Outting and Aboutings

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Egad, we've survived winter, for sure this time. And despite all the yo-yoing snow and mildness, our red tulips bloomed on the exact same day as they did last year. It's almost perplexing how things work out.

There's a picture down below. Spoiler: my next chapbook is Toronto-released and Ottawa-releases soon. I thought I'd mentioned this already but I think it was a dream — as dreams go, not bad. Not as good as eating a whole buffet line of chou pastries and not getting full. Not as bad as Trump winning and us being all on the run and with inspector citizens spot-checking to ensure nothing of beauty is displayed in the home, with melanin skinned people hidden in the cellars of us dissidents. What an era we live in. 

How did National Poetry Month go? Did you make starts on all kinds of new explorations? Stretch to new or old places and get eurekaed? Myself I averaged about 2 poem drafts a day but with 10% being worth pursuing as Poem and 10% of that being really worthwhile, it's a start. Everything we do and don't do takes us somewhere. Movement is inevitable even for fixed stakes.

Lecture, readings, small press fair

May 22, 2016, 7-9pm for 6 weeks
Studio Nouveau Workshops:
21st Century Poetry. Details. Inquire to sign up. In-person and online versions: $150 for 6 weeks. Close readings, discussions and exercises.

Fri May 27, 2016, 7:30 pm
Arts Night, Ottawa
Talking at the Arts Night series, running since 2003 at the First Unitarian, 30 Cleary Ave. Talks on art life, what do you do what you do, what do you get out of it, because you can or must. With sculpture Dominique Dennery and musicians Tessa Bangs and Ella Bangs. $5 or PWYC. 

Sat May 28, 2016, 12-5pm
ArtsPark, Ottawa
Wellington West, Park at Parkdale & Wellington has an ArtsFestival with Arc's poem on demand typewriters with local poets composing poems on the spot for festival-goers, with money going to charity. Free admission.

Sun., June 5, 2016, 3pm
Railroad Reading Series
Ottawa launch of An Ongoing Lack of Spontaneous Combustion at Pressed Cafe (750 Gladstone). Reading with Marilyn Irwin & one other poet tba + open mic. Free admission.

Sat Jun 18, 2016, 12-5pm
Ottawa small press fair, Ottawa
Jack Purcell. Probably new titles. But certainly a thing not to miss.  Free admission.

So much has occurred. In a way it's not worth mentioning any past. If you missed it you missed it. Life has a lot of options all the time. 

← There's the gorgeous thing made by Will & Nicole at words(on)pages. The surreal suite has been going on and off since 2009. Thanks to a Grant from the City of Ottawa it got another push at life. Books are lovely. I'm reading book (or chapbook) 42 or the year. What did I like best? So much goodness: 

Bodymap by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (Mawenzi House, 2015) because it was powerful and grounded in her speech and story as no one else could tell it. Also a recommended read is Ryan Pratt's essay on anxiety and depression. So many writers go thru their version of the same challenge. 

this is a love poem but let’s not be too straight forward about it by Philip Gordon (words(on)pages, 2015) and Beauty/Beauty by Rebecca Perry (Bloodaxe, 2015) because they dared be fond and tender and astute. Most of the time if the title of anything is a positive adjective it is ironic trauma but these went a more difficult place of simple frankness. Chewing Water by Nelson Ball (Mansfield Press/A Stuart Ross Book, 2016) is something the same in daring to see beauty and comedy and push language. I'm totally fangirl for Nelson Ball. and have 8 or 9 of his titles.

In the last month over 2 dozen books and chapbooks entered the house. A little intimidating but as John Cage, if it is irritating it is not a pleasure. And it is not irritating but a pleasure.

The May meeting of KaDo is over. If you're curious about haiku, the next one is in July. Let me know and I'll let you know where. I did Authors for Indies again this year. There's a show on it here. I've been at Literary Landscape on CKCUfm.com for 52 episodes. Blogwise, there's been a steep drop-off this year. The food column at Centretown Buzz enters it's 3rd year shortly. I'm probably most visible at twitter at pesbo, if you do that. I'm working on a few manuscripts in parallel and one-off poems. 

I know I'll think of something I forgot to mention as soon as I press send, but that's okay too. There's almost always more. Except chocolate. Ate all that. 

Until next time, keep reading and keep writing,
Pearl