The good word

>> Lots to talk about at the Casa, Cabaret, Coco Café, in zines and on screens

by VINCENT TINGUELY

Aficionados of spoken word have a cornucopia of books, CDs, films and videos to look forward to this fall, and a bumper crop of performances. The Sept. 15 Words and Music at the Casa (Casa del Popolo, 4873 St-Laurent, $5) features host Ian Ferrier with Bryan Highbloom and Vancouver band Medic. On Sept. 29, Coco Café kicks off the Reality Trilogy with Human (Quartier Latin, 318 Ontario East, 9 p.m., $6), inviting performers to express the human behind the art. On Oct. 27, Fear probes society’s anxieties, and on Nov. 24, the classic Annoyed invites artists to storm the stage with their best rants.

The next Extreme Innocence cabaret marks the anniversary of 9/11 (Sept. 20, Club Indigo, 9394 L’Acadie, 8 p.m. $10). Other poetry series include the weekly Wednesday’s Child open mic (Kafein, 1429 Bishop), the Prose and Poetry series at the Yellow Door (3625 Aylmer, info: 398-4173), and Writers Read at Concordia (Hall building, 1455 de Maisonneuve W., Info: 848-2345).

The invariably sold-out Kiss My Cabaret returns to Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent, Sept. 14, 9 p.m.). Kiss My regular Dayna McLeod says, “I’m gonna give the porn game plan, tips for porn stars—the whole chalkboard scenario!” McLeod’s steamy comedy video, Womyn’s Studies: Lessons in Porn, starring the irrepressible Skidmore, premieres at the Image + Nation film festival in September. The unsinkable Ms. McLeod also performs with über-drummer Jackie Gallant and videographer Nikki Forest at Noises in the Dark (Nov. 22–23, Studio 303, 372 Ste-Catherine W.).

Rebel news poet Norman Nawrocki appears in filmmaker Marie Boti’s Musique Rebelles, and he’s performing at the launch party (Kola Note, 5240 Parc, Sept. 14, 7 p.m., $8). On Dec. 3, Nawrocki launches The Anarchist & The Devil Do Cabaret. A comedic travelogue of one of Rhythm Activism’s many European tours, the book also includes 23 short “urban fairy tales’” (Casa del Popolo, 8 p.m., free).

There’ll be a 5–7 p.m. listening party for Alexis O’Hara’s debut disc on Grenadine, In Abulia (Casa del Popolo, Sept. 28). She describes some of the tracks this way: “Electro madness with guitar and French vocals, robot poetry, sci-fi movie scene with nurse and patient, dreams of kidnapping…” The spoken word super-starlet launches In Abulia with a medically-themed evening at Sala Rossa (Oct. 17) featuring backing crew The Mometers.

Prolific poet
On Oct. 19, the inaugural EXPOZINE small press fair takes place at Sala Rossa from 11 a.m.–6 p.m., a bilingual event showcasing Montreal’s literary, comic and zine culture. That night sees two launches in one: for Short Fuse, an international poetry anthology (edited by Todd Swift and Phil Norton), and for The Envelope, Please, the long-awaited CD by Swifty Lazaar (Swift and actuelle man Tom Walsh). A week later, watch for the launch of Swift’s latest book of poetry, Café Alibi (DC Books). Swift quips, “I’m sure this qualifies me for the title of one of the busiest poets from Canada these days, if nothing else!”

Catherine Kidd appears along with Kaie Kellough in the CBC-sponsored Working Woes cabaret (Cabaret Music Hall, Oct. 24). On Nov. 14, Kidd and Jack Beets launch their CD Sea Peach with a theatrical presentation at the Piscine Saint-Michel (5300 St-Dominique). Co-produced by infinitheatre, the 10-show run features a live performance of seven pieces from the CD, with videography by Tod Van Dyk and choreography by Virginia Preston.

At the November 17 Words and Music at the Casa, Corey Frost launches My Own Devices, a series of stories set in exotic locales. According to Frost, “It’s the kind of book that should be sold on train platforms and in airports to keep you busy on your trip.” Other launches to watch for include Mia Rose Brooks’ CD, Throw the Captain Overboard! in mid-Sept.; the October return of Montreal ex-pat Trish Salah with her first book of poetry, Wanting in Arabic (TSAR Books); a new series of Wired on Words CD singles by Paula Belina, Larissa Andrusyshyn, Kaie Kellough and others. Also check out the semi-regular Streeteaters zine launches, at locations tba. :

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