| POETRY CURRENTS | |
How lon-n-g-g-g has it bee-e-n! Had to go back on the Net to find out the last column I wrote for Museletter, and jeez if it wasn't around the same time last year. A lot under the Jacques Cartier Bridge since that time, including some amazing shows here in Montreal....
DAVID AMRAM & LOTS OF POETS AT THE LION D'OR
One of the best of the season was David Amram at the Lion d'Or, an extravagant homage to the music of the man who was one of the first in the words-and-music genre. This man played sax with Kerouac, and now -- in his 70s -- performed four hours of music one night and three the next, all with a collection of the best English and French-speaking poets in the city. Not often do you get to rock out with poetry, drums, piano, double bass and a horn section thrown in!
Amram loves this city, and we love him, and Kerouac has a special place in the poetry scene here, as Jack spoke French as a child, and had family roots that dug deep into the soil of old Québec province. You can read a bio of Kerouac at Literary Kicks, and find out more about Amram's life and work at his Web site.
VINCENT TINGUELY'S PICKS
And what else? Well here are a few words from our local spoken-scene reporter Vincent Tinguely on what went on this fall in Montreal:
“In terms of product, Wired on Words was responsible for four new spoken word CDs this fall: Sea Peach by Catherine Kidd and Jack Beetz; the media-savvy Swifty Lazarus disc The Envelope, Please; Spoken Broken, a best-of compendium of Canadian spoken word (free for subscribers to the zine-guide Broken Pencil); and a soon-to-be-launched disc by Mia Rose Brooks. The autumn of 2002 also saw the publication of Corey Frost's My Own Devices; Paris-based, Montreal-born Todd Swift's second book of poetry, Café Alibi; and In Abulia, the genre-defying Alexis O'Hara's self-produced CD, which was released by pop-rock label Grenadine.”
You can read more from Vince about the best and worst of this year in the Montreal Mirror.
SEA PEACH IN THE POOL
Many of Vince's picks correspond with mine, including Catherine Kidd, who launched Sea Peach, ten nights of her own spoken word show with music master Jack Beetz. It took place at Bain St. Michel this November, and FYI, the word “bain” in this context means “pool,” and that's where the show was: in the deep end of an abandoned indoor swimming palace at the corner of St. Dominique and Maguire Streets! The audience sat at the shallow end for Kidd's hour-plus performance presenting the stories, poems and performances on her new CD with music man Jack Beetz -- a really impressive production that shot the spoken word scene right over into theatre. And no, there was no water in the pool.
SHORT FUSE LINKS MONTREAL & NEW YORK
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BARAKA IN THE BOWERY
And the Bowery Poetry Club, YES! It has got to be up there in the competition for THE most excellent poetry venue in the land. Congrats to Bob Holman on an amazing job with this café cum bar, showbar and poetry-bar, one of the must-see stops in any poetry tour of North America. The morning after the Short Fuse show Amiri Baraka was there to defend his title as Poet Laureate of New Jersey. The occasion was a press conference, and Baraka lined himself up against the multitudes of media and government who would cast stones at him for his poem “Somebody Blew Up America.”
THE SHOW GOES ON: VOIX D'AMERIQUES
Even in winter in Montreal, well, the show goes on at the Festival Voix d'Ameriques, with five days of poetry, literature and other texts in performance starting on the 13th of February and ending on the 17th. If you speak English, the best choice is Valentine's night, which will feature word songs by a reunited Fluffy Pagan Echoes, Alex Boutros & Kaarla Sundstrom, the lost and longing wail of singer
songwriter ndnboy, and words and beats by Anthony Bansfield out of Ottawa.
All is hosted by Alexis O'Hara, one of the best improv spoken word performers around, and the main show takes place each night at the Sala Rossa, 4848 St. Laurent, Montreal. There are some good open mics too if you plan on making a visit to Montreal. There's not much up on the Festival Web site yet, but for more info, keep checking Museletter and I'll try to put up a better overview of the show as it coalesces.
Well, that's just a little bit of what's gone on in Montreal since you last heard from me, and we haven't even mentioned William Parker and David Budbill coming up here to visit. Ah well, better luck next time, and see you at the Festival Voix d'Ameriques, where I'll be performing in French for only the second time in my life (yikes!). Take care, happy New Year, and welcome back to Museletter everybody!
