| The Calgary International Spoken Word Festival launches a brand-new initiative this year: an all-French evening of poetry.
Gisèle Villeneuve is a Calgary-based writer who works as much in French as in English – in fact, her latest novel, Visiting Elizabeth, is written in both. On one hand, Villeneuve doesn’t consider herself disadvantaged by writing in French in a primarily Anglophone city. "Writing is solitary," she says. "When I’m alone at my desk, it doesn’t matter if I’m writing in English or French, in Calgary or Montreal. However, when I write in English, I have the support of my Anglophone colleagues. When I write in French, I’m almost alone."
This was one of the considerations that led Villeneuve to join RAFA (Regroupement Artistique Francophone de l’Alberta), the first provincial organization dedicated to the creation and representation of Francophone artists in Alberta. "I believe very firmly in creating bridges between the cultures," she says. "Francophones have been isolated for too long."
This is D. Kimm’s second time at the festival – the Montreal-based performer made her initial appearance in 2005. "That first time, I didn’t have time to translate all my texts to English, so I performed with live translation," she remembers. "I discovered, though, that the audience was full of French-speakers!" Kimm is the directrice artistique of Les Filles Eléctriques, which produces Montreal’s Festival Voix d’Amériques, Canada’s largest spoken word festival. It’s only recently that she’s started touring her work outside Québec. "I don’t know so much about Canada," she admits. "I’m very curious to meet the French community in Calgary."
Bilingual Tongues: Francophonetic inclut des performances par Fortner Anderson, Tchitala Nyota Kamba, D. Kimm, Geneviève Letarte, Geneviève Robichaud et Gisèle Villeneuve – tout en français! C’est un événement à ne pas manquer au Auburn Saloon, la soirée du 19 Avril à 20h00. $10.
Inspired by the flooding of Saskatchewan’s Souris Valley, Sheena Koop presents Voice of the Valley at McNally Robinson on April 12 at noon.
filling Station magazine celebrates National Poetry Month with four local writers. I’ve passed my usual hosting duties on to Natalie Zina Walschots, who presents readings by Laurie Fuhr, Jill Hartman, Josh Smith and Caleb Zimmerman. All that, plus prize draws and community spirit – don’t miss the excitement at McNally Robinson on April 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Last week I promised details, and here they are: the creative writing students at the University of Calgary mass together this week to present the fruits of their collective labour. That’s right – all of the creative writing students! Join the marathon at the University of Calgary (Bouris Roubakine Recital Hall, Craigie Hall) on April 12 at 7:00 p.m.
Looking for an excuse to visit Banff? Look no further. The Calgary International Spoken Word Festival continues with LOL Poetry, a celebration of poetry’s hilarity! Featuring writers Ivan E. Coyote, Billeh Nickerson, Hilary Peach, Andrea Thompson and RC Weslowski, this promises to be a gut-busting evening of poetic excellence. It takes place at The Club in The Banff Centre on April 14 at 9:00 p.m., by donation.
Calgary’s newest reading series, Soundlines, returns. It’s a literary open mike, so pull out that poetry and fiction you’ve been dying to share. With featured readers Weyman Chan, Laurie Fuhr, Tim Sampson and musician Juanita Brandt, the action starts at 7:00 p.m. on April 16, at the Studio Café.
Sharon Stratton spends months at a time in the forest, dogs her only companions, in her work as a fire tower observer. Share her passion for nature as she reads from Between Forest and Sky: A Fire-Tower Journal at McNally Robinson on April 16 at 7:00 p.m.
From the author of Knocked Up! comes Wiped!: Life with a Pint-Sized Dictator. Rebecca Eckler doesn’t hold back in her diary-style examinations of early motherhood. She’s at McNally Robinson on April 17 at 7:00 p.m.
Calgary’s longest-running reading series still manages to keep it fresh and this month is no exception. With readings by Kirk Miles, Kenneth Radu and Rhett Soveran, not to mention music by Danielle French, if you haven’t yet made it out to an Onion reading... what are you waiting for? Head over to the Triangle Gallery on April 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Set on a Mormon ranch in 19th-century Utah, Effigy is a tale of family and faith inspired by the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Alissa York reads from her novel at McNally Robinson on April 19 at 7:00 p.m. |
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