Saturday, November 13, 2010

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Bywords Fall Reading, Sunday, November 21, 2010


You are invited to the launch of the fall edition of the Bywords Quarterly Journal to take place at 5pm on Sunday, November 21, 2010 as part of the Dusty Owl Reading Series, Swizzles, 246-B Queen St.
Music by Kevin Grant and poetry readings by Frances Boyle, Reid Cooper, Marilyn Irwin and rob mclennan.
Followed by the Dusty Owl's Open Mic.

Contact info: amanda at bywords dot ca

Cover photo by Jayni Bloch

Bywords thanks the City of Ottawa for funding us again this year.

A reminder that we are always looking for poetry by former and current Ottawa residents, students and workers. Deadlines are the 15th of the month.
Go to http://www.bywords.ca/ and click on guidelines for further information.

The next issue of Bywords.ca comes out November 15.

To receive daily updates of literary events, please follow us on Twitter.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Bywords' 2010 John Newlove Poetry Award

Bywords' 2010 John Newlove Poetry Award Reading
at the Ottawa International Writers Festival
Southminister United Church, 15 Aylmer
Monday, October 25, 2010, 6:30 pm- a free event
contact: amanda@bywords.ca

Launch of "The Glass Jaw" by Marcus McCann, the recipient of the 2009 John Newlove Poetry Award. With readings by this year's honourable mentions and award recipient to be announced at the reading, and music by the Companionship Registry.

"This year’s winner of the John Newlove Poetry Award stood out from a strong field of finalists for its rich execution of focalized perception and its economical rendering of character through the use of terse, gritty idiom." Jason Camlot, 2010 Bywords John Newlove Poetry Award Judge

The annual John Newlove Poetry award, launched in the fall of 2004, commemorates the honest, poignant and well-written poetry of John Newlove, an Ottawa resident for almost twenty years and poet who died in 2003.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Transparency Machine with Louis Cabri


A B SERIES PRESENTS

a homecoming edition of 

THE TRANSPARENCY MACHINE

with Louis Cabri 

The A B Series is delighted to present a homecoming edition of The Transparency Machine with Louis Cabri. During the late 1980's and early 1990's, Cabri organized the Experimental Writing Group in Ottawa with Rob Manery. They produced literary events that included The Transparency Machine reading series, then held at Gallery 101. Together, they published hole magazine and chapbook series.

The Transparency Machine is an event in which a poet is asked to give a reading from his or her work, and create, for that reading, a textual collage (of quotations and images) through which to talk about poetry. Pre-readings for Louis Cabri's October 30, 2010 Transparency Machine event have been posted to The A B Series web site.

Louis Cabri is author of —that can’t (Nomados) and The Mood Embosser (Coach House Books). He teaches modern and contemporary poetry, literary theory, and creative writing at the University of Windsor. Wrinkle Press recently published his leaflet What is Venice? (illustrated by Tim de Vries). His new book, Poetryworld, is being published this fall by Capilano University Editions.

* SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2010 *

* Doors open 7:00pm *
* Presentation at  7:30pm *

Gallery 101
301 1/2 Bank Street
(top level)
Ottawa, Ontario

Monday, September 13, 2010

Kemp & Kubota in The A B Series

Poster design by Kevin Matthews

On Friday, October 1st, Governor General's Award winning artist, NOBUO KUBOTA, and extraordinary sound poetry performer, PENN KEMP, launch The A B Series' Fourth Season of autumn to spring events. Come and see two solo performances by Canadian masters of sound poetry.

Friday, October 1, 2010
Doors:  7:00pm
Performance:  7:30pm to 9:30pm 
The Mercury Lounge (Upstairs)
$9 admission at the door

Penn Kemp performs at 7:30pm followed by an intermission followed by Nobuo Kubota's performance.


NOBUO KUBOTA was an original member of the Artists' Jazz Band and of the dynamic improvising orchestra, the CCMC, and was one of the founding members of the Music Gallery. His vocal work is grounded in sound poetry, free jazz improvisation and Buddhist chanting. He has been performing as a solo vocalist locally and in Europe for 25 years. As an extension to his vocal work, he also works with visual sound poetry, exploring the strategy of "intermedia". His recent work, "new calligraphy," is involved with the writing of sonic sound scores. He lives and works in Toronto, Ontario.

Canadian poet, performer and playwright PENN KEMP has published twenty-five books of poetry and drama, had six plays and ten CDs produced as well as a DVD, Canada's first poetry CD-ROM and several award-winning videopoems. She performs in festivals around the world. Her Muse News is renewed monthly on Penn Letters and on Facebook. Penn can also be heard on MySpace and mytown.ca. Penn was the Canada Council Writer-in-Residence at the University of Western Ontario for 2009-10. She hosts Gathering Voices on CHRW 94.9 FM, archive on Gathering Voices. Penn will launch Luminous Entrance: a sound opera for climate change action in The A B Series on October 1st. Videos of Penn can be seen at House of Anansi Press and Poetry Visualized.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Bywords Summer Reading


Launch of the summer Bywords Quarterly Journal
with readings by S.J. Atkinson, Stephen de Paul, Dimitra Xidoux and Marcus McCann and music by John Lavery.
Dusty Owl Reading Series
Sunday, July 18, 2010, 5pm
246-B Queen St.
followed by open mic
further info: amanda@bywords.ca
cover photo for the summer BQJ by Brennan Schnell

Friday, May 28, 2010

Poets Against the War Protest

ARMS UNFAIR - Ottawa, June 2, 2010, noon till 7 pm

Poets from Montreal and Ottawa will read outside the main gates of Lansdowne Park in Ottawa at noon on Wednesday June 2 to protest the Canadian manufacture and sale of weapons, ammunition and military components. CANSEC is returning to Ottawa City property this spring because last year a majority on Ottawa City Council shamefully overturned this municipality's 20-year ban on hosting arms trade shows.

Readers include:
Hugh Hazelton
Susan McMaster
Jorge Etcheverry
Erika White
John Akpata
Gary Townsend
Czandra
Raymond Filip
Claudia Morrison
Jim Joyce
Paul Tulloch
and others

At 1:30 pm the reading will move indoors to Irene's Pub, 885 Bank St. at Clary and from 5-7 pm back to the main Rally for Peace at the gates of the Park.

CANSEC is a significant symbol of Canada's government-subsidized, military-industrial complex, a significant drain on our economy, as it artificially props unsustainable economic sectors. It facilitates rather than discourages wars, invasions, occupations, orchestrated regime changes and human rights abuses.

By opposing the influx of arms promoters, tanks and other war technologies into our local community, we can press for government policies that respect peace, human rights, democracy, and the environment.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Poets Against War and Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) rally

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Gerry Shikatani in The A B Series


Internationally recognized text-sound performance artist, Gerry Shikatani enacts a multi-media performance on June 3rd at The Mercury Lounge. Shikatani has published several volumes of poetry, a book of fiction as well as writings on gastronomy and travel. He has been publishing and exhibiting visual poetry for decades.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Bywords Spring Reading-Sunday May 16, 5pm


at the Dusty Owl Reading Series, Swizzles, 246-B Queen St. featuring poetry by contributors to the spring Bywords Quarterly Journal: Emily Falvey, Winter Fedyk, Neal Freeland, Seymour Mayne, rob mclennan, Zoran Todorovic and Asoka Weerasinghe with the music of the Companionship Registry.
Followed by the Dusty Owl Open Mic & Object of Desire competition.
cover photo by Gatineau photographer Alain Lacharite.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Rest Cure by Sandra Ridley (Apt. 9 Press, 2009)

to begin, a small word about Apt. 9 Press. so far there have been 7 limited edition chapbooks: 6 poetry and 1 fiction; 6 from Ottawa, 1 from Toronto. the quality of the production is excellent: stitched binding, fine paper, cellophane wrapped for the collector. the offerings have been eclectic and representative of the skill and creativity of Ottawa (and a Toronto) writers.

what i want when i read poetry is to be spellbound by images and sound. Rest Cure accomplishes this for me. in minimal and carefully chosen language, Ridley mesmerizes, evoking the character of a poorly woman with language that is reminiscent of a bygone era. each poem pays heed to the senses; when necessary, Ridley troubles syntax , but not in a heavy-handed way, just wee nudges that slow down the momentum. lines are built and broken based on rhythm, image, sound. Ridley has given us mood, tone and enough exquisite detail to allow us to be compelled by this character, but she hasn’t gone overboard. she’s given us space to fill in for ourselves. this is an excerpt from a longer manuscript called Post-Apothecary. Rest Cure satisfies like a curative elixir, yet leaves us craving another draught.

i.
Before running on nightshade & wormwood in a topiary maze.

Before hawthorn punctures her arm : poison tipped.

Before a peck of stones, she handpicks or pockets,
she is camphor-doused
& blinded
by a fold of wool : wet & held tight to her eyes.

Before his screen & clips & the red light & darkening, his hands pressed
forward
to his switchboard & mirror : apparatus of the in-out & charged.

Before her fluoroscopic diapositive &
the smell of two kinds of heat.

Nothing left hidden in her body.

Before & after, there is only this : four corners to a room
& the others pounding at the door.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Gary Barwin in The A B Series



A B SERIES PRESENTS 


GARY BARWIN READING


SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 2010


7PM DOORS OPEN
7:30PM PERFORMANCE


MERCURY LOUNGE
56 ByWard Market Square
Ottawa


$7 admission at the door / $5 for people with low income


ABSERIES.ORG


We welcome to The A B Series stage, Hamilton writer, poet and composer GARY BARWIN. He gives a feature reading, which will last one hour. The event takes place in The Mercury Lounge at 56 ByWard Market Square in Ottawa; doors open at 7pm and the reading starts at 7:30. Barwin is a writer well known for giving entertaining and engaging readings of his fiction and poetry. Barwin's readings combine high artistry with a sharp sense of humour.

Barwin's music and writing have been published and presented in Canada, the USA, Japan and Europe. He has a PhD in Music Composition from The State University of New York at Buffalo. His work has been commissioned and broadcast by the CBC. His third poetry collection from Coach House Books,The Porcupinity of the Stars, will be published later this year. Barwin's chapbook,Inverting the Deer, was a co-winner of the 2009 bpNichol Chapbook Award. 

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Poetry at the Writers Festival

Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank St. (at Sunnyside)

Saturday, April 24, 2010

6:30pm: Spotlight on Talon Poetry:
derek beaulieu, Weyman Chan, Frank Davey, George Bowering

8:30pm: House of Anansi Poetry Bash:
Michael Lista, Suzanne Buffam, Steven Heighton

Monday, April 26, 2010

8:00pm: Poetry Cabaret
Rachel Zolf, Jesse Ferguson, Erin Moure, Gregory Scofield

Tickets: $15 ($10 student or senior; free for festival members)
Tel. 613 562 1243
www.writersfestival.org

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Monty Reid with a guest appearance by Call Me Katie in The A B Series: Feb. 27/10


ROGUE STIMULUS: The Ottawa launch


Launch of the poetry anthology inspired by the Prime Minister's prorogation of Parliament.

Doors: 5:45pm
Start: 6:00 pm
Gallery 101
301 1/2 Bank Street

EARLIER - Rogue Stimulus on Parliament Hill!
At 2pm, join speakers, poets and performers together in a lighthearted protest against the prorogation of Parliament.
see: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=331179216179&ref=mf

AFTER - the Rogue Stimulus launch, stay on site at Gallery 101 for an A B Series presentation of music by Call Me Katie and a feature poetry reading by Monty Reid!

http://ABSERIES.ORG

Rogue Stimulus
Edited by Stephen Brockwell and Stuart Ross

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament (for the second time in a year!) on December 30, 2009, he punted many vital bills into oblivion. But he also inspired hundreds of poems after Mansfield Press announced this government-toppling anthology. This book gathers a range of responses—from outrage to slapstick—by acclaimed poets (including Canada’s first Parliamentary Poet Laureate and several winners of the Governor General’s Award for Poetry), previously unpublished poets and, to paraphrase Stephen Harper, ordinary working Canadians.

Featuring poems by:
Sandra Alland ✺ Larissa Andrusyshyn ✺ Steven Artelle ✺ Tara Azzopardi ✺ Jonathan Ball ✺ Gary Barwin ✺ derek beaulieu & Andrew Topel ✺ Jonathan Bennett ✺ George Bowering ✺ Shannon Bramer ✺ Stephen Brockwell ✺ Mike Buckthought ✺ Alice Burdick ✺ Stephen Cain ✺ Chris Chambers ✺ George Elliott Clarke ✺ Stewart Cole ✺ Claudia Coutu Radmore ✺ Linda Lee Crosfield ✺ Michael Dennis ✺ Ann Diamond ✺ Adam Dickinson ✺ Christopher Doda ✺ Mark D Dunn ✺ Amanda Earl ✺ Hermann Eberl ✺ Amatoritsero Ede ✺ Maureen Egan ✺ Chris Faiers ✺ Laura Farina ✺ Andrew Faulkner ✺ Jesse Patrick Ferguson ✺ Laurie Fuhr ✺ Patrick Gass ✺ yaqoob ghaznavi ✺ David Greer ✺ Gwendolyn Guth ✺ Nathan Hauch ✺ Jamie Hawes ✺ Jason Heroux ✺ Joanna Lilley ✺ James Lindsay ✺ Jeanettes Lynes ✺ Nyla Matuk ✺ clay mccann ✺ Marcus McCann ✺ christine mcnair ✺ Peter McPhee ✺ kevin mcpherson eckhoff ✺ Bruce Meyer ✺ George Murray ✺ Leigh Nash ✺ Lillian Necakov ✺ Fraser Nelund ✺ The Poets of Nova Institution ✺ Vincent Ponka ✺ K.I. Press ✺ Robert Priest ✺ Michael Eden Reynolds ✺ Stan Rogal ✺ Joe Rosenblatt ✺ Stuart Ross ✺ Ingrid Ruthig ✺ Jeremy Sandler ✺ Greg Santos ✺ Brenda Schmidt ✺ Guy Simser ✺ Jim Smith✺ H. Masud Taj ✺ Daniel Scott Tysdal ✺ Priscila Uppal ✺ Steve Venright

http://www.mansfieldpress.net/Titles/rogue_stimulus.html

Friday, January 22, 2010

Christian Bök lecture at Carleton


Christian Bök

"Be Okay with an Umlaut-(A Grand Tour through the Work of Christian Bök)"
 
Munro Beattie Lecture 2009-2010
hosted by the Department of English, Carleton University
 
Thursday, March 4th 7:30pm
360 Tory Building
 
Free Public Lecture
Reception to follow

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Bywords Warms the Night


Bywords Warms the Night: Fund Raiser for the Cornerstone Women's Shelter
Sunday, January 17, 2010-2pm
Dusty Owl Reading Series
Swizzles, 246-B Queen St.
Contact info: Amanda Earl: amanda@bywords.ca tel. 613 868 1364

Launch of the winter issue of the Bywords Quarterly Journal with poetry readings by Stephen de Paul, Mike Fralic, Anna Lee, Christine McNair,Luminita Suse and Bywords' editors Jamie Bradley, Amanda Earl, Vanessa Davies, Claudia Coutu Radmore, Carol A Stephen, JC Sulzenko
& music by Anna Lee.


Donors receive a free copy of the BQJ.

photo by Justin Van Leeuwen