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Vallum: Contemporary Poetry

Vallum: Contemporary Poetry

Author Archives: Drew McKevitt

Matrix’s “New Feminisms” launch

08 Thursday Apr 2010

Posted by Drew McKevitt in Out and About

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Held at Sparrow on St. Laurent north, the lounge provided the reading with the perfect atmosphere for a cozy Montreal reading in late March. The dim lighting, dark wood tables and old black and white portraits hung salon-style on the far wall was a warm retreat from the light snowfall outside. By the time the reading began the medium-sized room was packed with patrons leaning against walls and crouching on the floor.

Each reader, all featured in Matrix’s “New Feminisms” issue, offered a different perspective  on the theme. The notion of translation, in particular, surfaced several times throughout the evening. Brownwyn Hsylam read translations of Nicole Brossard’s work. I was particularly impressed with the strict rules Hsylam imposed on her transations. She describes them as ‘anagram translations’ and offers further explanation in the “New Feminisms” issue: “… these translations use the same number of each letter as in the orginal French poem. This translation is tonal strain, inflecting English with the letteral character of the French.” The effect is a translation that combines both meaning and  the feeling of the original language.

 In addition, Christine Sy read from her prose piece “An Anishinaabekwe Intellectual History, 21st Century Turtle Island,” featured in the issue. Her lyric prose included Anishinaabekwe words, which required some translation. Her strong presence as a reader and beautifully crafted images drew me into her piece and the world it described. The Anishinaabekwe words, which were only translated once at the beginning of her performance, reflected what her piece ultimately provided for me: a translation of experience.

 Indeed, the notion of translating experience, particularly the experiences of women, was loosely present throughout the reading. (In fact, it could be argued that all writing is, in a sense, a translation of experience, feelings, senses etc.)

 Melissa Bow, who began the evening strongly, experimented with a ‘cut-up’ technique in one poem, where she took apart Derek Walcott’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize and put it back together. Reminscient of Burroughs’ and Dadaist techniques, the poem can be seen as kind of translation, offering a new intepretation of Walcott’s own words.

 Julie McIssac read from “The Baby Section,” a story that appears in the issue. Simple language and precise descriptions characterize her reading. McIssac embodied the main character in her reading, perfectly capturing the moment of revelation, where this young women reveals her pregnancy and thoughts about the absent father.

 Angela Hibbs read poetry not featured in the issue. “Good Housekeeping” stood out for me. The poem described the landscape of a housewife’s environment, focusing on cleaning products and areas needing attention. Again, a strong sense of the female experience was present and highlighted by her use of language and rhythm.

 Zoe Page injected the reading with humor— and chose to share a prose piece about attending a “specific” party. Indeed the repetition of “specific” combined with her honest description of the speaker’s fears and position in this “specific” scene, both vividly captured ‘that kind’ of party and humorously jabbed the ‘hip’ culture of today.

 Ending the evening with a bang, spoken word artist T.L. Cowan read a long piece composed entirely of questions. Often humorous and with a focus on sexuality, the piece prodded at the notion of female sexuality. Cowan’s strong presence as a reader was a joy to watch.

 Ultimately the reading was a great experience. I would highly recommend checking out Matrix’s “New Feminisms” issue and visiting their website for online content that wasn’t included in the issue.

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A.F. Moritz wins the Griffin Poetry Prize

25 Friday Sep 2009

Posted by Drew McKevitt in Newsworthy

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A.F. Moritz, award, Griffin Poetry Prize, Griffin Prize

Congratulations to A.F. Moritz, whose recent poetry book The Sentinel (House of Anansi Press, 2008) won the Griffin Prize. Moritz is a frequent contributor to Vallum, and we are thrilled with his success. Also winning this year is C.D. Wright for her collection Rising, Falling, Hovering (Copper Canyon Press, 2008).

For more information on the Griffin Poetry Prize and A.F. Moritz’s winning collection, visit the Griffin Poetry Prize official website, where you can read his poem “Light.”

New work from Moritz will appear in Vallum 6:2 “Play and the Absurd,” due out soon.

Boo! Halloween Haiku!

30 Thursday Oct 2008

Posted by Drew McKevitt in Crazy Stuff, Featured Poets

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haiku, Hallowe'en, halloween haiku, halloween poetry

It’s the day before Halloween! Whether you call it Mischief Night or Devil’s Night, you’re probably either frantically putting together a costume for tomorrow using cheese cloth and toothpicks or buying a large quantity of toilet paper and eggs. Whatever you’re doing, take a moment to enjoy these Halloween inspired Haiku by Vallum workers Maja Romano and Drew McKevitt:



Sweet tricks: tissue, eggs.

Lights inside flick on. Scramble

quickly little feet!

-Drew


What kind of trick is

this? Raisins are not candy!

Don’t knock on that door.

-Maja


I’m tall for my age,

maybe wearing platform shoes…

Just give me candy.

-Drew


Sweating in my mask

as I drag my burden home;

candy feast awaits.

-Maja


Delicious and bright:

Jack carved lanterns from turnips.

Safe pumpkins tonight.

-Drew


We will share a cold,

dark interior, ignore

requests at the door.

-Drew


Fat Jack O’ Lantern

glowing brightly on my stoop.

Hallowe’en is nigh.

-Maja


Happy Halloween everyone!!

Cafe / Culture reading

28 Monday Jul 2008

Posted by Drew McKevitt in Uncategorized

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arts cafe, cafe\culture, danielle lafrance, drew mckevitt, ilona martonfi, jeffrey mackie, jesika starnino, montreal

Saturday marked the first in what will hopefully be many small and informal Café / Culture readings from Vallum. Hosted at the cosy Arts Café on Saturday, a considerable crowd gathered to sip wine, nibble hot sandwiches and hear poets Ilona Martonfi, Danielle Lafrance, Jeffrey Mackie, and me, Drew McKevitt, as well musical guest Jesika Starnino.

As this was the first Café / Culture reading ever, Vallum‘s staff was a bit nervous about how the event would go off. Fortunately it was tremendously sucessful, entertaining, and loaded with talented performers, due in large part to Connor Friesen, Vallum‘s summer intern, who organized the event, as well as the poets and musical act who aggreed to participate.

Around seven, as poets and guests drifted in, Jesika Starnino began warming up by playing cover songs by the likes of George Michael and Michael Jackson —loosening the overall mood and making it clear that this reading would be far from stodgy.

Then I was up, glad to be participating, but reluctant and slightly frightful of taking the mic and reading first. Initially I found the idea of reading for fifteen minutes daunting and a little more than terrifying, but the generous time given each poet was perhaps what made the gathering so enjoyable and intriguing. Fewer readers allowed for a more in depth listen to each one. Coupled with the intimate setting of the Arts Café, the overall effect was warm, friendly and personal.

Ilona Martonfi read second from her book recounting poignant, sometimes stark, childhood memories. She was followed by Danielle Lafrance, a feminist essayist and poet, whose series spoke to struggles many young women face when trying to carve identities for themselves. Jeffrey Mackie went last, reading a long humorous poem, that ranted about the state of culture, or rather the lack there of. Finishing the evening, Jesika Starnino played her unique and delightful folk / pop. Particularly crowd pleasing were comic songs about annoying ex-boyfriends and getting tanked with girlfriends in Montreal.

If you missed out on the reading, don’t worry, there are sure to be more in the future. And hopefully, you’ll even be able to catch this one on YouTube. Keep checking our blog and website for links to Vallum’s YouTube channel.

KOLA launch and reading: writing home….

30 Monday Jun 2008

Posted by Drew McKevitt in Out and About

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George Elliott Clarke, home, Horace I. Goddard, KOLA, poetry reading, The Black Writers’ Guild

Last Thursday Jane and I attended a reading in honour of the The Black Writers’ Guild (KOLA)
and the Quebec Board of Black Educators (Q.B.B.E.). KOLA sponsors a black literary magazine of the same name that’s been published in Montreal since 1987. Six readers, George Elliott Clarke, Peter Bailey, Clarence Bayne, Horace I. Goddard, Anthony Joyette, and H. Nigel Thomas, read their work, the works of writers they admire, and spoke about their experiences as immigrants living in Canada. Vallum‘s honorary board member, George Elliott Clarke began the evening and stood out as undeniable highlight, reading from his fun poetic opera, Québécité. The other readers lived up to the auspicious start by reading sections from novels and poems dealing with black experience in Canada, and often adding their own personal anecdotes to supplement the readings.

In questioning how to define identity here in Canada, each reader circled back to the notion of ‘home’ and how such a concept can be understood. This made an impact on me. Granted, on many occasions, I’ve been asked, “where are you from?” followed quickly by, “but where are you really from?” or “where are your parents from?” when my response of “Philadelphia,” shed no light on why I look the way I do. But this is not why the question of how one defines home resonated with me. What makes a place home? I think I would call it the place where I feel like I belong. Not necessarily where I was born or live.

The host of the evening, Horace I. Goddard, said at one point, that he feels that most writers struggle with what they call home, and perhaps they only feel at home in what they are writing. It’s my feeling that it’s not only writers who find a home in the written word, but readers as well. I find a home in any book I read, be it poetry or fiction. And while it’s difficult to explain the feeling of how a good book can make you feel so comfortable and welcome that it’s almost like physically being at home, I think most readers will agree and understand what I’m talking about here. Something happens when we read, something that cuts off the world in which we live and builds a different kind of home around us. A non-physical, but just as real, place that we can retreat to and feel more like ourselves than we might in our own realities.

We may move from place to place and call a variety of locations ‘home’ throughout our lives, but a story can remain for years between the same two covers. And sometimes when we reread, we are able to recapture that first moment of belonging and being at home with literature.

This idea is especially relevant here at Vallum, when we are now getting down the wire with production of the upcoming issue. I think about all the writers that Vallum has given a home and all of our devoted readers, who find a space for themselves twice a year in the pages of Vallum. As writers we create a place for ourselves through our words. As readers we bring our experiences with us when we read, and writers and readers both find a way to connect profoundly with what appears to be only static typeface.

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