Monday, October 26, 2009

JOE ROSENBLATT in The A B Series / 2 Readings



The A B Series presents two readings by Governor General's Award winning poet, Joe Rosenblatt.


Doors open 7:30pm
Reading at 8pm

Friday, November 13th, 2009

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

$5 admission

Books by Joe Rosenblatt will be available for sale and signing
Cash bar

Over the course of a literary career spanning more than four decades, Rosenblatt has authored twenty books and his poems have appeared in over thirty anthologies of Canadian poetry. He has received major awards such as the Governor General's Award in 1976 and the BC Book Award in 1986.


JOE ROSENBLATT reads in The A B Series at Gatineau gallery Art-image.

And joining Rosenblatt in performance, Ottawa poet Andree Christensen reads in French from her translations of Rosenblatt's work that appear in the book 'Parrot Fever / Le perroquet fâcheux' (Les Editions du Vermillon).

Copies of 'Parrot Fever / Le perroquet fâcheux' available on site for sale and signing.

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

Doors open 6:30pm
Reading at 7pm

Art-image
855 boul. de la Gappe
Gatineau, Québec
t: 819-243-2345 ext. 2528

Free (a hat will be passed)

Bilingual presentation

For more information on this and other events in The A B Series, please visit:

ABSERIES.ORG

Max Middle
Artistic Director
The A B Series
Tel: (613) 237 4309
director at abseries dot org

The A B Series gratefully acknowledges the support of The Canada Council for these events.

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SOIRÉE POÉSIE de AB Series à Art-image avec Joe ROSENBLATT, récipiendaire du Prix du Gouverneur Général

Également en performance, la poète ottavienne Andrée CHRISTENSEN qui fera la lecture en français de ses traductions du travail de ROSENBLATT, se retrouvant dans le livre « Parrot Fever / Le perroquet fâcheux » aux Éditions du Vermillon. Des copies du livre seront disponible sur place pour vente et dédicace.

QUAND : Le samedi 14 novembre 2009
HEURE : Les portes ouvriront à 18 h 30
La lecture commencera à 19 h
OÙ : Centre d'exposition Art-image
Maison de la culture de Gatineau
855, boul. de la Gappe
Gatineau, Qc
819-243-2325
COÛT : Gratuit (un chapeau sera passé)

Présentation bilingue

Joe Rosenblatt est l'auteur de plus de 20 recueils de poésie et de plusieurs ouvrages autobiographiques. Au cours de ses 40 ans de carrière, ses poèmes ont figuré dans plus de 30 anthologies de poésie canadienne. Il a reçu d'importantes récompenses telles que le Prix du Gouverneur Général de poésie en 1976 et le BC Book Prize en 1986.

Pour plus d'information sur cette soirée et les autres événements de AB Series, veuillez visiter le site web :

ABSERIES.ORG

Max Middle
Directeur artistique
la série A B
Tel: (613) 237 4309
director@abseries.org

The A B Series remercie le Conseil des Arts du Canada pour ces événements.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Congratulations Marcus McCann

Marcus is the winner of Bywords' 2009 John Newlove Poetry Award for his poem Noise (from "Busy") published on Bywords.ca in February, 2009.

Congratulations also to the three honourable mentions:

A House with the Door Never Locked by Sylvia Adams
My Youth Machine-rolled, Smoked to Its Stub by Leanne Averbach
What I Remember of The Wars by Spencer Gordon

This year's judge was Stephanie Bolster.

For further information on the John Newlove Poetry Award, please go to www.bywords.ca and click on Newlove Award.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Poetry highlights at the Ottawa International Writers Festival Fall Edition

October 20, 2009 (not part of the festival but close enough), 8pm

City of Ottawa Book Awards and Arc Magazine’s Lampman-Scott Prize
Library and Archives Canada

Two poetry books are up for the Book Awards:
Colin Morton, The Local Cluster (Pecan Grove Press)
David O’Meara, Noble Gas, Penny Black (Brick Books)

Lampman-Scott Award Finalists are Brenda Leifso for Daughters of Men (London, ON: Brick Books, 2008), David O’Meara for Noble Gas Penny Black (London, ON: Brick Books, 2008), and Monty Reid for The Luskville Reductions (London, ON: Brick Books, 2008).

The Writers Festival events take place at Saint Brigid’s Centre for the Arts and Humanities, 314 St. Patrick St.

October 21, 2009, 8:30 pm
6th Annual Bywords John Newlove Poetry Award
Launch of Rob Friday’s chapbook, “One Man Parade”
Announcement of winner and honourable mentions with readings.
Music by Call Me Katie

October 22, 2009
2pm-MASTERCLASS: THE POETRY OF COLLISION With Sina Queyras Hosted by Rob Winger ;
Join Sina Queyras for a Masterclass session on tradition and innovation in poetry.
6:30pm -•POETRY CABARET #1: Sina Queyras, Colin Morton, Christian Bök and Paul Durcan;Hosted by Rob Winger.
10:30pm-LATE NIGHT AT THE FESTIVAL -Featuring sound poetry by Christian Bök and music by John Lavery

October 26, 2009
6:30pm-POETRY CABARET #2: John Barton, Barbara Myers, Maurice Mierau and Karen Solie

10:30pm-LATE NIGHT AT THE FESTIVAL-In/Words Open Mic

There are many other excellent events and you’ll find poetry in those too. I’m sure there will be something poetic in David Byrne’s talk on his experiences cycling through New York City or Bram Stoker’s great-grand nephew’s book, Dracula, the Undead. Blood after all is a key poetic theme. There’s also lots of music this year with Call Me Katie, Glenn Nuotio and Sadie Hell playing the late night segments of the festival. I suspect the poetry will flow as well as the wine this year. Santé!

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Poetry Past and Soon

Share some poems randomly this week. This is Random Acts of Poetry Week in Canada. At their blog check out how it unfolds...TA Carter is spreading the poetry at the NAC.

Dusty Owl
Dusty Owl hosted Danielle Gregoire's CD release. She was assisted by Steve and by her daughter at the mic.

When Steve and Cathy passed the hat, this time a portion went for jwcurry (see a previous post). Capital Slam October 3rd raised $150 to pass along as well.

For more news on Capital Slam, Rusty Priske's journal can keep you up to date. Teaser of news...? 5 female slammers were out the last time.

Recently we had some sound poetry with 5 local writers jumping in with The Be Blank Consort.
AB Series
Max has some photos here. The Be Blank Consort was at Gallery 101 where the next event will also unfold with Margaret Christakos October 14th. The venue isn't well-signed so if you haven't been before, look for Atomic Rooster on Bank Street. Catch Daphne Marlatt in town on the 21st.


.ism(e):performance cabaret will be Thursday October 8 at Club SAW. Sometimes poetry, sometimes, indefinable, this time will have Living Statues and Chinese instruments among other things. Barry Dempster will be hosted at Tree on the 13th.

Jessica Ruano will read at New Stalgica October 19th.

Shortly after Writers Fest is upon us. Pre-events have started. One is the 14th, one the 20th and then the 21st to 27th, it's 12 hour days of literary goodness. Watch for the John Newlove Awards, Masterclass hosted by Sina Queyras interviewing Colin Morton, Christian Bok and Dublin's Paul Durcan. There will also be a poetry cabaret with John Barton, Barbara Myers, Maurice Mierau and Karen Solie.

The Tree series will bring Erin Moure on the 27th.

For all the events around town, check out bywords.ca

Friday, October 02, 2009

BE BLANK CONSORT LAUNCHES THE A B SERIES 3RD SEASON



THE BE BLANK CONSORT

performs ensemble

with local poets AMANDA EARL, COLIN MORTON and SANDRA RIDLEY

+ surprise guests!


Doors open at 7pm
Performance at 8pm

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

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

$15 admission

cash bar
book table

**

After completing two very successful seasons of readings, The A B Series is set to launch its third season. The A B Series began life and its first season with a reading on November 1st, 2007. That first season culminated with a performance by Dutch sound poetry sensation, Jaap Blonk. The A B Series second season, which ran from fall 2008 to spring 2009, was equally auspicious. We witnessed the staging of 'MESSAGIO GALORE', a locally produced sound poetry spectacular. On February 6th, four Australian poets rocked The National Arts Centre's Fourth Stage. And we welcomed, amongst others, poets Clifton Joseph, Penn Kemp, bill bissett, Robert Priest and Christian Bok to The A B Series stage. We're looking forward to continuing this spirited tradition with readings in the third season, which will run between October 3rd and early June 2010.

THE A B SERIES LAUNCHES ITS THIRD SEASON with a performance by American sound poetry ensemble THE BE BLANK CONSORT on OCTOBER 3rd. It takes place in Ottawa's own and very dynamic artist-run centre, GALLERY 101. During the performance, The Be Blankers will call invited local artists to the stage for performance of select works from the Be Blank repertoire.

**

THE BE BLANK CONSORT was born in June 2001 at the Atlantic Center for the Arts (New Smyrna Beach, Florida) when all of its core members were part of a literary residency convened by Richard Kostelanetz. Each member is a writer using language in greatly expanded and often completely new ways and contexts. THE CONSORT was formed to perform various kinds of texts and visual texts, many of them created collaboratively, in ways that would reveal new resonances and possibilities. Some pieces in their repertoire are poems written by an individual member and scored for multiple voices by another. A few are entirely written and scored by one person. Many more were written in collaboration between two or more of the performers + others. Scott Helmes, in January 2002, initiated the first poems specifically designed for performance by THE CONSORT and many have followed since, created by all the members. In 2003, they released a CD, SOUND MESS: + OTHER POEMS.

THE CONSORT has performed numerous times with past engagements in Miami, New York, Columbus, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Boston, Roanoke, Prescott and elsewhere in The USA.

October 3rd, 2009 marks THE CONSORT'S first Canadian performance!

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CONSORT members performing on October 3rd, 2009:

JOHN M. BENNETT has exhibited and performed his word art worldwide, and has published over 300 books of poetry; among the most recent are LA M AL (Blue Lion Press), CANTAR DEL HUFF (Luna Bisonte Prods), LENTES, (Blue Lion Press), and SPITTING DDREAMS (Blue Lion Press). He is Curator of the Avant Writing Collection at the Ohio State University Libraries.

SCOTT HELMES' professional activities have been mainly in the fields of architecture and education. Starting in 1972, he began writing experimental poetry and pursuing mail art activities and artistic printmaking/drawings. His writing archive from 1972 to 1997 is in the Avant Writing Collection of the Ohio State University Libraries.

MICHAEL PETERS is the author of Vaast Bin (Calamari 2007). Various manifestations of his written images have appeared in journals like SleepingFish, Word for/Word and Hyperrhiz: New Media Cultures, among others. With Poem Rocket and the Be Blank Consort, various manifestations of his recorded sounds have appeared on labels such as Atavistic and Luna Bisonte Prods. His visual-poetic manifestations can be found in various libraries and special collections, as well as appearing in both galleries and sound-image anthologies.

**

For more information on The Be Blank Consort and other upcoming events in The A B Series 3rd season, please refer to:

ABSERIES.ORG