Poetry as Protest

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Splabman

Enbridge Corporate Responsibility

Enbridge Corporate Responsibility

From Christine Leclerc:

Hope it’s not rude of me to do this, but I have a call for submissions to disseminate and have been so enjoying The Apocalypse Anthology that I could not resist!

I am co-facilitating a 1,173 kilometer-long poetry collaboration called Enpipe Line and would like to invite you to contribute. The poem is being written in resistance to Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipelines proposal and projects like it (more info below or at http://christineleclerc.com/category/communiques/). The “and projects like it” part makes it very broad, so submissions do not have to revolve around environmental issues.

Enpipe Line is being called a “communal poetic response” (Rob Budde) or a “collaborative protest” (granvillemag) and currently includes work from Ray Hsu, Stephen Collis, Krissy Darch, Peter Macdonald, Wiesia Kujawa, Jen Currin, Michael Nardone, Cortney K Dawkin and more. The line is just over 12 kilometers long at the moment, and the site where it is featured (http://christineleclerc.com) evolves according to the suggestions of the line’s participants. So far they have had the brilliant idea of having the line scroll across the top of the page. They have also mentioned that it would be cool if the site could incorporate images of resistance to socially and environmentally destructive projects as background images or in an image gallery. I intend to do both.

If you or anyone you know would like to participate, please let me know (full call for submissions below).

Best,
Christine
—-
Christine Leclerc
Posted in Events | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Tuesday Dec 7 Living Room – Maryna Ajaja Facilitates

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Splabman
Maryna in Mirrors @ Doe Bay Cafe

Maryna in Mirrors @ Doe Bay Cafe

“If we go back to why one word is chosen over another, we can make a distinction between internal and external decisions as to what is important. By internal, I mean what works on the page, what works within the whole of the design: the activity that occurs among the words themselves. The external is everything outside the work, the philosophies, the intellectual constraints, the ambitions the writer has for the work, the everyday subjectivity, what comes after the writing and reading: the accolades and rewards. Does the writer choose a word because it’s correct inside the work or correct outside the work?”

A brief discussion from The Voices One Listens To, a chapter from Stephen Dobyns book of essays, Best Words, Best Order.

Join us for SPLAB’s acclaimed Tuesday night writer’s critique circle, Living Room.

Writers of all ages and skill levels gather Tuesdays at 7P to read new work, the work of someone else or to just be in the engaging company of other writers. Your donation of $5 helps SPLAB put on special events and continue programming, plus every $5 gets you an entry in the monthly SPLAB raffle. We’ve got some BIG donated prizes this month! Please bring 8 copies of the work you plan to read. If you do not bring copies, they are available for 10c.

Living Room happens in the new SPLAB in the Cultural Corner of the old Columbia School, between Rainier AV S and 36th AV S, on Edmunds. We’re 2 blocks from the Columbia City Link Light Rail Station. Parking is available on the school grounds.)

Posted in Events | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Living Room, Tuesday Nov 23 w/ Greg Bem

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Splabman

Greg has a fascinating short presentation to kick off the next Living Room, details below, but due to popular demand, Living Room will be extended into January, cutting our tradition holiday break down considerably. We hope to see you & get a taste of your recent best.

Greg says:

C.A. Conrad & Anne Tardos

“The reason why some poets delight in making poems in other ways—otherwise—than others do could be that they feel a need for other pleasures than those they’ve experienced from poems hitherto .  . . It isn’t even that some people just delight in novelty. Some writers (and other artists) often delight in being surprised by what they make.” – Jackson Mac Low

As the facilitator for the upcoming Living Room I will be drawing upon the energies of two poets who have greatly influenced me: CAConrad and Anne Tardos. The former is a poetic champion of Philadelphia and also a dear friend that was, and still is, of immense help in learning about poets as well as the ins and outs of various poetry communities in various cities. Conrad’s Somatic Exercises remain an important part of insight into just how far a poet can take their work, leaving established traditions aside and branching out into new kinds of interactive approaches to writing. Anne Tardos, on the other hand, is a new discovery. Her work with late husband Jackson Mac Low, her contributions to Fluxus projects, and the work that really establishes her individual poetic authority have inspired my synapses to fire and given me a refreshed look at the process of concocting poems for performance. During the Living Room I will share one to two poems of each poet, either through text or recording.

In addition, I will read a Somatic Exercise of Conrad’s and a statement on poetics by Tardos. I will then lead discussions on breaking traditions and standards in poetry, and what it means for a poet to go beyond their individual boundaries. Throughout the critique portion of the Living Room there will be an emphasis on applying what was learned from the discussion to all of the writers’ work-shopped pieces.

Tuesday, Nov 23, 7P @ SPLAB, in the Cultural Corner of the former Columbia School, Edmunds, west of Rainier near 36th AV S. Free parking and three blocks from the Link Light Rail.

Posted in Events | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Snow Won’t Stop Living Room

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Splabman
Rainer Valley Post

Rainer Valley Post

We’ll be there for Living Room tonight at 7P. Our facilitator, Greg Bem, has a 2 block walk and you know the Link Light Rail stops in Columbia City, three blocks west of the Cultural Corner in the Columbia School where we’ll go over the writing of those present. We’ll get the tea going early and we hope to see you tonight at 7P.

Posted in Events | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment