| "April is the cruellest month," according to T.S. Eliot. Obviously, he never visited Canada – for fans of literature in this country, April is the kindest month. Why? April is National Poetry Month, and also features Canada Book Week (expanded from the former Canada Book Day) from April 21 to 27. This means a number of literary events will be happening all month to celebrate local authors, books and publishers.
A perfect example of this celebration will take place on Friday, April 4. Have you ever seen hundreds of people at a book launch? Only when the latest Harry Potter is released, right? What if I told you that many people were showing up for the launch of a series of poetry books? OK, get off the floor and stop laughing because it’s true. Local publisher Frontenac House launches Quartet 2003, "Bold Encounters," the third instalment in their annual series of "extreme" poetry books, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Dutton Theatre in the W.R. Castell Central Library. The move to a new venue was necessary after last year’s launch saw a standing-room-only crowd overflow through both rooms and the lobby of the basement reading space at the Memorial Park Library.
After only a few short years in existence, the Quartet series of innovative poetry, beautiful cover designs and a wide range of voices has grown into a major local success story. A new addition to this year’s lineup is the inclusion of two out-of-province poets. The four poets being published this year are: Eric Barstad (A Gloss on Our Painted Gods), Leslie Greentree of Red Deer (go-go dancing for Elvis), Kevin Irie of Toronto (Dinner at Madonna’s) and Ali Riley of Nelson, B.C. (Wayward). The annual launch of the Quartet series has already become a "can’t miss" event on the local literary scene, and it’s the perfect event to start National Poetry Month off with a bang.
To warm up for the Frontenac launch, check out Poet’s Spring on Thursday, April 3 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Alliance Française office in the Memorial Park Library. Radio-Canada will be recording a program featuring various contributors reading a selection of poems from the Francophone world: Lebanon, Congo/Senegal/Ivory Cost, Egypt, Maghreb, Maurice Island, France and some First Nations regions. Admission is free. For more information contact Bernadette at 245-5662.
Looking for a quick literary fix? Also on Thursday, April 3, creative writers from the University of Calgary are promising 55 readers in 55 minutes, along with "phantom limbs, speech bubbles and tongue ties" during an evening of "synapse firing." This takes place at McNally Robinson beginning at 6:30 p.m.
On another poetic note, Rajinderpal S. Pal, winner of the Calgary portion of the 2003 CBC Radio Poetry Face-off, will now complete with 11 other winning poets from cities across Canada. The winning poems from each region will be broadcast on Monday, April 7 between 10 a.m. and noon. Listeners will be invited to call a 1-800 number to cast their votes. If you miss the broadcast, you can go to www.artscanada.cbc.ca/faceoff to hear (and see) the 12 winning poems, then make your selection online. Now I’m not one to advocate Florida-style election shenanigans, but it sure would be great if someone (cough-Raj-cough) from the West won this year rather than having those no-gooders in Toronto ballot-stuff their way to victory again.
Now that the excitement of April has inspired you, you may be interested in submitting to some writing contests. Spiritual Directions is holding a contest for poets in Calgary and the surrounding area. The theme of the contest is Writing Toward The Light – the focus is meant to be indicative of a sincere search for meaning and purpose in their relationship with the Divine and may be interpreted freely according to the poet's culture or faith tradition. Submission deadline: April 15, 2003. Winners will be announced, and invited to read their winning poem, at a concert on May 25, 2003. Full details are available at www.spiritualdirections.com or by calling Fenna at 210-2802.
Another contest, CBC Radio’s venerable Alberta Anthology, has had its prize money increased this year. Full details on this year’s competition can be found at calgary.cbc.ca/anthology or by contacting CBC’s Allan Boss at 521-6247. |
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