Rock & Rule: a forgotten Canadian, post-apocalyptic rock opera.

For all the Lou Reed fans out there: Canadian animation company Nelvana's first feature film was 1983's Rock & Rule. This ambitious post-apocalyptic rock opera took too many risks for critics and audiences of the time and has faded into obscurity. Aimed at an older audience -- with songs and musical performances by Cheap Trick; Debbie Harry; Iggy Pop; Earth, Wind & Fire; and the late Lou Reed -- Rock & Rule attempted to capitalize on the campy, cult popularity of 1981's animated film Heavy Metal (also a Canadian production, produced by Ivan Reitman) as well as the music and fantasy films of American animator Ralph Bakshi (for you Bakshi aficionados, Rock & Rule is like American Pop meets Wizards). They don't make them like this anymore, and that's a shame. Thirty years after its initial release, Rock & Rule is a slick, moody, forgotten gem that deserves a second look. This is a cult movie waiting for a cult. Apparently, you can watch it on YouTube.

 

Paul Vermeersch at the Tree Reading Series in June, 2013.

Here's a reading I did at the Tree Reading Series in Ottawa in June, 2013. I read from my books Between the Walls and The Reinvention of the Human Hand, as well as some newer work not yet published in book form.

Something's coming in 2014.

Australian poet John Wainwright interviews me before I head to Brisbane for the Queensland Poetry Festival

Paul, what do you intend to present at the Queensland Poetry Festival this year?


Well, John, I guess I’m bringing the kitchen sink! Most likely, I’ll have poems about cavemen and cartoons, about gorillas and grizzly bears, about dogs that get shot into space. All those things are in my most recent book, The Reinvention of the Human Hand, which was published in 2010. It was received quite favourably here in Canada, so I will definitely be reading from that. I will most likely read some older work, as well: more bears and cartoons, and maybe something a little more frightening. I’ll be reading in front of an Australian audience for the first time, so I’m hoping to give them something memorable.

Well that sounds very Canadian! What are your main sources of inspiration?

Interesting. Can you tell me why that sounds very Canadian? Is it the bears?
I get my inspiration from everything around me, I suppose. From books and film and television. From people I know, or people I don’t know. I think the creative mind is a lot like an oyster. I will encounter a certain thing, like a gorilla using sign language or a video game or a cave painting, and something about that thing sticks in me, like a grain of sand inside an oyster. My mind starts spinning a poem around it the way an oyster makes a pearl around a grain of sand. But poems are more tricky than pearls, and the human mind is not as perfect a craftsperson as the oyster. The hard part is polishing the pearl (or poem) well enough so that you want to show it to other people; then, when you have enough of them you can string them together to make a necklace (or a book, if you prefer).

Click here to read the rest. 

I'm reading at the Queensland Poetry Festival this summer

I'll be appearing at the Queensland Poetry Festival in Brisbane, Australia this August 23 - 25.

The festival program is now live on the QPF website. Canadian readers will see a few familiar names. Click here to see what's on!

Some tips for live literary readings, or how not to be a prima donna:

A colleague of mine recently asked for some tips to give to writers before a live reading. This is what I came up with.

- Show up early, not late. 

- Ask the host how long she/he wants you to read.

- Be flexible. If there is more than one reader, don't demand to go first or last. Let your host curate the evening as she/he sees fit.

- Don't read longer than the time your host has requested/suggested (remember: leave the audience wanting more!).

- Be gracious. Remember to thank your audience/host/fellow readers/venue during your reading.

- If other authors are reading on the same bill, it is polite to stay for their readings, as well.

- Plug your book. It's okay to do this yourself if the host doesn't. It's why you're there (and your publisher will appreciate it). Mention the price.

- If selling your own book, decide on a book price for live readings. As an incentive, it can be a little lower than the list price, but don't shortchange yourself too much!


What would you add? 

An erasure poem after Susan Sontag’s “The Aesthetics of Silence” (part 1)

                                      “     ”     .     (     

                                       =     ,     ,     ,     ,      .     )     ,     “     .    

                                       ”     ,     ,     ,     ,     (     )     ,     ,     .    

                                       ,     .     ,     .     ,     ,     ,     ;     ,     ,    

                                       ;     .     —     ,     —     ,     .     “     ”     ,    

                                       .     ,     ,     ,     ,     ,     .     “     ”     ,    

                                       “     ”     .     ,     ,     ,     .     (     :     ,    

                                       ,     ,     .     )     ,     .     ,     ,     ,     -    

                                       .     ,     ,     .     ,     —     .     (     .     )

    

                                       ,     -     ,     .     ,     ,     ,     -     ,     ,    

                                       “     ”     (     “     ,     ”     )     ,     ,     .    

                                       ,     ,     “     ”     “     ”     ,     .     ,     ,    

                                       ,    :     “     ”     “     ”     .     ,     ’     (    

                                       ,     ,     )     .     ,     ,     .     ,     ,     ,    

                                       .     ,     .     -     (     )     —     ,     ,     . 

I'm reading at the Tree Reading Series on June 25.

Ottawa friends: I'm reading with Kate Cayley at the Tree Reading Series in your city on June 25. See you then!

Details here.