The reading + the e-reading

Hey all,

On October 8th, I will be appearing at Winnipeg's McNally Robinson, reading with Clarise Foster and John Barton as a part of Prairie Fire's FallWORDfest.

And through the magic of the sparkly interweb, I'll also be performing work in support of Rutting Season. In Toronto. On October 8.

(Not live from the PF event, sadly. Via a pre-recorded mp3.)

So I've got two sets of poetry to rehearse.

Some How-To poems for the Barton event, including my first-ever sonnet, and a micro-section of the micro-poetry that is Substitutions for the TO event.

Fun!

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John Barton tours his new book of poetry, Hymn!

On Thursday, October 8 Prairie Fire Press presents readings by John Barton, editor of The Malahat Review, with local writers Clarise Foster and Ariel Gordon. Barton has published nine books of poetry and five chapbooks, including his most recent book of poems called Hymn, a journey in search of love through the contemporary homoerotic male body. This event will take place at McNally Robinson Booksellers' Grant Park location (travel alcove). Reading starts at 7:00 PM and is free to the public.

(More event details after the turn...)

AUTHOR BIOS

Ariel Gordon is a Winnipeg-based author who has recently published two small-press chapbooks. Her work has appeared in fine literary magazines such as Carousel, PRISM International and Prairie Fire. Ariel's first collection of poetry, Hump, is forthcoming from Ontario's Palimpsest Press in spring 2010. When not being bookish, she enjoys tromping through the woods taking macro photographs of mushrooms.

Clarise Foster is the editor of Contemporary Verse 2 and the author of two collections of poetry. She most contentedly resides in Winnipeg with her two dogs and two cats.

John Barton has published nine books of poetry and five chapbooks, including Designs from the Interior, Sweet Ellipsis, Hypothesis, and Hymn, which was released by Brick Books in August. A third and bilingual edition of West of Darkness: Emily Carr, a self-portrait, his third book, was published by Buschek Books in 2006. Co-editor of Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay-Male Poets, he has won three Archibald Lampman Awards, an Ottawa Book Award, a 2003 CBC Literary Award, and a 2006 National Magazine Award. He lives in Victoria where he is the editor of The Malahat Review.

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Montreal's Buffalo Runs Press invites you to celebrate the release of Rutting Season: Poetry & Conversation. This anthology, edited by Correy Baldwin with Katye Seip, features poems by Ariel Gordon, Michael Lithgow, and Linda Besner, and concludes with the three poets discussing each other's work.

Come out to bohemianly sketchy venue Unit 102 (located at 46 Noble Street in Parkdale) to hear Michael Lithgow, Ariel Gordon, and Linda Besner along with fiction writers Sarah Selecky and Matthew J. Trafford. This BYOB event is cunningly located across the street from a liquor store.

Ariel Gordon is a Winnipeg-based writer and editor. Her poetry has recently appeared in fine lit mags such as Carousel, QWERTY, and PRISM International, as well in a chapbook from Edmonton's Rubicon Press entitled Guidelines: Malaysia & Indonesia, 1999. Ariel's first full collection of poetry, Hump, is slated for publication with Kingsville's Palimpsest Press in spring 2010.

Michael Lithgow is a PHD student at Carleton University, School of Journalism and Mass Communication. His poems have appeared in a smattering of magazines and journals across Canada. He has worked as a community media advocate and journalist in television, radio, and print. He is currently a research associate with the Campaign for Democratic Media and a contributing editor at artthreat.net

Linda Besner is originally from Wakefield, Quebec. Her poetry has appeared in journals including The Malahat Review, Grain, The Fiddlehead, Prairie Fire, Arc, and Maisonneuve. Her radio work has aired on CBC Radio's DNTO, Outfront, and The Next Chapter. Her first book of poetry, The Id Kid, is forthcoming from Signal Editions in 2011.

Sarah Selecky studied writing with Natalie Goldberg and Lynda Barry and earned her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. Her writing has been published in The Sun, Geist Magazine, Prairie Fire, The New Quarterly, Event and The Journey Prize Anthology. Her short story collection, This Cake is for the Party, will be released by Thomas Allen Publishers in Spring 2010.

Matthew J. Trafford's short story Past Perfect won the Far Horizons Award for Fiction from The Malahat Review and was nominated for a 2008 National Magazine Award. His drama The People and the Stones was produced by DaPoPo Theatre as part of their show 13 Ways of Looking at a Madman, which toured Germany and performed at the 2006 Atlantic Fringe Festival. His story Gutted recently appeared in Matrix Magazine.