| April is National Poetry Month, which means Calgarians are in for a treat. The fourth annual Calgary International Spoken Word Festival is upon us – the biggest yet, with over 10 events and 45 artists – and it kicks off with an unforgettable gala.
OUTrageously Real is a dynamic celebration of queer writers from across the country, featuring John Barton, David Bateman, Ivan E. Coyote, Billeh Nickerson, evalyn parry, Bill Richardson (CBC Radio) and Michael V. Smith. They’re joined by drag performers Mz. Dyna Myte and the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Chinook Arch, a photography exhibition/auction by Body & Soul, and hosted by Vong Sundara and the festival’s artistic director Sheri-D Wilson.
Alberta, known more for "notwithstanding" than for tolerance, may not seem like the ideal location for a queer celebration, but that preconception is quickly proving false. This event is co-sponsored by the first Annual North American OutGames, a massive assemblage of queer athletes, activists and artists running April 1 to 8, that will briefly and brilliantly make Calgary a hub for all things queer.
Festival-favourite storyteller, Coyote, whose debut novel Bow Grip was recently nominated for the prestigious Ferro-Grumley Award, returns for her third appearance, and she has no time for stereotypes. "I don’t really believe that certain places are more bigoted than others," she says. "There are close-minded people everywhere, but I don’t come to Alberta worrying about, ‘Oh, there are more rednecks there!’ I recently did a gig where I read a story about trying to shoot squirrels and getting in trouble with my vegan neighbours. Maybe I’m a bit of a redneck at heart."
In another coup for Calgary, this event marks the first official launch of Seminal: The Anthology of Canadian Gay Male Poets, published by Arsenal Pulp Press and edited by Barton and Nickerson. And, get this – it is the very first anthology of its kind. "During my time as an undergrad, I did a directed study on contemporary gay male poetry," says Nickerson. "It was impossible to find anything! In the States, when you look up ‘gay poetry’ at the Library of Congress, you find all the American stuff, but there was no resource for Canadians." Frustrated by this invisibility, Nickerson approached Barton, who fell in love with the idea of an anthology. "I think we’re just at a stage in Canada where there’s a groundswell of critical thought about gay writing," says Barton. "There’s a tradition that goes back over 100 years, but the momentum didn’t really occur until the ’90s."
The massive, 368-page tome collects 57 gay male poets, ranging from the 1890s to the present and from coast-to-coast. "I was so happy to see Canadian cities popping up in poems, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto," says Nickerson. "There’s a real sense of Canadiana, of gayness within a Canadian context." Included, too, are several poems by Quebec authors, many of them translated to English for the first time. "We tried to be as comprehensive as possible and include writers from a variety of backgrounds," says Barton.
OUTrageously Real takes place in the Jack Singer Concert Hall Lobby (Epcor CENTRE for the Performing Arts) on April 5 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $15/$10 students, and available at McNally Robinson, Pages Books on Kensington, Megatunes, Calgary OutLink or at the door.
OUTrageously Real is only the first event in the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival, whose explosive lineup includes Murdoch Burnett, Kris Demeanor, Raine Maida, Dwayne Morgan, Sheri-D Wilson and d’bi.young. For more information, visit www.calgaryspokenwordfestival.com.
Also this week, Melissa Steele presents her new short-story collection, Beautiful Girl Thumb, a brutally funny collection of tales about call waiting, marriage counselling and destroyed friendships. She reads at McNally Robinson on March 29 at 7:00 p.m.
Olive Gaudet always wanted to be a writer, and now her dream has come true. She shares stories of her Prince Edward Island upbringing in Memories of a Lifetime: A Native Islander Remembers Her Roots, at McNally Robinson on April 3, noon.
Shane Rhodes returns to Calgary with his third poetry collection, The Bindery. With his unique blend of lyricism and experimentation, he tackles love, travel and collective history. Check him out at Pages Books on March 30 at 7:30 p.m.
It’s also Red Mile Revenge time. Selina Clary hosts another wild evening of poetic decadence on April 3 at 8:00 p.m., at Victoria’s Restaurant. If you want to join the action and share your word, arrive early. |
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