Poetic Edits

There are at least two literary events tonight in Vancouver that are definitely worth checking out for those interested in words that wander off the beaten path. Starting at seven o’clockSpartacus Books is hosting Microfiction Regarding Beasts and Other Such Things with a lineup that includes Mark Dahl, Luke Hillan, Maren Lisac, Craig MacKie and Donato Mancini. Afterwards, if you’re interested in trying out your own vocal chords behind a book and in front of an audience, you should head towards Granville Street where the W.A. Deacon Literary Foundation will organize students from UBC and SFU to conduct a reading of George Bowering’s Burning Water between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m at the 700 block of Granville Street (between Robson & West Georgia). Volunteers from the general public will also have the opportunity to read for a 15-minute period. 

After all this literary experimentation you might want to start a little publication of your own, which is where next weekend comes into play. The /diagonal west coast zine fair is a celebration of independent and creative publishing in Vancouver. The show will include literary zines from makers from all over Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and beyond. The gallery will be set up library-style, and guests are invited to take down any zine they want and experience it. Tables will be set up in the back for zine purchases, and the night will include readings by local poets and music by local bands. All this at 221A Artist Run Centre (221 E. Georgia St) on Aug. 7 from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. (entertainment (poetry readings and music) start at 6 p.m.)

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One Cool Word, the Vancouverlogue of arts and letters, is on its last issue before it gets an extreme makeover, which is definitely something to get excited about as it’s already a rad publication packed with Vancouver goodness and greatness from emerging talents such as Rob Taylor as well as poetic stalwarts such as Patrick Friesen (who recently read at a OCW event). If you’re interested in writing, read.

cover art to die for by judit navratil

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Essayist, editor, critic, and poet Carmine Starnino is reading tonight as part of Locution’s Reading Series at Pulp Fiction Books (2422 Main Street) 7:00 pm.

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Here’s something to check out if you should find yourself on Granville Island Sunday afternoon. Below is the blurb on the Thursday’s Writing Collective page.

The Thursdays Writing Collective is participating in the Cultural Olympiad at the art installation “The Candahar,” Sunday, Feb 21, 2-4pm, at Playwrights Theatre Centre, 219-1398 Cartwright Street (on Granville Island just past Kids’ Market on the right.) Tickets at door $7.

A dozen participants of the Collective will read pieces of published work and discuss the process of arriving on the page. Please join us for an afternoon of laughter and entertainment with an edge.

The Candahar is a locus for social interaction and the host site for an ambitious series of events — musical programs, theatrical presentations, performances and dialogues, both scripted and unscripted — curated by Winnipeg artist Paul Butler and Vancouver author Michael Turner (Hard Core Logo).

The name “Candahar” refers to the original location of the now defunct Blackthorn Bar in Belfast pub. Irish artist Theo Sims has recreated the bar in Granville Island’s Playwright Theatre. Part sculpture, part theatrical stage, The Candahar is an artwork that is also a functioning bar, open to the public and staffed, in collaboration with two Belfast bartenders who act as unscripted performers. The project fuses the authentic with fantasy, spectacle with stage, and at its heart acts as a catalyst for conversation, debate and dialogue — and a pint here or there.

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Vancouver’s poet laureate, Brad Cran, has stated that he won’t participate in the Olympic celebrations. In case you haven’t heard, here’s what’s behind his decision. Obviously, the whole question of the Olympics is a hugely complicated debate between millions of hopes and hundreds of thousands of concerns. I, for one, am concerned about the nature of big-budget global spectacle as the template for a future where cities pull out all the stops for the chance to produce the next “block-buster.” Under this analogy, the future is Waterworld, bad acting and all.

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If you find yourself in East Vancouver anytime soon and you’re interested in a quiet little place to read or write, I can think of no better place to recommend than Geoffrey Farmer’s Every Letter in the Alphabet. It’s a temporary gallery set up for one year, but in its short life-span it’s hosted a number of excellent shows. There are some great books to browse through and most wonderful of all there’s a book on a rotating pedestal in the display window. How often is it that the right things get put on pedestals in this world?

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I mean if you are in that mood yourself (note the catchy commercial jingle undertones in our title today, the sense of something fun right around the corner, something better than chicken), then you should check out the Real Vancouver Writers’ Series at the W2 Culture and Media House. Sean Cranbury will be hosting tonight’s line up of writers: Richard Van Camp, John Burns, Brendan McLeod, Bruce Grenville, Cathleen With, Jennica Harper, Robert Chaplin. If you haven’t escaped from Vancouver for calmer quarters, this will be the place to be each Wednesday in February.

p.s.
This just in: I’ve been asked to read as well, so you can add me to the list of real readers. (And not to that list of dead Salinger phonies. Too soon? Too sudden a shift? Too harsh? Blame it on the excitement at the bottom of a big cup of morning coffee where the whole world is thrown into play.)

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