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Q Space
March 22: Impossible Islands and Hockey Poems
Posted in Art Bar Poetry with tags Jeffery Donaldson on March 29, 2011 by theartbarMeet the Zoom H4
For more than a year the Zoom H4 recorder has been a constant companion of Art Bar nights. Most of the readings and interviews that have turned up in our podcasts were recorded by this intrepid, although occasionally glitchy little machine. The Zoom H4 appeared centre stage this week, as I had a go at recording readings from the front of the stage.
Jeffery Donaldson believes that Hamilton is Southern Ontario’s best-kept secret. He says past the “dark satanic mills” seen from the Burlington Skyway are the Niagara Escarpment along with other natural wonders. As a professor at McMaster University’s Department of English, Donaldson has a concern with the mechanics and hidden implications of words and etiquette towards the days you leave behind. But his soul reaches for hockey, as imagined by both amateur athletes and Shakespeare.
While pregnant with their first child, Vancouver poet and novelist Pamela Porter and her husband travelled to Nicaragua and Guatemala to document the experiences of people caught in the Contra war and the government-sponsored terror against Guatemalan teachers and aid workers. Later, with two children, they worked in Angola and Ghana, where Pamela taught English during the day, and at night they delivered food to homeless children. These experiences inform her collection of poems Cathedral .
Note: Thanks to gremlin-like activity, the audio file of Pamela’s reading was corrupted (fume, curse). Luckily the interview survived.
Listen to the interview with Pamela Porter
Jacob McArthur Mooney writes about place. Not particular places, necessarily, although he has a lot to say about a neighbourhood in Mississauga. Place is an idea, almost a fiction for Jacob. Even when places are real they become history less than they become folklore.
Art Bar Blog and Podcast: Toronto’s most backlogged website?
Posted in Art Bar Poetry, Community with tags Art Bar backlog, Podcast Volunteers on March 29, 2011 by theartbar
The Great Catch-Up continues
Some of you might have noticed the Art Bar blog and podcast postings falling a little behind. Okay, really behind. First it was a few days, then weeks and now months.
All of this great audio and imagery in the can. All that great poetry hidden from the world.
Not to worry… this missing podcasts between May 2010 and March 2011 will make appearances one-by-one.
Meanwhile, we’re leaping over the backlog and posting the most recent readings while we catch up with posterity.
About the Squeaky Wheel factor
If you, dear reader, feel inclined to say, “Hey, what about June something-something when so-and-so read? Hey what about MY reading?” then by all means tell us that. We’ll most likely rush over and get that episode done out of remorse.
Just believe us: editing audio is fun
Finally, if anyone out there thinks it would be fun to edit audio, interview poets and take pictures yes, we’re definitely looking for volunteers.
Look us up.
January 18, 2011 – Amani, Sandra Kasturi and Rob Welch
Posted in Art Bar Poetry with tags Amani, Rob Welch, Sandra Kasturi on January 18, 2011 by theartbar
Rob Welch takes you down to a place in the Art Bar, you can hear his poems go by You can stay the night with him. And you know he’s half English but that’s why you want to be there and he feeds you toast and marmalade that are tasted from white pages. Just when you think there’s no better he gets you on his wavelength and lets the poem answer that you’ve always been a lover. And you want to listen to him you want to listen blind and you know that he can win youbecause you’ve heard his British accent in your mind.
Amani (The Contemporary Blues Poet) is a Writer, Producer, Spoken Word Artist, Singer, Actor and Creative Consultant that brings a unique flavour to everything that she does. Described as a Tour de Force on Stage, she has the ability to create lyrics about life experiences that leave you wanting to hear more.
Listen to interview with Amani
Sandra Kasturi is a writer, publisher and editor. She is the poetry editor of ChiZine.comand the co-publisher of ChiZine Publications. Sandra’s poetry and fiction has appeared in various magazines and anthologies, including Prairie Fire, Taddle Creek, Contemporary Verse 2, Shadows & Tall Trees, Tesseracts 14, Evolve andChilling Tales. He first poetry collection, The Animal Bridegroom (Tightrope Books) is now sold out. Her second collection, Came Late to the Love of Birds will be out in 2012. She is fond of single-malt scotch and doesn’t sleep much.
(Photos and recordings by Stephen Humphrey)
(Edited and assembled by Rob Welch)
January 11th, 2011 Discovery Night
Posted in Art Bar Poetry with tags Art Bar Discovery Night, Nancy Bullis on January 11, 2011 by theartbar
Discovery Night host Nancy Bullis
For the 12th time in as many years the Art Bar Discovery Night, hosted by Art Bar alumnus Nancy Bullis gave Toronto poets a shot at launching their careers into a new orbit by winning an Art Bar feature.
After three rounds and much audience voting, 20 hopeful readers were pared down to three:
Ian Hanna
Kimberley
Nisha
And the winner (drum roll please)….
Kimberley, the night’s deserving winner, is a long-time regular at the Art Bar’s open stage.
November 16, 2010 Susan Briscoe, Daniel Scott Tysdal, Antony Di Nardo
Posted in Art Bar Poetry with tags Antony Di Nardo, Daniel Scott Tysdal, Susan Briscoe on November 16, 2010 by theartbar
Daniel Scott Tysdal is the author of The Mourner’s Book of Albums (Tightrope Books) and Predicting the Next Big Advertising Breakthrough Using a Potentially Dangerous Method (Coteau 2006), which received the ReLit Award for Poetry (2007) and the Anne Szumigalski Poetry Award (2006). His second book of poetry, The Mourner’s Book of Albums, is forthcoming in the Fall from Tightrope Books. He teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
Listen to the interview with Daniel
Susan Briscoe’s work has appeared in several of Canada’s literary journals. She has been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards and was the recipient of the 2001 Lina Chartrand Award for an emerging woman poet.This is her first book. She lives in Montreal, Quebec.
Listen to Interview with Susan
Antony Di Nardo was born in Montreal and has lived in northwestern Ontario, Toronto, Oshawa, the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Germany, and Beirut. His poetry appears widely in journals across Canada and internationally. Both writer and teacher, he has worked as editor of a small town weekly newspaper, has contributed fiction reviews to Books in Canada, and writes fiction and non-fiction content for educational texts. He teaches at International College in Beirut.
His chapbooks, Three Poems and Speedwell, are published by Tibbits Hill Press of Sutton, Quebec, and his first full collection of poetry, Alien, Correspondent, was published by Brick Books in March 2010. Another book of poetry, Soul on Standby, was released by Exile Editions in April 2010.
Listen to Interview with Antony
Interviews, photos and recording by Stephen Humphrey
Blog and podcast assembled by Rob Welch and Stephen Humphrey
May 18 2010: If urban is the new pastoral what is the new black?
Posted in Art Bar Poetry with tags Anna Swanson, Blaise Moritz, Colin Carberry on May 19, 2010 by theartbarMy pastoral poem:
The Colin Carberry are ripening on its dense thickety bushes
The Anna Swaonson returns from its winter migrations
While magpies and fruit bats fly into the Blaise Moritz sunset.
- Stephen Humphrey
What inspires Anna Swanson‘s poetry? Multiple jobs and chronic fatigue. Women’s studies and coming out. Secular saints and parsons daughters. Falling in love and months of solitude, watching for fires.
Blaise Moritz writes about cities: this city, distant cities, a city that qualifies as imaginary. Writers are often told to write what they know. What if all you know is cities? Does architecture become nature? Does civilization exist north of Lawrence Avenue?
Both a poet and translator, Colin Carberry admires the passion of Mexican poets and the passion average Mexicans show for them. He reveres the quiet passion of Irish rebel and poet Bobby Sands. His globetrotting behaviour has found him on enough islands to write a decalogue of sonnets. And what else? He’s a snappy dresser. Just look at those shoes.
