CJSW » Writer\’s Block

Writer’s Block March 28, 2012: The Bill Miner Road Show & Kristen den Hartog

paulk — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:30:01 +0000

The Bill Miner Road Show

Poems by Alexander Forbes; Music by Henry Small & The Shiftless Rounders; Read by Tina Moore

This Bill Miner Centennial album of spoken word and music was funded by the Arts Commission of the City of Kamloops, on the occasion of the centennial of Bill Miner’s train robbery in Kamloops, BC. But it also commemorates the events in the last years of Bill Miner’s life, as well as his early days in California and Colorado, Oregon and Washington. In short, the album is the first poetic biography of the equal of Jesse James in stagecoach and train holdups. And it was Bill Miner, not Jesse James, who invented the phrase “hands up!”

Kristen den Hartog, And Me Among Them

Writer’s Block executive producer Kelley Toews in conversation with Kristen den Hartog about her novel And Me Among Them, published in 2011 by Calgary’s Freehand Books.

Kristen den Hartog is the author of the novels Water Wings, The Perpetual Ending, and Origin of Haloes, as well as The Occupied Garden: A Family Memoir of War-torn Holland, written with her sister, Tracy Kasaboski. Her latest novel, And Me Among Them, explores the life of a young girl who grows to giant proportions, and the impact her unusual condition has on the family as a whole. Kristen lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter.

Podcast WB March 28 2012

Mark Lavorato, author of “Believing Cedric”

paulk — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:58:40 +0000

Mark Lavorato‘s new novel is Believing Cedric, published in the fall of 2011 by Brindle and Glass. Mark is also a musician and photographer, and is currently based in Montreal.

Believing Cedric traverses Canada, major historical events of the twentieth century, and the extraordinary lives of twelve different people, each of whom has some kind of poignant connection with a man named Cedric Johnson.

Meanwhile, Cedric is having the strangest experience of his life. He is fifty-eight years old, and flashing back to pivotal moments and decisions that he made along the way; though not as a passive observer; he’s capable of interacting with his past – speaking as a fifty-eight year old man in his nine-year-old body, then in the skin of a thirteen-year-old, and so on – all while trying to figure out what exactly is happening to him, and why. Understandably, he tries to change a few things while revisiting, though with little success, imparting his more-than-flawed advice to those who played a key role in charting his course – twelve very different characters who must then decide if they will allow, or can even afford, this one blinking moment of believing Cedric.

Mark spoke with Writer’s Block host Paul Kennett in November, 2011.

M Lavorato WB Podcast

Oana Avasilichioaei

paulk — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:00:18 +0000

Oana Avasilichioaei, the 2010 – 2011 Calgary Canadian Writer in Residence, speaks with Paul Kennett about her experience with the Calgary Distinguished Writers Program and her current multimedia poetic projects.

Some of the strands in Oana Avasilichioaei Writer’s Block CJSW Podcast’s work traverse geography and public space (feria: a poempark, 2008), textual architecture, orality and multilingualism (We, Beasts, upcoming 2012), translation and collaborative performance (Expeditions of a Chimæra, co-written with Erín Moure, 2009). Living in Montreal, she has also translated poetry from the Romanian of Nichita Stănescu (Occupational Sickness, 2006) and from the Quebecois French of Louise Cotnoir (The Islands, 2011). Other recent projects include “The Mapping Issue” (co-edited with Kathleen Brown for Dandelion Magazine) and writing commentaries on Canadian experimental poetry for Jacket2. Some of her collaborative and audio work can be found on the PennSound website.

Oana Avasilichioaei Writer’s Block CJSW Podcast

Frontenac House’s Poetry Quartet, and How to Read Poetry continues…

PK — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 23:29:40 +0000

Calgary’s Frontenac House has just released its Poetry Quartet! Paul and Steph chat with Quartet editor Richard Harrison and poets Kirk Ramdath (“Love in a Handful of Dust”), Rosemary Griebel (“Yes”), and Jim Nason (“Narcissus Unfolding”). Open Jim Nason Excerpts during his interview and follow along as we continue April’s How to Read Poetry segment!

April is Poetry Month! Learn to read poems!

PK — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:29:27 +0000

We are excited to kick off Poetry Month in Alberta with live interview with two Calgary poets: Stuart Ian McKay and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Listen tonight at 8pm MST. Both poets will dicuss their work, and contribute to a new Writer’s Block segment: How to Read Poetry.

Samples of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s ”Field Guide” are here

Samples of Suart Ian McKay’s ”Stele of Several Ladies: A Long Poem” are attached to this blog post as a pdf. McKay Stele.

Have the poetry in front of you while the writers guide you through tips and technigques on how to read their work on the page.

It’s also time for Flywheel!

Thursday April 14th**
7:30pm
Pages Books on Kensington
1135 Kensington Road NW

Join host Meghan Doraty for the April Flywheel Reading Series with
readings from local poets Beth Langford, Stuart McKay and Juliet Burgess.
Gayleen Froese will be launching her new book, Grayling Cross (NeWest
Press).

Natalee Caple (“The Semiconducting Dictionary”) & Jonathan Ball (“Clockfire”)

paulk — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Paul Kennett speaks with Canadian Poets Jonathan Ball, author of “Clockfire” (Coach House, 2010) and Natalee Caple, author of “The Semiconducting Dictionary, Our Strindberg” (ECW, 2010).

Calgary International Spoken Word Festival

PK — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:32:25 +0000

The Calgary International Spoken Word Festival kicks off tonight with a book launch from Calgary’s Frontenac House press:

Event 1:Frontenac House – Calgary Quartet
Tuesday, March 29 – 7:00 PM – Free

Auburn Saloon
#163, 115 – 9 Avenue SE

“My Secret Life”, a volume of Victorian Erotica (Aug 2010)

paulk — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Paul and Steph speak with Sarah Bull, PhD student in English at Simon Fraser University, and Andrea Ryer, who received her MA in English from Simon Fraser University, about the anonymously published memoir “My Secret Life” (1902), a long chronicle of a Victorian gentleman’s sexual adventures.

Chris Ewart – Miss Lamp and Sunny Day

paulk — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Paul Kennett speaks to Chris Ewart about his 2006 novel “Miss Lamp” (Coach House, 2006) and his work-in-progress “Sunny Day”.

Lyn Hancock – The Ring

paulk — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Dave Shiroky interviews Lyn Hancock, author of “The Ring: Memories of a Metis Grandmother”, published in 2010.