Wintry words

>> Performance poetry stands strong through the frozen months

by VINCENT TINGUELY

Filmmaker Hala Alsalman, photographer Randa Eid, and graphic artist David Anderson have been honing their skills documenting the live performances at Coco Café, the longest-running spoken word series in Montreal. This February, their work will be on exhibit in Retro Coco, at Boutique-Gallery FLY, (1970 Ste-Catherine W.) during regular store hours. “They’re young, up-and-coming artists,” says Coco MC Mahalia “Miss Thang” Verna. “We felt this would be a nice way to acknowledge their contribution.” The exhibit’s video footage, photos, flyers and posters promise to bring back warm memories of some very hot nights.
Speaking of hot, the spoken word talent in this city is busting out with Voix d’Amériques, a six-day word extravaganza running from Feb. 26–March 3, featuring francophone and anglophone events. Based at the Casa del Popolo, with the main events at the Salla Rosa, the festival is the brainchild of Planète rebelle publisher, author and urban storyteller André Lemelin. He’s enlisted Impure co-author Victoria Stanton and Wired on Words producer Ian Ferrier to put together the English-language side of the event.

On Feb. 27, there’s an afternoon panel discussion, followed by an open mic hosted by Larissa Andrusyshyn and Paula Belina from 5–7 p.m. The main show features a set of solo theatrical excerpts with the consistently strong self-scripting of Leah Vineberg, Patrick Goddard and Laura Mitchell; a set of storytelling that includes Celtic tales by Mike Burns, and First Nations raconteur Bob Bourdon; and a set of dub and hip-hop-inflected poetry that brings Debbie Young back to Montreal.

On March 1, there will be a panel on literature and new media. At 5 p.m., outrageous drag king Bob Loblaws helms a poetry slam, and the main show features a set ofstraight-up spoken word, a set of multimedia performance, and a set with words accompanied by music. According to Stanton, there will be a third, bilingual evening of performances. “It’ll be a mishmash of English and French performers in one event, including Alexis O’Hara, Norman Nawrocki, Lateef the Quadriceptor and nah-ee-lah.”

All that jazz

In other news, Wired on Words and Music is going to be bringing in out-of-town talent this winter. On Feb. 17, the truly inspiring jazz poetry of Clifton Joseph comes to the Casa del Popolo. Joseph was putting out spoken word recordings when many of today’s well-known artists were still in diapers, and he was artistic director for the influential World Dub Poetry Festival that ran in the early ’90s in Toronto. He still kicks it today, when he’s not working as a commentator for CBC television. Most recently he appeared at last year’s Pan Canadian Wordfest.

This winter will also see the launch of the debut CD by ex-pat Montrealer Todd Swift and actuelle honcho Tom Walsh, aka Swifty Lazaar. And watch out for Kaie Kellough’s second chapbook, with illustrations by Stefan Christoff, to be launched on Feb. 20.

Moving into spring, on May 19, Adeena Karasick, the author of four densely-textured books of poetry (with names like Dyssemia Sleaze and Genrecide) will drop in at Casa del Popolo to demonstrate just how nicely her poetry translates from the page to the stage. It’s been a few years now since Karasick completed her PhD studies (something to do with a feminist reading of the Kabbalah) at Concordia and headed south to New York City. If you picked up a copy of the Ribsauce CD released late last year by Wired on Words, you might have heard her stunning bit of sound poetry. :