The second Voix d’Ameriques spoken word festival shoots even higher this year, starting with a free opener at Sergeant Recruteur (4650 St-Laurent) tonight, Feb. 13, at 5 p.m. The fest features six cabaret shows designed by general and artistic director D. Kimm, and numerous open mics and round-table discussions. “I think it’s the largest and most ambitious festival of its kind in Canada,” says English events coordinator Ian Ferrier.

Tomorrow night’s English-language gala, Don’t Bother Me With Your Chocolates, Honey!, includes spoken word videos, Québécois word sensation Genevieve Letarte en anglais, B.C. poet/welder Hilary Peach, and Ottawa-based griot Anthony Bansfield, who’ll be promoting his beats-laden new CD, Tales From the North Coast. He’s stoked about touring in support of the disc. “As with this upcoming FVA show, the venues are great spots for urban performance poets like myself,” says Bansfield. “My focus is to get my stuff out to the people.” Feb. 14, 8:30 p.m. at la Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent), $6. Pick up a flyer at the above venues or at Casa del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent), or check out the Web site, www.fva.ca, for a full schedule of the shows in French and English. : » Vincent Tinguely

Montreal’s vibrant comix scene is celebrated this week with the launch of Cyclops: Aim for the Eye, a winning anthology of extended narratives told and drawn by a number of local luminaries. The book includes such hilarious and surprising entries as Richard Suicide’s “Life is Like a Boat (But not on Mondays),” Carlos Santos’s “Le baiser” and Line Gamache’s “When I was small, I wasn’t tall.” (Conflict of interest alert: Mirror music editor Rupert Bottenberg also contributes an entry.)

“Cyclops is an apt title for the most baroque and iconoclastic authors of this bunch,” Mario Cholette writes in his introduction to the book. “These artists represent what is grotesque about this one-eyed monster!”

The launch for Cyclops: Aim for the Eye, a book that will be released simultaneously in French- and English-language versions, takes place this Saturday, Feb. 15, 3-8 p.m. at Le Cheval Blanc (809 Ontario E.). : » Matthew Hays

Time is ticking away if you’re still scrambling looking for that perfect gift for your one and only. So here’s a suggestion: whisk them away to Place des Arts this Valentine’s weekend. “Why?” you ask. After being on a European tour last year, La La La Human Steps has finally tiptoed its way back to home base with choreographer Édouard Lock’s newest work, Amelia. This creation for nine dancers opens the Montreal Highlights Festival at Place des Arts. If you caught Lock’s previous work, Salt, two years ago, he continues the exploration of his dance style with dancers on pointe in this production that received rave reviews across Europe. Feb. 13 - 16, 8 p.m. : » Marites Carino

Catherine Bodmer’s exhibition Énchantillons is made from a rather large collection of dryer lint that she has amassed over the years. Occupying and transforming Galerie Plein sud (150 de Gentilly E., Longueuil), it continues her series of laundromat-inspired works and installations. She addresses our attitudes towards cleanliness using the dust, mites, skin flakes and other goodies found in the coloured sections of lint.

This past summer in Ottawa, one of Bodmer’s installations became the centre of a fitting controversy. It was censored for bogus health concerns. The pinheads running the gallery decided (over a smoke, perhaps?) that Bounce fabric softener was too toxic to have in their milieu and banned the artist from showing the work as planned. All this unwittingly confirmed Bodmer’s artist statement that reads, “Excessive cleanliness hides the fear of contact and contamination… it reveals the fantasy of a controlled environment where we stay among ourselves, where risk is eliminated, where social relationships are sterilized.” Runs until March 9, 679-2966. : » Christine Redfern

Tear-jerking troops: Ever had a broken heart? Shattered someone else’s perhaps? Montreal-based artist Jennifer Raso wants to know. And she wants you to join her wounded militia to boot. It’s simple; send in your tragic tale - be you the breaker or the breakee - along with your mailing address and approximate bicep size, to armyofbrokenhearts@yahoo.ca. In return you’ll get an official Army of Broken Hearts membership package, which includes a lifetime membership card, information booklet, poster and custom-sized armband.

While people keep on breaking up, Raso will be busy compiling the tales into “an ever-growing sculpture of sorts” with members from coast to coast. “There are alternative ways of securing a nation,” she says. “Ones that encourage human interaction and a reconsideration of our personal past and present.” Raso’s ultimate goal: a brokenhearted army bigger than Canada’s. : » Matthew Woodley

Straightening the sideshow: Mara Verna’s much-anticipated exhibition, Rien n’a été perdu opens on Saturday, Feb. 15, at La Centrale (460 Ste-Catherine W.). Verna reconstructs the story of the Hottentot Venus, a South African woman who was exhibited in Europe in the 19th century as a freak, www.hottentotvenus.com for more. • All natural: Photographer Warren Zelman brings nature’s scenic goodness into February-infected Montreal with stunning outdoor shots from quiet backcountry to extreme sports. They’re at Java U’s Westmount digs (4914 Sherbrooke W) until Feb. 28. • Home sweet home: Christine Marchand’s Lieux sacrées features over 100 prints, many centering around the nest, at galerie Clair obscur (2374 Beaubien E.) until Feb. 23. :

Artistat: Record-breaking gross on Broadway in 2002 - coinciding with rising attendance in many theatres across North America and widely seen as proof that people crave entertainment in times of crisis: $707.1-million (U.S.) :

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