaël took the microphone again to announce the eight poets who would be moving on to the final round: Loh El, Brandon Wint, Brad Morden, Prufrock, John Akpata, Truth Is…, Chris Tse, and Open Secret.

The eight finalists will face off against each other on June 5th, at the Alumni Auditorium; doors open at 6:30 pm.  Arrive early.

And get your fist ready.

Photography by Jes Lacasse.

Finalists:

Open Secret: Round 1: 9.7 / 9.9 / 9.2 / 9.7 / 9.9 | 29.3 Round 2: 9.6 / 9.2 / 9.1 / 9.8 / 9.9 | 28.6  Final: 28.95

Chris Tse: Round 1: 9.2 / 9.7 / 8.3 / 9.4 / 9.8 | 28.3 Round 2: 9.7 / 9.9 / 8.9 / 9.4 / 9.8 | 28.9  Final: 28.60

Truth Is…: Round 1: 9.3 / 9.2 / 9.2 / 9.5 / 9.7 | 28.0 Round 2: 9.6 / 9.0 / 8.9 / 8.8 / 9.5 | 27.4  Final: 27.70

John Akpata: Round 1: 8.9 / 9.0 / 9.5 / 9.3 / 8.2 | 27.2 Round 2: 9.5 / 9.2 / 9.4 / 9.3 / 8.7 | 27.9  Final: 27.55

Prufrock: Round 1: 8.4 / 9.3 / 9.6 / 9.1 / 8.7 | 27.1 Round 2: 9.3 / 8.9 / 9.4 / 9.2 / 9.7 | 27.9  Final: 27.50

Brad Morden: Round 1: 8.9 / 8.9 / 9.5 / 8.5 / 9.4 | 27.2 Round 2: 9.7 / 8.5 / 8.7 / 9.3 / 9.2 | 27.2  Final: 27.20

Brandon Wint: Round 1: 8.8 / 8.7 / 9.0 / 9.3 / 9.7 | 27.1 Round 2: 9.7 / 8.8 / 8.2 / 8.5 / 9.8 | 27.0  Final: 27.05

Loh El: Round 1: 8.8 / 9.2 / 9.2 / 8.9 / 8.9 | 27.0 Round 2: 9.5 / 9.5 / 8.6 / 8.8 /8.9 | 26.7  Final: 26.85

Runners-up:

D-lightful: Round 1: 9.6 / 9.8 / 8.9 / 9.1 / 8.9 | 27.1 Round 2: 8.7 / 8.7 / 8.8 / 8.9 / 9.3 | 26.4  Final: 26.75

Greg “Ritallin” Frankson: Round 1: 8.0 / 8.4 / 8.2 / 9.0 / 8.5 | 25.1 Round 2: 9.4 / 8.9 / 8.7 / 9.3 / 9.0 | 27.2  Final: 26.15

Thomas McKinley: Round 1: 8.8 / 9.5 / 8.7 / 8.6 / 8.8 | 26.3 Round 2: 8.6 / 9.0 / 8.3 / 8.2 / 8.3 | 25.2  Final: 25.75

Sean O’Gorman: Round 1: 8.5 / 8.2 / 8.8 / 8.2 / 8.3 | 25.0 Round 2: 9.2 / 8.7 / 8.7 / 8.9 / 8.9 | 26.0  Final: 25.50

On Sunday, April 25th, I attended The Age of Persuasion with Terry O’Reilly and Mike Tennant, two ad men who host a weekly show on CBC Radio about the pervasiveness of advertising and how it affects our day-to-day lives. They have a new book coming out this spring. Called The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture, it tells the story of marketing, from the early days in the 1960s to present-day and beyond.

According to Tennant, the book starts with ad clutter, the idea that ad men work against each other, which is what makes marketing so invasive and ubiquitous. He said this idea led to a question: how many ads are people exposed to each day? One morning, he decided to count the number of ads he saw and heard from the time he woke up in the morning to the time he arrived at work. It came to around 600. In the course of a day, he says, an individual can be exposed to up to 6000 ads.

It’s no wonder the room was packed. Everyone in our society has experience with marketing. We are exposed to it from the time we are born to the day we die, and, as a result, we have strong reactions to advertising and branding, and strong opinions about what works and what doesn’t, what’s appropriate and what’s not.

Tennant and O’Reilly used this to their advantage. The points they made were clarified with a variety of examples. Talking about marketing to the senses, they told the story of how Mercedes Benz has a 35-person department dedicated to creating and fine-tuning the sound made by a closing car door. The thinking is, and this is based on evidence, that the whoosh and click sound continuously cements in the minds of buyers the idea that they’ve made a wise purchase. It’s a satisfying sound, a sound that says, “this is a powerful, well-crafted machine.”

It’s not something you traditionally think of as marketing, but it’s all part of selling an experience. And it’s the reason brands are such powerful things. Advertisers are like lawyers, says O’Reilly, they present the best side of the case. The only difference is that advertisers work on you over the course of your lifetime, appealing to your senses, emotions, humour and anything else they can think of to win you over to their side.

When the floor was opened to questions, someone asked: as people start to seek out their own entertainment and don’t rely on broadcast television and advertisers to dictate what they watch, how will advertising change?

Tennant and O’Reilly think it will lead to a shift back to a golden age of advertising, where ads are cleverly woven into storylines, much as they were with radio advertising in the 1920s. This kind of advertising is more honest, they think— in exchange for your attention the ads give something back, something funny, witty or clever that you can appreciate.

On Tuesday evening, the last day of the festival, I saw Ancient Wisdom in the Modern World with Wade Davis and Extraordinary Canadians with a bevy of famous authors/political figures: John Ralston Saul, Adrienne Clarkson, Mark Kingwell and Douglas Coupland.

The first event featured Davis, a BC-based anthropologist who makes documentaries for National Geographic, giving a variation of his 2009 Massey Lecture. Instead of me recapping it, listen to the lectures here, or watch him speak at the 2008 TEDTalks here.

Let me just say that he is worth listening to and watching. He delivered an articulate and interesting lecture about the importance of cultural diversity, complete with great photos and fascinating stories to go along with each one. What does it mean to be human and alive? He asked. When you ask that, he says, the answer comes in 7000 different voices and different ways. Culture is not decorative, and cultural diversity is as important as genetic diversity. Cataclysms, such as the use of  rape as a systematic weapon of war in the Congo or the killing fields of Pol Pot, come from a breakdown of culture, when people feel disconnected and disaffected.

The final event of the festival was an all-star round-table discussion of life, literature and Twitter. John Ralston Saul hosted Douglas Coupland, Mark Kingwell and Adrienne Clarkson in a discussion about, well, I’m not entirely sure what their focus was. It drifted from Marshall McCluhan and the other famous Canadian thinkers featured in Penguin’s Extraordinary Canadians series to the invasiveness of social media to the impact of childhood illness on the development of brilliant authors. It was interesting to listen to, for the most part, like attending a dinner party with very intelligent and well-spoken guests.

All in all, it was a good festival, and I’m looking forward to the post-festival events: Yann Martel on May 10th, A Gaza Doctor’s Journey with Izzeldin Abuelaish on May 17th and Joanne Harris on May 18th.

Poetry duo strikes again!

Following an unforgettable evening at the Spoken Word Plot in Almonte, Ottawa-based writers/performers Nadine Thornhill and Jessica Ruano join forces once again and share their poetry at the famed Dusty Owl Reading Series, hosted by the jovial Steve Zytveld, on Sunday, May 2, 2010.

As per usual, the show takes place at Swizzles Bar and Grill, 246-B Queen Street (at Kent Street) in downtown Ottawa. Please note that the new start time is 5pm. Admission is free, but donations are lovingly accepted.

Here are some nice things artsy locals have said about Nadine and Jessica:

“Your set was living proof of the value of hearing poetry rather than simply reading it … personal, intimate, intelligent, aesthetically coherent, pleasing (even if at times challenging), and inclusive.”

Sterling Lynch, Award-Winning Playwright

“How grand to see you perform last night. I was so touched by the generosity of spirit and the pleasure in being alive you both manifested, to say nothing of being delighted by the intelligence, rhythm and clarity of language.”

Jennifer Cayley, Ottawa Storyteller

“Your performance was honest, refreshing and sincere. So glad we made the trek!”

Laurie Koensgen, GCTC Education Coordinator

Nadine and Jessica have previously headlined at the Voices of Venus series at Umi Café and have performed with the Capital Poetry Collective. They are also active participants in Ottawa’s vibrant theatre community. Both feisty and thoughtful, these poetesses bring their personal stories to the stage with an adorkable elegance and a hint of mischief.

And yes, they promise to perform the clitoris poem at the show.

~~~

Following the feature performers, all poets, musicians, and storytellers are invited to perform on the Dusty Owl open mic and compete for the much coveted “Object of Desire”.

Dusty Owl gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council.

For more information about Nadine and Jessica, please contact Jessica Ruano
by phone at 613 355 2531 or by email at ruano.jessica@gmail.com

Dusty Owl Reading Series http://dustyowl.com
Nadine’s blog “Adorkable Thespian” http://nadinethornhill.wordpress.com/
Jessica’s blog “the most exquisite moments” http://jessicaruano.wordpress.com/

Nadine Thornhill is an award winning playwright 

(“The Wedding Night” and “Oreo”) and actor.

By day, she is the Program Co-ordinator for 

Planned Parenthood’s Insight Theatre. She was 

the feature poet at Voices of Venus in January 

2010, and she writes the sex-advice column 

“Dirty Laundry” for Apartment 613.  

Nadine also blogs at “Adorkable Thespian” 

http://nadinethornhill.wordpress.com/ 

Jessica Ruano is a writer of press releases, 

newspaper articles, brochures, romantic emails, 

academic papers, and – occasionally – of short 

stories and poetry. She was the feature poet at 

Voices of Venus in July 2009, then at the 

Newstalgica Series in October 2009. And she has 

a soft spot for haikus. 

Jessica also writes the Ottawa Arts Newsletter 

and blogs at “the most exquisite moments” 

http://jessicaruano.wordpress.com/ 

The Spoken Word Plot was founded in 2008 by Danielle K. L. Grégoire. 

The open-mic theme for this month’s show is “the beginning of your poetry.” Poets are 

encouraged to bring old and new pieces that represent the evolution of their writing style.  

For more information, or to RSVP for the event, please contact Jessica Ruano  

by phone at 613 355 2531 or by email at ruano.jessica@gmail.com

It’s Thursday, December 17th and I find myself at the Raw Sugar Cafe, it’s on Somerset, half a block West of Bronson. Mary Clayton’s soul infused version of “Southern Man” pumps through the room at an agreeable volume as crisp dressed women and men settle and chat in this cozy, eclectic room.

Tonight launches the fifth chapter of local writer Brendan McNally’s novel, “Up the Ottawa Without Despair”. Scavenging the internet for fun things to do tonight, I stumbled upon this event listing on Ottawatonite.com and know precious little about the show. However, I had the honor of being a member of the first musical act to grace this cherished venue, so I’m always game frequenting this cool establishment.   

Familiar faces start to pop out of the crowd and I recognize one of the names on the poster. I’ve seen Amanda Abdelhadi perform comedy before and she was quite funny. Dave O’Meara, it turns out, is the same lanky, lovable Dave who serves at the Manx. A few years ago I worked at the Manx and while slicing a bucket of potatoes I happened upon a news clipping about the Gord Downie using some of Dave’s poetry as lyrics. We had a good chat about it and my esteem grew for this warm and humble man.

I see a distinctive gentleman standing in the middle of the room, he must be Brendan. He has one of those faces like Vince Halfhide, not esthetically speaking, but in the way that it’s so recognizable, it’s a pillar of the Ottawa arts community, like a living totem pole.  

The peppermint tea soothes my smoke and coffee ravaged throat while approving glances fall from this community of writers as I scribble away in my black leather bound notebook. Right on time, the show starts and Sandra Ridley goes up first. Images of lush vegetation swirl with feminine body parts, all being grounded by the thick roots and good love of an old tree. Her words conjure instances of spontaneous growth intertwined with brittle death, sprouting from ragged decay. I wish I had the written version of the work in front of me, so I could pick it apart with a dictionary, meticulously cherishing each delicate beat. Soon her smooth delivery carries me away, I learn to sit back and allow her jagged yet soothing atmospheres to be formed in my mind. Ephemeral environments and mythic characters sway to bouncing rhythms, creating gritty and fantastic moments, then they slip away as she starts her next poem. The crowd gobbles up every morsel and I wish she was on for longer.  

Dave is up next, apparently he has a hearty list of laurels and as soon as he goes into his first selection, the deservedness of his recognitions is made apparent. Dave echos the simple mastery of Denis Leary, if Denis were taking on all forms of perturbing and sometimes volatile subject matter. “Power Boat” is about a real life English boat racer who had a horrible boating accident, went into a coma, legally died twice, got upset when paramedics had to cut open her brazier and then went on to do more racing. His work is inspired by things he reads and the result is a varied examination of individual struggles and triumphs from all over the world. His work offers moments of dissonant thought patterns framed by the tempestuous anxieties of teenage reality. Every thursday between 6:30 and 7pm, you can hear Dave on CKCU, he hosts a show called Literary Landscape. Chatting with Dave, I find a man sustaining a high level of creative output. The result is ever improving work and increasing visibility. He tells me that being a poet doesn’t always pay very well, but it has it’s perks. He was invited to read at a writers festival in Orkin, found in the Yorkie Islands of Northern Scotland. A recent highlight was an on-stage interview with Nick Cave at the local St. Brigid’s writer’s festival.  

Seeing Brendan’s face around the city for so long, it’s a pleasant shock to hear a soft but striking Irish accent escape from his lips. The reading series was created to expose his new novel, Up the Ottawa Without Despair and to raise money for a much needed dental operation. His demeanor is of measured exuberance, cracking one cornball joke after another as his stories expose us to the beautiful aspects of all things low and dirty. The first selection hits a nerve with my personal history; it’s a first person narrative about a young, poor but intelligent and sensitive man hitchhiking up from Ottawa to Wakefield and back, before that quaint little town was the tourist destination it is today. A reference to “The Outsiders”, is paired with the brutal reality of the entrenched violence in poor Lowertown. Flowery writing this is not, gritty displays of raw, bright life are juxtaposed with bleak hopelessness and sorrow. His dismantling of the Santa Clause myth is a piece of disgruntled holiday magic. The debunking of St Nick’s soft power culminates as a hung over, self-described hater of children takes on the roll of mall Santa. Amanda Abdelhadi contributes back-up voice acting, creating much appreciated layers of comedy. I liked it when the stoned elf was giggling.  

DJ Eric Komosol playes tasty tracks as a musical bed to Brendan’s dynamic performance; smooth jazz and deep soul are the grooves of the evening. Enlisting DJ Eric for the party was a wise decision, he made excellent song choices, had smooth transitions and helped created that quintessential book-party atmosphere. If you ever need a good DJ for a party, look him up. 

All and all it was an enthralling and thought provoking evening with plenty of humor and good tidings.

There’s something special about accomplished and talented authors presenting a vocalized rendition of their written work. Hearing distinctive emphasis, interjection and pauses, creates an über-intimate, utterly unique experience. Nadia has created an inviting environment of the Raw Sugar which nourishes and encourages all varieties of artistic expression. So go to the Raw Sugar whenever it’s open, especially next month, when Brendan presents chapter six of the house band series.

I look forward to seeing you there.  

-Maxim

Maxim also blogs: http://maximk7.blogspot.com/

  ]]> http://www.ottawatonite.com/2009/12/stumbling-upon-a-reading-%e2%80%9cup-the-ottawa-without-despair%e2%80%9d/feed/ 2 http://www.ottawatonite.com/2009/12/house-band-reading-series-behind-a-written-scene-loeb/ http://www.ottawatonite.com/2009/12/house-band-reading-series-behind-a-written-scene-loeb/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:48:15 +0000 Brendan McNally http://www.ottawatonite.com/?p=1614  

The “Loeb” scene (video below) was presented at the May edition of the House Band Reading Series, which featured the launch of Chapter 2.

photo by R. Dupuis

Boarding the number two at Rideau and Nelson, the bus driver warns me not to swallow the two quarters I have pinched between my lips. Adding cheerfully, “you’ll get sick to your stomach and then I’ll have a mess to clean up!”

At the Rideau Center, a woman dressed in generic work clothes she probably doesn’t like very much, is reading The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. She’s only on page eight, and judging from the look on her face, she’s not enjoying it very much. Occasionally, she looks up from the book and checks her Blackberry. She sighs as she does this, as if disappointed that somebody forgot her birthday, again.

Turning down O’Connor, two professional looking women talk about the virtues of CBC radio and NPR. The one who’s doing most of the talking looks like she votes NDP and proudly frequents nude beaches. While speaking, she deftly integrates her affection for foreign films, The Economist and the Sandinistas into one sentence. The woman standing next to her nods her head, a tight smile on her lips.

On the Somerset portion of the route, there are lots of haunted looking men. They look lonely, like the have demons. Day after day, they return home to empty apartments, their hours stretched thin, they dump overflowing ashtrays into the toilet.

In Hintonburg, a man carrying a pack of Peter Jackson cigarettes and a Coke gets on the bus. He has a shock of white hair and a soul patch on his chin. He walks with a limp and wears mismatched clothes that almost look cool. He tells the person he sits beside about a horse that came in on Sunday night that paid out $75. He speaks slowly, as if it’s difficult for him to locate the words he wants to use.

Pimped out kids loiter in front of the Community Center. They look dangerous, like you wouldn’t’ want to watch them play street hockey, frightened to see how they might use their sticks.

Passing through the fashionable Westboro district of the city, the #2 emerges onto Richmond, where the demographics change. Here, on the bus, there are only women. Sitting quietly, they all stare straight, holding their bags carefully on their laps they look like they’re on important missions.

At Bayshore, a large woman in a hijab reads a tiny chapbook about half the size of a baseball card. Her thumb obscures the entire page of Arabic text on the opposite page to the one she’s reading. Her lips move slowly as her finger traces the words on the page.

Two girls share an iPod. One listens attentively, like a studious music geek, while the other girl bops about playing air guitar and snapping her fingers. Eating from a bag of Hickory Sticks, she shouts, “I have to pee so frigging badly!”

Plump and happy, a man wearing a Dave Matthews concert t-shirt decorated with the buttons of all sorts of not-so-cool rock bands gets on. He looks like he collects action figures and has an informed opinion about which Star Trek franchise is superior, like he’s dying to talk to somebody, to anybody.

A woman, who has made a point of carrying all of her groceries in cloth rather than plastic bags, answers her phone. At first, her “hello” is neutral, a question. When she finds out who’s calling, she relaxes, “oh, hi,” she says, warmth now infusing her voice.

It’s raining now, and as the 2 returns downtown an Asian man runs like the wind to catch the bus. He flashes by The Plant Bath, where, through an illuminated window, you can see dozens of children in karate outfits doing  jumping jacks.

mmurray also blogs here: http://www.michaelmurray.ca/blog/