Forays into beat poetry

This post is in honour of my first experience reciting rhythm poetry. It was something I never thought I could do, and I was incredibly nervous as I took the stage at THIN AIR 2011’s After Words Jazz Club on September 24th.

As your reading the lines below, picture a stand up bass and a Les Paul electric guitar filling in the melody and rounding out the sound…

Stepping up to the microphone,

my knees begin to shake and

my heart starts to ache.

How do I know if my words

are a mistake -

Is my rhythm fake?

Is the crowd awake?

The music starts to play

as I find my voice.

The crowd is waiting, watching,

I know my only choice

is to speak, to move,

to try to feel the beat -

To smile, to do something,

to start to tap my feet.

The jazz music flows

as I find my rhythm.

I feel the crowd watching, moving,

experiencing the rhythm,

the energy,

the beat, I finally found the beat.

I’m a poet, I’m free,

all eyes are on me.

Even yours, I see,

are watching me.

You move with the beat,

your foot taps the floor,

My knees start to shake and

I feel my heart ache.

Local author fuelled my desire to publish

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been in awe of authors. It amazes me that people can actually write something, have it published, and have other people purchase and read it.

I have wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember, so I was thoroughly excited – and more than a little giddy – when I met Winnipeg poet, Ron Romanowski.

I have known Ron and his wife, Lil, my entire life. But, I hadn’t seen them for years. We were reunited for the first time last May at Aqua Books, where Ron gave a reading from his third book of poetry – Insurrection – as part of a larger presentation.

If you would like to read the blog entry I wrote about that, click here.

On Wednesday, May 4, Ron will be launching his fourth poetry collection. It is titled The Big Book of Canadian Poetry, and here is the back cover write-up:

"In March of 2009 six Winnipeg poets met to forge a new direction for poetry in Canada. They wanted to instigate a more public focus to Canadian poetry. They wanted to write the Canadian poetry of the strike, the carnival, the revolution and the flash mob. They proceeded by studying the sociology of groups in the works of Dario Fo, Mikhail Bakhtin, Rebecca Solnit and others. They did practical research by attending some of Winnipeg’s many festivals and political and other mass events. New Festival Theory is what they call their philosophy. But their practice is poetry. The Big Book of Canadian Poetry is the brash and challenging debut from the New Festival crew.”

If you are looking for something cultural or artistic to do on May 4^th, please check out Ron’s book launch and show your support. I’m sure it will be a fantastic event, and I’m so excited to read his FOURTH book of poetry.

Click here, to check out the poetry trailer for the book launch.

Congratulations, Ron! I can’t wait for my autographed copy of The Big Book Of Canadian Poetry so I can start reading!

Welcome to the CreComm Reading Series...

WINNIPEG, Feb. 1 – on Friday, starting at 7 p.m., author Matt Duggan will read an excerpt from his latest novel – Cherry Electra – in front of a live audience at Aqua Books. He will be joined by Greg Berg, a second-year Creative Communications (“CreComm”) student who is currently working on finishing his first science-fiction novel.

Matt Duggan graduated from Churchill High School and he is delighted to be visiting Winnipeg to read from his most recent novel Cherry Electra. His previous novel, The Royal Woods, is a tall tale for children set in a new suburban subdivision of a prairie city. It was nominated for The Moonbeam Award and the Silver Birch Award.

Cherry Electra is about a dirty cottage weekend that culminates in murder. Quill and Quire call it “a satisfying bit of cottage-country gothic”, and the Toronto Star says it “has the delirious quality of a wreck recollected”, and claims that “it’s rare to come across something that is both so sadly astute and so infectiously, vibrantly witty.” The Globe and Mail depicts the novel as “a drug fuelled fratricide” and listed it as one of the Top One Hundred Books of 2010.

Greg Berg is a transplanted Saskatchewanian living in Manitoba. He is also an aspiring YA writer and full-time communications student upgrading his skills to reenter the working world. He likes CBC, PBS, IFC and enjoys making, and occasionally drinking, different varieties of wine.

The evening Aqua Books reading will be preceded by an afternoon reading at Red River College’s Exchange District Campus at 10 a.m. in room P107.

Event Details:
Date: February 4, 2011
Location: Aqua Books - 274 Garry Street (between Graham & Portage)
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. (approx.)
Note: Mr. Duggan will be available for questions following the readings.

About the CreComm Reading Series
Red River College's Creative Communications ("CreComm") program is the training ground for Manitoba's professional communicators. The CreComm Reading Series curated by K.I. Press brings writers of all genres to Winnipeg. Opening acts are current and former CreCommers with creative works in progress.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council of the Arts which last year invested $20.1 million in writing and publishing throughout Canada.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Karen Press
Instructor, Creative Communications
Red River College
949-8316
@kipress
kipress.wordpress.com

The above is one of the series posters. If you spot one around, take a look!