Travelling
wordsmiths

Out-of-towners bring their acts to Montreal,
while locals pack their bags and take
their work on the road

READY FOR THE OPEN ROAD:
Alexis O’Hara and D.Kimm as Mankind

by VINCENT TINGUELY

Out-of-towners gracing our city this fall include kids’ poetry giant Dennis Lee, reading poetry for grown-ups at the Atwater Library on Sept. 25, and the prolific sound poet Penn Kemp appearing at the Yellow Door on Sept. 28.

The Fringe-inspired Montreal Public Poetry Festival runs from Sept. 26–28, and features more than 20 local and visiting scribes, including Vancouver’s Meredith Quartermain and Torontonian Susan L. Helwig.

Some of Montreal’s most exportable spoken word artists are gigging around town this fall. D.Kimm, globetrotting mastermind of the Voix d’Ameriques festival, hits the New York Howl fest this September as Mankind with spoken noise sister Alexis O’Hara. Kimm performs with Bernard Falaise from their Le Silence des hommes CD at MdC Frontenac on Oct. 28, and MdC Villeray-St-Michel-Parc-Extension on Nov. 6.

The effervescent slam poets of the Throw Collective are recording a live CD of 20 of their best performers on Oct. 19 at the Words and Music at the Casa series; they’re also sending a team to Calgary to compete in the Canadian slam finals in November. And Catherine Kidd is part of the LIBER08 tour to Barcelona, with Robert Oriol, Omar Alexis Ramos, Angel Mota and Danny Plourde.

To catch the flavour of their show, featuring videopoem collaborations with Catalonian VJ Raimundo Morte, catch the Noches de poesia showcase on Sept. 24 at Depanneur Café. You can also catch Noches honcho Èlizabeth Robert performing Random Acts of Poetry around town from Oct. 1–5.

FRESHLY BOUND

Book launch fever starts on Sept. 13 at RedBird Studio (135 Van Horne) at 8 p.m. with the fiction anthology The Art of Trespassing, edited by noisemaker Anna Levanthal. October has a passel of Montrealers unleashing new stuff, including Daniel Allen Cox’s steamy Shuck at Chapters on Ste-Catherine on Oct. 3, poet Carolyn Marie Souaid’s Paper Oranges on Oct. 14, and Snare authors Pasha Malla, Geoffrey Hlibchuk and Mike Spry on Oct. 19 at the Green Room. Expect many of them to be tabling at this year’s massive Expozine, running Nov. 22–23 at 5035 St-Dominique.

In the realm of total arts mash-ups, Sept. 19 at l’Envers (185 Van Horne), Sacred Noise includes dance, electronic/organic noise and texty performances by Moe Clark and Ian Ferrier with Pharmakon. The Factory Project is a Warholian fantasia at Eastern Bloc (7240 Clark), Sept. 20, 24, 25, 26, and 27, with faves O’Hara, Skidmore, Dayna McLeod and Sherwin Tjia.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Tjia’s run of Cagibi-based audience participation shows continues with The Monthly Mile-End Spelling Bee on Sept. 14, and Love Letters on Sept. 21. Oct. 8 sees NYC-based choreographer/dancer Christal Brown and Bronx poet activist Victoria Sammartino hit Casa del Popolo in a perfect storm of dance and poetry.

Had enough of the Plateau-bound hipster scene? Escape to the West Island Readers Electric series at Café Aurora (552 Beaconsfield, Beaconsfield). The Sept. 25 show features special guest Tony Robinson-Smith and Poets Against War co-founder Sandra Stephenson.