had an amazing Halloween night out with Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham. thx to @justmeg25 for the cheerleader outfit, i had no idea i would become a werewolf untol i saw it (that's how they get you right?). & then for November 1 i buddied up with a disco shower fellow disco to be a disco snail—making a disco snail shell is no small feat! very pleased with this year's costumes, though i told myself i wasn't going to do too much making this year... at least i didn't write a poem sequence about it.... yet.
If you love creating connections in creative spaces then this topique discussion on Saturday is for you! Rani Jambak and No Plexus use sound, visuals and technology to start new conversations about our responsibilities to each other and the world that surrounds us. As an artist and communicator whose curiosity centres around storytelling and the natural world, I am very excited to introduce this session at Pique which my company @sprucecreativeottawa is sponsoring. Check out @debaser__ for tickets & more info
#thisispique #Ottawa #arts #experimentation
didn't make it to the big burn this year but i got dressed up & went dancing with two lovely burner ladies who i countas friends, then went to investigate the scene of a real burn—the forest fire near our cottage, for which firefighters landed in our pond by helicopter. we saw the tree that lightning struck & started it all. it was caught, reported & monitored, for what could be called a good burn, all things considered. & it was really interesting to see how the fire moved & what was consumed. these adantures included lots of walking & some light climbing, too. i have also finished my latest poetry manuscript & submitted a grant report, so a good end to August overall. the bright side, i am still off for two more weeks.
oh, you are missing the coolest sound poetry performance by nina jane, jwcurry and Chris Johnson at the ottawa small press book fair right now, // @textcurious@ceeeejohnson
i have some work in a new anthology of concrete poetry, launching this Saturday in Toronto. for the launch jw curry, Chris Johnson & i will be performing some sound poetry works that are adjacent & related to the anthology contributors, including my concrete sound poem WENNOW. if you are in Toronto, i invite you to join us for the launch at ArrayMusic from 6-9 p.m. to chat, listen & celebrate.
about the anthology: LMNTS represents the first anthology of Canadian extralinear writing to subject some 65 years of historical accumulation to critical scrutiny in order to present a collection of work from outside the confines of the already-canonical. collectively examining over 1oo,ooo (yes, a tenth of a million) individual works, we have assembled an anthology of 125 works by 8o individuals, carefully designed their page presentations, & produced just short of a one pound block of paper concrete that considerably supplements & expands upon what our predecessors saw fit to start us off with.
#poetry #concretepoetry #sounpoetry #Toronto
"hestor i am depas
good to drink drink me
that is desire & that is beauty
aphrodite has nothing
on my many thunderbolts
my many thunderings"
it was exciting give my first full performance of "wakes in heart’s break" (working title) the other week at our @riverbedreads fundraiser. i've been toying with how bring hestor's ritual poem off the page for a while & now i have even more ideas.
this long poem is one in series that form my current writing project "hestor's cup" which i am grateful to have received @ontarioartscouncil funding for via @palimpsestpressbooks recommender grants. hestor also first came to me through my residence with @banffcentre . where will she go next? stay tuned.
it's international women's day & so far i have spent it with some amazing women who inspire & support me, & who i get the honour of supporting. earlier this afternoon, i walked with a group of women & gender diverse people & allies & we chanted two things i want tp highlight in particular: "my body my choice" & "trans rights are human rights". why does it matter?
to the first quote, there is literally a an anti-abortion truck driving around Ottawa & that should not be happening in this day & age. we have the right to choose what happens to our bodies. many people need abortions for medical reasons. many people aren't ready to be pregnant for a myriad of legitimate reasons. these trucks, & antiabortionists, hurt real people. women who do not have access to abortion get hurt & die.
to the second, trans women are women. period. some people assigned female at birth do not identify as women & that must be respected. period. trans & gender nom-conforming folks are facing increased risks & losing their rights, particularly in the U.S., right now. people are afraid for their safety & that is not how anybody deserves to live. we can & need to support them by naming transphobia & making space for them in our communities, because they do so much for ours.
to why we need #iwd. this week i have had many chats with people about how men react to the ways that we protect ourselves, against unwanted attention, sexual advances & interactions, workplace interactions, & how we are socialized to accept things & how we cope. guys, every woman+ has faced these experiences. today some antiprotestors tried to film & disrupt us at the human rights monument at the end of our march. sadly, i wish i was more surprised. so, we need these days to rally, to remember, to stand together.
i am looking forward to seeing & supporting more amazing & diverse women+ artists tonight, & all year, every day. the patriarchy is still here, rights are being taken away, it's messed up. i, we, need to keep bringing that to light in the ways we can & feel safe to do. let's act with love. let's act with respect. let's care for each other.
looking forward to visiting Wakefield this evening to read at the library for the Poetea series. i appreciated that they ask readers to come up with a concept, and given where my work is at these days i chose ritual. it means i will get to experiment with a new practice that uses tarot cards to guide the reading, which is something i have been curious to try for a while. excited to see how this goes!
As the fiscal arm of Riverbed Reading Series, I am absolutely floored and humbled by your support ✨🥹✨you all are the most amazing community I’ve ever had the privilege of being a part of 💖 we have now hit our base goal of $3k on GoFundMe and have successfully funded one of five S6 iterations (!!!) can we make it to over $4k??? Can we fund two full ones?!?! @textcurious wants to know!
the end of 2024 marks midway through 35 & in it i am grateful for friendships, old & new & yet to come. through thw ups, downs & unknowns they are the ones who help me through.
fall is for reflection. it always feels a bit melancholic, magic, unnerving, moody, surprising, kinda like these cards from a recent work retreat exercise. there are once again many geese by my house, the other night i thought of this poem & went down to greet them in the lake.
first photo by @alexandra__erica , illustrations on "entwined" by @manahilbanduk
