It was a busy week, with lots of new things to see and hear and do. I was bummed to miss Gary Barwin and Max Middle tonight -- caught up in another reading that went much longer than I had anticipated. In fact, the Larissa Lai, Sandra Alland, L.E.V.I.A.T.H.O.N. event was an interesting one to see, though (another) yellow ticket soured my enthusiasm.
Here's what I caught this week:
Friday 24 March 2006:
Dub Poetry Centre
Sandra Alland: I have never heard her before, but recognized a few clips from the title sequence to the Heart of a Poet series. She did one piece that seemed to stand out: an audio mis-transcription provided by software trained to her voice. I've played around with this before, and I'm sure lots of others have, but there was the interesting intralinguistic twist here -- Spanish 'heard' as English. I hadn't thought about the impact the training of the software can have on the translation -- the computer gradually learns your vocabulary and hears your voice into the text.
Larissa Lai: read some of her second novel, which I've heard before, and from her chapbook "Rachel." Not to obsess on the topic or anything, but I couldn't really notice any difference between the poetry and the prose. She defined the difference through the presence/absence of a "narrative through-line" which she admitted has had hegemonic tendencies in its history of deployment. The proposition boils down to an openness of language, allowing it to turn in on itself, or out as it will move, needs to move, adopting strange coincidences. I didn't really hear this kind of openness in her poetry. It was, however, an intruiging tale -- based on Blade Runner.
L.E.V.I.A.T.H.O.N.: young dub poet/spoken word artist. He read three pieces that were expressive, political, but never with the rip of passion or the turn of a complex wit that can make performance writing really rip. I don't know how old he is, but, assuming he is quite young, he offers much promise for the time when he leaves behind what he thinks the genre demands and what his own voice can offer. His eloquence and crisp delivery will work with better material. Superman isn't a strong enough power base for his voice.
Wednesday 22 March 2006
University of Toronto at Mississauga
Nathalie Stephens: I've already commented on her writing in the post below, but I would like to add that in this reading and the discussion that followed, Nathalie proved herself a close and sensitive listener as well. She was asked a direct question about why she uses strong language -- fuck and cunt and the such -- and whether she has any limits to what she won't talk about. It's a question some would balk or stumble at, but she took it in good faith and offered a different way to think about language and the various power relations some words have assumed. I suppose this also connects with the sense of distrust in language I commented on before.
Tuesday 21 March 2006
The Cameron House
Stan Rogal: I have never seen Stan read before either, and I was impressed with his delivery. He has a theatre background (with a play coming up very soon) and you could tell from the subtlety of his facial expressions, and well-timed inflections. Stan read with an ironic -- almost British -- tone, with the weight of suicides, snarls, smirks, and salaciousness all tucked just behind the audible voice.
Louis Cabri: My highlights are no different from Mark's and other comments I've seen and heard. The posing was hilarious, and The Foam Poem stood out. It was really a delightful reading from the LANGUAGE strain. Talking to Louis beforehand, we debated whether CanLit fairly started with Louis Dudek or before. Talking afterwards, we drank beer and talked about the air quality of Windsor.
Monday 20 March 2006
University of Toronto at Mississauga
George Elliott Clarke: with his explosively forward energy, Clarke was a sure hit, and was more than up for the occasion. He laughed loudly before he said a word, declaring that the space he was about to pull us into would be full and boisterous and free. He read from Whylah Falls, but toned down the performance somewhat for the context. One thing really impressed me: he thanked each person that asked him a question, moreover singled out reasons why he thought the question (however awkwardly phrased) worth considering. It was very classy. He also read from Illuminated Verses, his new collaborative project. It is a lush work, erotic and sensual. The poems are unapologetic voice of heterosexual man appraising the body of women through the map of his desire (and various musical and mythical tropes). The corresponding photographs are the bodies of women -- all black, all nude, all built into a landscape like wild, free, nubile nymphs. The point of the poems is not to trouble, to question, to destabilize, or to doubt normative paradigms of sexuality. The poems celebrate women's bodies -- sort of like a literary Playboy for Africadians. Are the poems 'sexy' and erotic? That depends on how you feel about heteronormative discourse. Ultimately, how you feel about Playboy. All I will admit is that I believe Clarke is the best Canadian male poet working with sensual verse. He's no Leonard Cohen, but then again, these days, nobody is.
Here's what I caught this week:
Friday 24 March 2006:
Dub Poetry Centre
Sandra Alland: I have never heard her before, but recognized a few clips from the title sequence to the Heart of a Poet series. She did one piece that seemed to stand out: an audio mis-transcription provided by software trained to her voice. I've played around with this before, and I'm sure lots of others have, but there was the interesting intralinguistic twist here -- Spanish 'heard' as English. I hadn't thought about the impact the training of the software can have on the translation -- the computer gradually learns your vocabulary and hears your voice into the text.
Larissa Lai: read some of her second novel, which I've heard before, and from her chapbook "Rachel." Not to obsess on the topic or anything, but I couldn't really notice any difference between the poetry and the prose. She defined the difference through the presence/absence of a "narrative through-line" which she admitted has had hegemonic tendencies in its history of deployment. The proposition boils down to an openness of language, allowing it to turn in on itself, or out as it will move, needs to move, adopting strange coincidences. I didn't really hear this kind of openness in her poetry. It was, however, an intruiging tale -- based on Blade Runner.
L.E.V.I.A.T.H.O.N.: young dub poet/spoken word artist. He read three pieces that were expressive, political, but never with the rip of passion or the turn of a complex wit that can make performance writing really rip. I don't know how old he is, but, assuming he is quite young, he offers much promise for the time when he leaves behind what he thinks the genre demands and what his own voice can offer. His eloquence and crisp delivery will work with better material. Superman isn't a strong enough power base for his voice.
Wednesday 22 March 2006
University of Toronto at Mississauga
Nathalie Stephens: I've already commented on her writing in the post below, but I would like to add that in this reading and the discussion that followed, Nathalie proved herself a close and sensitive listener as well. She was asked a direct question about why she uses strong language -- fuck and cunt and the such -- and whether she has any limits to what she won't talk about. It's a question some would balk or stumble at, but she took it in good faith and offered a different way to think about language and the various power relations some words have assumed. I suppose this also connects with the sense of distrust in language I commented on before.
Tuesday 21 March 2006
The Cameron House
Stan Rogal: I have never seen Stan read before either, and I was impressed with his delivery. He has a theatre background (with a play coming up very soon) and you could tell from the subtlety of his facial expressions, and well-timed inflections. Stan read with an ironic -- almost British -- tone, with the weight of suicides, snarls, smirks, and salaciousness all tucked just behind the audible voice.
Louis Cabri: My highlights are no different from Mark's and other comments I've seen and heard. The posing was hilarious, and The Foam Poem stood out. It was really a delightful reading from the LANGUAGE strain. Talking to Louis beforehand, we debated whether CanLit fairly started with Louis Dudek or before. Talking afterwards, we drank beer and talked about the air quality of Windsor.
Monday 20 March 2006
University of Toronto at Mississauga
George Elliott Clarke: with his explosively forward energy, Clarke was a sure hit, and was more than up for the occasion. He laughed loudly before he said a word, declaring that the space he was about to pull us into would be full and boisterous and free. He read from Whylah Falls, but toned down the performance somewhat for the context. One thing really impressed me: he thanked each person that asked him a question, moreover singled out reasons why he thought the question (however awkwardly phrased) worth considering. It was very classy. He also read from Illuminated Verses, his new collaborative project. It is a lush work, erotic and sensual. The poems are unapologetic voice of heterosexual man appraising the body of women through the map of his desire (and various musical and mythical tropes). The corresponding photographs are the bodies of women -- all black, all nude, all built into a landscape like wild, free, nubile nymphs. The point of the poems is not to trouble, to question, to destabilize, or to doubt normative paradigms of sexuality. The poems celebrate women's bodies -- sort of like a literary Playboy for Africadians. Are the poems 'sexy' and erotic? That depends on how you feel about heteronormative discourse. Ultimately, how you feel about Playboy. All I will admit is that I believe Clarke is the best Canadian male poet working with sensual verse. He's no Leonard Cohen, but then again, these days, nobody is.
posted by functional nomad at 11:16 PM
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