Glossolalia has been out in the world for almost a year now and has garnered a modest bit of attention. I keep planning on posting all the reviews and interviews I've received and given in support of my wives, not so much for bragging rights, but mostly so that I have them all together. Soon, I hope.
One of my favourite things I've done since Glossolalia was published is a reading and panel discussion with some of my favourite poets: Jennica Harper, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Amber Dawn, and moderated by Gillian Jerome. Gillian did a great job asking difficult questions, and I think the ensuing discussion was provocative.
It's about an hour and a half long, so make sure you have a pot of tea and a hearty snack beside you if you plan on watching it all in one sitting. If you do watch it all, let me know what you think. I'd love to keep the discussion going.
Showing posts with label Jennica Harper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jennica Harper. Show all posts
24 January 2014
2 April 2013
Poetry! Poetry! Poetry!
Why yes, it's April, which means it's National Poetry Month both in Canada and the USA. It's the time of year where bookish folk remember the often overlooked, sometimes derided, genre, pull up their literary socks, and give it the ole college try of celebrating, and perhaps even reading, poetry. Thank goodness it's a short month.
It's also the time of year when poets try so very hard to have their work read by others. I'm as guilty as the rest, of course. There are so very many poets, and it's so hard to get even poets to read poetry at a consistent pace, let alone those wonderfully bookish people who devour novels like I do tea.
In celebration of Poetry Month, many literary blogs and sites are highlighting poetry in some way. Two places that have my attention are The Rusty Toque's collaborative poem and Literary Press Group 's "CoCoPoPro" aka Coast-to-Coast Poetry Project. And to be completely self-serving, you can see my contribution here.
If you want to go a bit deeper, my I suggest the always fantastic Jacket2 who recently posted North of Invention. I'm slowly going through each section. And I recently came upon Jennica Harper's The Sally Draper Poems. I was lucky to read early drafts of these, and am so happy to see them together like this.
So tell me, how are you celebrating National Poetry Month?
p.s. My giveaway for Glossolalia wraps up at the end of the month. So far only one person has entered the one on my blog. (Should I be embarrassed by this? I'm trying not be as the GoodReads number is higher than I expected. ) Follow this link and comment for your chance to receive a copy of your own. Your odds are good!
It's also the time of year when poets try so very hard to have their work read by others. I'm as guilty as the rest, of course. There are so very many poets, and it's so hard to get even poets to read poetry at a consistent pace, let alone those wonderfully bookish people who devour novels like I do tea.
In celebration of Poetry Month, many literary blogs and sites are highlighting poetry in some way. Two places that have my attention are The Rusty Toque's collaborative poem and Literary Press Group 's "CoCoPoPro" aka Coast-to-Coast Poetry Project. And to be completely self-serving, you can see my contribution here.
If you want to go a bit deeper, my I suggest the always fantastic Jacket2 who recently posted North of Invention. I'm slowly going through each section. And I recently came upon Jennica Harper's The Sally Draper Poems. I was lucky to read early drafts of these, and am so happy to see them together like this.
So tell me, how are you celebrating National Poetry Month?
p.s. My giveaway for Glossolalia wraps up at the end of the month. So far only one person has entered the one on my blog. (Should I be embarrassed by this? I'm trying not be as the GoodReads number is higher than I expected. ) Follow this link and comment for your chance to receive a copy of your own. Your odds are good!
9 October 2012
Initiation Trilogy: Gay Vancouver
Last week I did an email interview with Mark from Gay Vancouver. Here's a snippet:
How did you land on the three pieces that are part of the show?
As soon as I realized that I wanted to adapt three works of poetry, I knew immediately it would be Glossolalia, What it Feels Like for a Girl, and God of Missed Connections.
As a book, What it Feels Like for a Girl is very dramatic—there is dialogue, there is narrative, there is a climax. It’s a piece that lends itself very well to the stage.
God of Missed Connections is very dramatic in a completely different way. Although it has unifying themes, it’s definitely more of a collection of poetry rather than a narrative. That said, I knew this book quite well and like Glossolalia, many of the poems felt like monologues. I knew I could craft something exciting from it as the book itself is so compelling.
You can read the whole piece here.
Also, I'd like apologize in advance--these next two weeks are going to be very Initiation Trilogy heavy. What can I say, I'm excited!
How did you land on the three pieces that are part of the show?
As soon as I realized that I wanted to adapt three works of poetry, I knew immediately it would be Glossolalia, What it Feels Like for a Girl, and God of Missed Connections.
As a book, What it Feels Like for a Girl is very dramatic—there is dialogue, there is narrative, there is a climax. It’s a piece that lends itself very well to the stage.
God of Missed Connections is very dramatic in a completely different way. Although it has unifying themes, it’s definitely more of a collection of poetry rather than a narrative. That said, I knew this book quite well and like Glossolalia, many of the poems felt like monologues. I knew I could craft something exciting from it as the book itself is so compelling.
You can read the whole piece here.
Also, I'd like apologize in advance--these next two weeks are going to be very Initiation Trilogy heavy. What can I say, I'm excited!
7 October 2012
weekend of wonders
Last weekend was an amazing, dream-fulfilling type of weekend.
On Saturday, I was lucky to be one of sixteen chosen to attend an all-day master class with Lynda Barry, hosted by the Vancouver International Writers Festival. We were given strict instructions to not socialize until after the workshop was over, but I did have lunch with my husband and John Vigna who was my desk mate. We mostly followed the rules by not talking about the content of the workshop, but did talk about it briefly to agree that it was fantastic.
I have never taken a class like Lynda Barry's, though any of you familiar with her work is probably not at all surprised by this statement. I was completely impressed by her and how she conducted and organized the class. I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to learn from her. I was given tools that I hadn't considered before, and even better, that I know I will use. If you ever have a chance to take a workshop with her, move mountains to make it happen. I'm so thankful that I had.
And to top it off, she gave me a hug at the end. I'm a lucky, lucky lady.
*
On Sunday, my dearest friend, Jennica treated (TREATED!) me to the Madonna concert. We went with Nancy Lee and her husband John Vigna. I rarely go to concerts and I have never been to something like that. It was a visual assault and simply amazing. Sure, I don't really know her new stuff, but man alive, Madonna can put on a show. And she made sure that some of her oldies-but-goodies were represented. My two favourite Madonna songs were done (Express Yourself and Like a Prayer, in case you were wondering) and they were phenomenal. It was spectacle and theatre and left me giddy for a long time.
*
On Monday, it was my birthday. It was strange to be away from my husband and my boys, but I got the best gift. The universe gave me the first day of rehearsals of my first professional theatre production. Yes, dear reader, Initiation Trilogy is in rehearsals and I was fortunate to be in the room for the first three days of rehearsals. I would have liked to have been there longer, but I had to get back to my family as Kevin had to leave town.
There is so much I want to write about the process of bringing Initiation Trilogy to life and I know I won't have the time or space to do it in, but will try to in subsequent posts. Right now I will simply say that the first day was magic and that I am so incredibly lucky to have the creative team on this piece.
On Saturday, I was lucky to be one of sixteen chosen to attend an all-day master class with Lynda Barry, hosted by the Vancouver International Writers Festival. We were given strict instructions to not socialize until after the workshop was over, but I did have lunch with my husband and John Vigna who was my desk mate. We mostly followed the rules by not talking about the content of the workshop, but did talk about it briefly to agree that it was fantastic.
I have never taken a class like Lynda Barry's, though any of you familiar with her work is probably not at all surprised by this statement. I was completely impressed by her and how she conducted and organized the class. I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to learn from her. I was given tools that I hadn't considered before, and even better, that I know I will use. If you ever have a chance to take a workshop with her, move mountains to make it happen. I'm so thankful that I had.
And to top it off, she gave me a hug at the end. I'm a lucky, lucky lady.
*
On Sunday, my dearest friend, Jennica treated (TREATED!) me to the Madonna concert. We went with Nancy Lee and her husband John Vigna. I rarely go to concerts and I have never been to something like that. It was a visual assault and simply amazing. Sure, I don't really know her new stuff, but man alive, Madonna can put on a show. And she made sure that some of her oldies-but-goodies were represented. My two favourite Madonna songs were done (Express Yourself and Like a Prayer, in case you were wondering) and they were phenomenal. It was spectacle and theatre and left me giddy for a long time.
*
On Monday, it was my birthday. It was strange to be away from my husband and my boys, but I got the best gift. The universe gave me the first day of rehearsals of my first professional theatre production. Yes, dear reader, Initiation Trilogy is in rehearsals and I was fortunate to be in the room for the first three days of rehearsals. I would have liked to have been there longer, but I had to get back to my family as Kevin had to leave town.
There is so much I want to write about the process of bringing Initiation Trilogy to life and I know I won't have the time or space to do it in, but will try to in subsequent posts. Right now I will simply say that the first day was magic and that I am so incredibly lucky to have the creative team on this piece.
2 May 2012
Poetry in April
As you probably know, April is Poetry Month both here in Canada and in the U.S. For the last three years, I was heavily involved with the Edmonton Poetry Festival and because we are now in a different province, I had a much less poetry-frenzied month. While it looked like a fun time, I think I needed to miss it this year.
Instead, my BFF and I pledged to write a poem-a-day. The caveat was that the poems didn't have to be good, it was just about generating raw material. And, dear reader, we did it. A lot of my poems were mediocre at best (I wrote a love letter to my favourite brand of beer, to give you an idea), but it was exciting to be in a creative space where I didn't have an agenda. I have been working on Glossolalia in one form or another for six years now. That's a long time in the world of 1840s Mormon polygamy, let me tell you. Writing just to write, just to see what words and images arise, just for *gasp* the fun of it was incredibly liberating. I'm definitely going to do this exercise again.
So, Poetry Month 2012 for me was not the manic month it has been in the recent past, but it was very productive and fun in its own quiet way. Tell me, did you do anything poetry-wise this April?
Instead, my BFF and I pledged to write a poem-a-day. The caveat was that the poems didn't have to be good, it was just about generating raw material. And, dear reader, we did it. A lot of my poems were mediocre at best (I wrote a love letter to my favourite brand of beer, to give you an idea), but it was exciting to be in a creative space where I didn't have an agenda. I have been working on Glossolalia in one form or another for six years now. That's a long time in the world of 1840s Mormon polygamy, let me tell you. Writing just to write, just to see what words and images arise, just for *gasp* the fun of it was incredibly liberating. I'm definitely going to do this exercise again.
So, Poetry Month 2012 for me was not the manic month it has been in the recent past, but it was very productive and fun in its own quiet way. Tell me, did you do anything poetry-wise this April?
17 September 2007
Word on the Street
I'll be reading at the Poets' Corner at Word on the Street at Library Square in Vancouver on Sunday, September 30 at 2pm. It would be great if you could stop by. If you've never been to WOTS, you really should try to make it this year. It's one on my favourite Vancouver festivals because it's free and there are so many great readings and displays. Also, lots of cheap books to be bought. Come a earlier in the day and check out Jennica Harper reading to launch this year's Poetry in Transit at 11 am.
The WOTS program is available all over in any of the gazillion St*rbucks in Vancouver. I received mine in the mail last week and was both thrilled and completely embarrassed that they included a photo of me. Hope to see you there!
9 August 2007
2+2: A Reading
It's late notice, but I'm reading tomorrow night. Come check it out if you're in town.
2 Novelists. 2 Poets. 1 stage.
Join us for an after-work reading with novelists Steven Galloway (Ascension, the forthcoming The Cellist of Sarajevo) and Lee Henderson (The Broken Record Technique, the forthcoming The Man Game) and poets Marita Dachsel (All Things Said & Done) and Jennica Harper (The Octopus and Other Poems).
Fiction & Poetry. You won't have to take sides.
When:
Friday, August 10th
Doors 6pm, Reading 6:30 pm
Where:
The Annex Restaurant
307 West Cordova in Gastown
Admission is free.
*
I think it's going to be a really great reading. We're all friends and I'm excited to hear theboys novelists read from their upcoming books. It will also be my last reading in Vancouver while it is still the city I live in. It's going to be an entertaining night.
2 Novelists. 2 Poets. 1 stage.
Join us for an after-work reading with novelists Steven Galloway (Ascension, the forthcoming The Cellist of Sarajevo) and Lee Henderson (The Broken Record Technique, the forthcoming The Man Game) and poets Marita Dachsel (All Things Said & Done) and Jennica Harper (The Octopus and Other Poems).
Fiction & Poetry. You won't have to take sides.
When:
Friday, August 10th
Doors 6pm, Reading 6:30 pm
Where:
The Annex Restaurant
307 West Cordova in Gastown
Admission is free.
*
I think it's going to be a really great reading. We're all friends and I'm excited to hear the
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