Poems and Recordings from the 2007 Berlin Poetry Festival

Lyrikline.org, the online companion to Berlin's Literaturwerkstatt, the brains and brawn behind the annual Berlin Poetry Festival, have finally posted the poems and recordings by myself and my fellow Canadian poets, both anglophone and francophone, from last year's festival at the Kulturbrauerei in Berlin. All the poems come complete with audio recordings.

My poems consist of five poems from my book Between the Walls and five new poems. You can read, and listen to, my poems here.

You can also enjoy the poems of Anglophone poets Karen Solie, Ken Babstock, Suzanne Buffam, Tim Lilburn, and Erín Moure, and also of our Francophone compatriots Stéphane Despatie, Hélène Dorion, Louise Dupré, Claude Beausoleil, Marc André Brouillette, and Denise Desautels.

Free "avant garde" book titles

If you’re writing a book of avant-garde-inspired (or L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E-ish) poetry, but you're having trouble thinking of a title with a cute enough deconstructionist-sorta pun in it, fear not! You may help yourself to one of these:

Banane Appeal

Cough, Caw!

De(f)con/struction

Vague Ares

Eye/Cant

Clawed Levi Strauss

Cymbal.Sine.Eco

play)ground(rules

Dairy Da-Da

jARGON GASs

You're welcome.

The Conservative Party vs Al Purdy, 1981

It's nothing new, and it’s not just our Karl-Rove-esque, culture-bashing Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Canadian Conservative politicians have had it in for the arts for a long time, as poet Al Purdy found out way back in 1981. Below is an excerpt from Purdy’s memoir Reaching for the Beaufort Sea, published by Harbour Publishing in 1993. Purdy had been to the Galapagos Islands and was charmed by the wildlife enough to write some light-hearted poems about them. Needless to say, the Tories weren't impressed.

Among the poems I wrote in tortoise islands is one about the blue-footed booby, which is perhaps the most slow-witted creature there. It’s not a completely serious poem, which I thought might serve to lighten my customary philosophic solemnity. When “Birdwatching at the Equator” was published in a magazine, a Conservative Member of Parliament noticed it and read it aloud to the Liberal government in the House of Commons in Ottawa. His object was undoubtedly to embarrass the Liberals, to say, in effect: “This is the kind of shit you people encourage through Canada Council grants?”

I was completely unaware of this cultural occasion in the legislative chambers. Its later repercussions only came as a surprise to me.

And here is the offending poem. I just love the ending.

Birdwatching at the Equator

The blue-footed booby

stands on tropic island

in the Galapagos Group

stands all day long

shading her eggs from the sun

also protecting her blue feet

from too much ultraviolet

Sometimes the male booby

flaps his wings and dances

to entertain his mate

pointing his toes upward

so they can discuss blueness

which seems to them very beautiful

Their only real enemy

is the piratical frigate bird

floating on great black wings

above the mile-long island

Sometimes the frigate bird

robs them of their fish

whereupon the booby

is wont to say “Friggit”

and catches some more

When night comes all the boobies

sit down at once as if

God has given them a signal

or else one booby says

to the rest “Let’s flop boys”

and they do

The booby’s own capsule

comment about evolution:

if God won’t do it for you

do it yourself:

stand up

sit down

make love

have some babies

catch fish

dance sometimes

admire your feet

friggit:

what else is there?

--Al Purdy, 1981. Used with the permission of Harbour Publishing. All rights reserved.

From Reaching for the Beaufort Sea by Al Purdy, Harbour Publishing, 1993.

Sadly, Hayden Carruth has passed away

August 3, 1921 -- September 29, 2008
Carruth, who suffered a series of strokes toward the end of summer, passed away in his home late yesterday. No eulogies just yet, just news in brief from these sources:
Syracuse.com
Vermont Public Radio
AM New York
Associated Press

Here is his poem "Endnote."

I was an admirer of both his talent and his conviction for what he believed was best in poetry. I will remember him by reading his books.

UPDATE: OCTOBER 3rd, 2008.

The Eulogies:

The New York Times:

The tension between the chaos of the human heart and the sublime order of nature imbued his best work with a sense of momentous struggle, “a Lear-like words-against-the-storm quality,” as the critic Geoffrey Gardner put it. Mr. Carruth wrote: “My poems, I think, exist in a state of tension between the love of natural beauty and the fear of natural meaninglessness or absurdity.”

The Washington Post:

Through years of isolation and neglect, he doggedly continued to write, gaining belated recognition for his more than 30 books. A 1996 Virginia Quarterly Review article described him as "certainly one of the most important poets working in this country today."

Newsday:

At Syracuse, his students included Haxton and acclaimed fiction writer George Saunders.
"I used to sit at the end of the table farthest from Hayden, because he was so terrifyingly brilliant," Saunders said. "You'd spout off about Ezra Pound and then he'd say, 'Now, what I remember about Ezra was. ...' I don't think I said a word all year. Just sat there quietly and soaked it all in."

Griffin jury announced

Press Release:

Toronto, ON (September 22, 2008) The trustees of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry are pleased to announce that Saskia Hamilton (USA), Dennis O'Driscoll (Ireland), and Michael Redhill (Canada) are the judges for the 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize.


Saskia Hamilton is the author of two books of poetry, As for Dream (2001) and Divide These (2005). She is also the editor of The Letters of Robert Lowell (2005) and a co-editor of Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell (2008). The recipient of a Bunting Fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Saskia Hamilton teaches at Barnard College, Columbia University, and lives in New York City. (Click here for additional bio details.)


Dennis O'Driscoll was born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. His eight books of poetry include Weather Permitting (1999), which was shortlisted for the Irish Times Poetry Prize; Exemplary Damages (2002), and New and Selected Poems (2004). His latest collection of poems, Reality Check (2007), was shortlisted for the Irish Times / Poetry Now Prize in 2008. A selection of his essays and reviews, Troubled Thoughts, Majestic Dreams was published in 2001. He is the editor of The Bloodaxe Book of Poetry Quotations (2006) and its American counterpart, Quote Poet Unquote (2008). He has received a Lannan Literary Award (1999), the E.M. Forster Award (2005) and the O'Shaughnessy Award for Poetry (2006). O'Driscoll's new book, Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney, is scheduled for publication in November 2008. (Click here for additional bio details.)

Michael Redhill is a novelist, poet, and playwright, as well as the publisher and one of the editors of Brick. His most recent novel, Consolation, was longlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize, won the Toronto Book Award, and was the Toronto Public Library's inaugural One Book One City choice in 2008. His 2005 play, Goodness, won the Carol Tambor Prize in 2006 for the best play at the Edinburgh Fringe and has since played in New York, Vancouver, and Girona, and will open later in 2008 in Barcelona and Helsinki. Michael Redhill currently lives in the south of France with his partner and their two sons. (Click here for additional bio details.)

All three judges understand the importance of the Griffin Poetry Prize’s international reach and may consequently call in books of English language poetry from around the world.

Submissions for The Griffin Poetry Prize are accepted up until December 31, 2008. The shortlisted books (four International and three Canadian) will be announced on April 7, 2009 at a press conference in Toronto, Canada.

For more information, contact:

Press Relations and Publicity June Dickenson E-mail: publicity@griffinpoetryprize.com Elana Rabinovitch E-mail: press@griffinpoetryprize.com

General Inquiries Ruth Smith Griffin Trust Manager E-mail: info@griffinpoetryprize.com

I have some readings coming up

Free Speech Reading Series: Tuesday, September 23, 2008.

When: 7pm

Where: Tinto, 89 Roncesvalles

Who: Me, novelist Russell Smith, poet Erin Robinsong, and singer-songwriter Treasa Levasseur.

UPDATE: I'm told Smith has had to cancel. Robert Everett-Green will appear instead.

Hosted by Johan Hultqvist. DETAILS

Pivot Readings at the Press Club: Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

When: 8pm

Where: The Press Club, 850 Dundas Street West

Who: Me, Alex Boyd, Leigh Nash, and Rebecca Rosenblum.

Hosted by Carey Toane. DETAILS

This is will be the inaugural reading event in this new series! See below.


PS. There's another great reading happening this Tuesday at the Art Bar Poetry Series, featuring Jason Camlot, Sharon Thesen and Iggy McGovern. Decisions! Decisions! Jason Camlot will be reading from his new book The Debaucher, which I can assure you is well worth it, so if you're not coming to Tinto this Tuesday, why not check out Camlot and company at the Art Bar. I'm sorry I can't be in two places at once.

Like the Phoenix from the flames, the I.V. Lounge Reading Series rises again...

...but it's changed, altered. It looks... even better! This is EXCELLENT news.

The I.V. Lounge is no more, and so is the I.V. Lounge Reading Series, but not really. The reading series and its traditions will continue in a new home, with a new name and a new host.

I'm very pleased that Carey Toane, an energetic up-and-comer on the literary scene, has taken up the torch from the previous host (and my successor) Alex Boyd. You can think of it as the same old reading series, but with a bit a of a makeover and a transfusion of new blood. It's been renamed Pivot Readings at the Press Club, incorporating the name of the new venue at 850 Dundas St. W. and the letters "iv" in the word pivot, a tip of the hat to the series' origins.

I will always feel fondly nostalgic for the ten years we had at I.V. Lounge, but I have to say I love the new location. It's a cozy bar with great atmosphere, a fantastic beer selection and a nice back patio. Even its name, The Press Club, evokes a culture of letters. Sounds perfect to me. Here's a bit of what it says on the series new website:

When the I.V. Lounge closed its doors at the end of August (*sniff*), the series was left without a home. We have moved west down Dundas to the Press Club, located in an East Berlin-style, up-and-coming strip at 850 Dundas Street West, just three short blocks west of Bathurst on the north side of the street. We are very excited about the new location with its warm, art-filled space and great drink menu served with style by owners Mikael and Andrew Hickey. The bar also features a back patio for outdoor readings on warm summer nights.

You can visit the website here, where no doubt they will soon have details about readings, writers, and dates. I can't wait.

Evie Christie's new blog about writers' desks

I'd like to introduce you to a new blog by one of Canada's most talented young poets, Evie Christie. It's called Desk Space. Evie is grilling writers on their work space and writing habits.

My interview appears today. Here's a sample:

DS When did you start writing, publish your first book (or when are you publishing your next)?

PV I can never answer the question about when I started writing. I think people who have a definite answer to that question are bullshitting a little bit, or self-mythologizing. It’s always something cute or profound or interesting. They’ll say things like they read Pushkin when they were eight and then they knew what they wanted to do with their lives, or they’ll have some story about publishing their first poem in a local paper before they could walk. When I was a kid, I wasn’t in touch with high culture at all. I read corny adventure stories, if I read anything at all, and I wrote funny (to me) rhymes and verses, but even then I was more inspired by novelty songs than by Ogden Nash or Robert Service. Mostly, I watched cartoons and the Three Stooges....

You can read the rest of the interview here, complete with a picture of my desk and my somewhat anti-social cat Milosz.

So far, Brenda Schmidt and Zachariah Wells have also participated, and more interviews are on the way.