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Poetry unplugged >> A sampling of spoken word on CD by JULIET WATERS
There are few things as awe-inspiring as the pure talent it takes to engage, without the aid of technology, the mosquito-like attention span of the average North American audience. On the other hand, few things are more uncomfortable than watching a narcissistic glass of milk foam at the mouth with faux-subversiveness, righteousness, eroticism and, when all that fails, nonsense. If you don't think about it, spoken word CDs might seem like a solution. Much like books, CDs don't force you to stay in a room and endure them. Unfortunately, I can't imagine an act that will make one feel as freakish as sitting down for an hour of poetry-listening, except maybe to invite a few friends over to listen to your new poetry CDs with you. Al Purdy is probably the only poet who could inspire me to do such a crazy thing. And, once I'd taken the plunge into discomfort, I found it wasn't so hard to listen to a couple of other CDs that I'd recently received. It's impossible to feel alienated for long in a room filled with Purdy. Arguably Canada's finest poet, he's that rare thing: a truly free spirit with a genius that bridges the vast space between bars and ivory towers. (Charles Bukowski once claimed him as one of the greatest living poets, while Margaret Atwood has listed him as one of her major influences.) Necropsy of Love finds him in late career, blankversing about taverns, marital discord, age, atheism, riding the boxcars, trying to take a dump in the Arctic while evading shit-eating huskies, and unconditional Canadian politics. ("Proposal. Let us join Quebec, if Quebec won't join us.") Purdy's poetry is interspersed with bites from an interview with performance poet Clive Holden. Holden also has a CD on the same label, titled Gordon's Head + Hitler! (Both CDs are available through the Internet via www.cyclopspress.com.) Hitler! is the soundtrack to a 16mm film, Hitler! a filmpoem, and is perhaps a bit slow without the visuals. Holden's delivery is fine for the shorter works, but too understated to sustain something longer. Fortunately, the 37-minute long Gordon's Head, from his novella Fury, Fictions and Films, is read by Graeme Somerville, who adds just enough expression to keep the work painful instead of maudlin. Both works offer moving and interesting soliloquies based on the poet's relationship with his schizophrenic brother. For anyone interested in sampling the local spoken word scene before taking the risk of setting out to the many and various events that crop up regularly around town, Wired on Words has finally released the long-awaited CD, Millennium Cabaret. By the time you've made it through 24 tracks, you should have a good idea of what you might like and might want to avoid. It's been four years since the last time producer Ian Ferrier collected random voices for posterity and non-profit, and the roster has changed a fair bit. Fortner Anderson, Fluffy Pagan Echoes and Corey Frost remain as veterans of the scene along with a recording of the late Ian Stephens. Newer talent like Golda Fried and David Jager join excellent French poet Geneviève Letarte and MTV word queen Regie Cabico. Still, regardless of the many flaws that accompany the moments of brilliance, spoken word is a dish best served live. Thus, Sunday's Millennium Cabaret launch is the best "best of" event one is likely to find for a while. Millennium Cabaret is launched on Sunday, November 22, 8pm, Bistro 4 (4040 St-Laurent), $5 or $10 admission and CD
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There's a rhyme from childhood about a girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead. "When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad she was horrid." In general, the art form currently known as spoken word seems to have something of the same problem.