Thursday, February 12, 2009

Mondo!Poetry

Hey all,

For most of you, next week is Reading Week or even just the week after Valentine's Day. But Aqua Books is trying to transform February 17-21 into Mondo!Poetry, an annual festival celebrating Canadian poetry.

This first incarnation of Mondo!Poetry will feature Al Purdy and includes a fundraiser called the Mondo!Purdy Video Dance Party to support The A-Frame Trust. This group is working to preserve the fifty year-old cottage where Purdy wrote his best work and similar fundraisers have been planned for other cities across the country.

I'm including information below on all the programming we have slated for Mondo!Purdy. If you have any questions, please email me at ariel@aquabooks.ca.

If you have any problems deciding what to attend, my advice is to pick the Mondo!Purdy Video Dance Party February 21. (Dancing! Silent auction! Readings by stellar MB poets! All in support of a good cause!)

Thank you and please make me happy by sending this info on to anyone else who might be interested...

Thanks!

* * *

Speak, Writer!
Dancing Monkeys, Microphones, and Other Mysteries of Performance
A workshop with Tim Higgins and Chandra Mayor


Date: Tuesday, February 17
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Cost: $10

Aqua Books Writer-in-Residence Tim Higgins and author Chandra Mayor join forces for a practical workshop, specifically for writers, full of tips, tools, and advice on how to give memorable readings and performances - from the mysteries of mics to choosing your material, body language to voice and breath.

* * *

Open Road, Open Mic
Hosted by Colin Smith and Chandra Mayor


Date: Wednesday, February 18
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Cost: FREE!

Bring your poetry and fiction, your non-fiction and your props, to this night of open mic readings in celebration of poet and performer Al Purdy.

* * *

The Landscapes in Your Voice: Riffing off Purdy
A workshop with Armin Wiebe and Kate Bitney


Date: Thursday, February 19
Time: 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Cost: $30

A writers' workshop in which Armin Wiebe and Katherine Bitney will conduct a dialogue on voice and landscape and lead participants through a series of "riffing exercises" designed to stimulate exploration of individual writing voices. Bring a notebook and a pen and a willingness to surrender to your imagination.

* * *

The Boxcar Chat
Poets David Arnason and Dennis Cooley with critic Neil Besner and moderator Ron Robinson


Date: Friday, February 20
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Cost: FREE!

Our version of the fireside chat, which includes a screening of Al Purdy: A Sensitive Man (NFB, 1988), as well as a panel discussion with contemporaries of Purdy's.

* * *

Mondo!Purdy Video Dance Party
Poets Catherine Hunter, Deborah Schnitzer, Rosanna Deerchild, Charlene Diehl


Date: Saturday, February 21
Time: 8:00 pm - 1:00 am
Cost: $10/$5 for students

Food, music, readings, remembrances, a sweet silent auction, and more. Catered by EAT! Bistro, the final night of Mondo!Purdy, this fundraiser in support of the Purdy A-frame Trust will be the literary event of the season.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I could maybe dance party...assuming you're solemnly swearing to be there gettin' jiggy with the rest of us...

Ariel Gordon said...

I might cut a small rug. Just a small one, mind...

Brenda Schmidt said...

A video dance party! Cool. Looks like a great week.

Ariel Gordon said...

Thanks, B. I'm looking forward to it!