spoken word

Venus Envy and Agitate! collaborate for a fun evening of performances

Written
by
Francois
on Sunday, March 7, 2010
.

Sunday March 14, 2010 at 6PM at Venus Envy (320 Lisgar St.)

A lovely Sunday evening of fun and performances featuring d’bi.young.anitafrika and two other poets soon to be announced.

Everyone Welcome.

Suggested donation of $5-10 but no one will be turned away because of lack of funds…

Founded in 2004, Agitate! is a queer, Ottawa-based organization for indigenous people, mixed race people and people of colour. Although the governing board is open exclusively to indigenous people, mixed-race people and people of colour, allies from all communities and of all genders and sexual orientations are encouraged to get in touch with Agitate for information on how to volunteer.

Venus Envy Ottawa is an education-oriented sex shop located in downtown Ottawa. Knowledge is key to enjoying a satisfying, healthy, and erotic sex life, so we offer workshops on sex and relationships where people can ask questions and share their experiences in a safe, non-judgemental environment. Some of our workshops are for women only, but most are for everyone.

d’bi.young.anitafrika is a jamaican-canadian dub poet, actor, and playwright who believes in life. love. and revolushun. her first play yagayah, co-authored with naila belvett, was published in volume II of Testifyin’: Contemporary African Canadian Drama edited by djanet sears in 2003. her first book of poetry art on black was published by women’s press in 2006. blood.claat is the first play in the three faces of mudgu trilogy. the other two plays are androgyne and chronicles in dub.

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Weekend round up

Written
by
Karen
on Friday, March 5, 2010
.
Photo courtesy Innes Wilson and the Opposition's myspace page.

Photo courtesy Innes Wilson and the Opposition's myspace page.

So, in the interests of giving us all as much time to spend outside as possible (it’s supposed to be 10 above this weekend!), here’s your short and sweet weekend round up:

Music! Babylon has two great nights (one and two) in store if you’re looking for a little dancy action. Especially exciting is GOOD2GO at the Elmdale on Saturday night - Ottawa needs more taverns with regular music shows. The regulars playing pool in the background always add a quirky element…

Need a new spring wardrobe? Umi Cafe (610 Somerset W) is hosting a clothing swap on Saturday. Bring your tired old clothes and trade them in for something new and exciting! And if you happen to find a really great vintage outfit, just stick around for their Retro Dance Extravaganza later that evening.

For those in need of more words in their life, there’s another installment of the Dusty Owl Reading Series on Sunday. And there’s some classic community theatre happening Friday and Saturday, too, in addition to a Capital Slam event.

And yes, it’s that dude from Fear Factor who’ll be in town tonight.

So this short list probably misses one great event, but really? Make sure you get some time out in the sun. It’s practically summer out there!

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Bill Brown’s 1-2-3 Slam featuring Luna Allison & The Living Sound System

Written
by
Katie
on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
.

Start Time: Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 7:30pm
End Time: Friday, March 12, 2010 at 12:00am
Location: Cajun Attic
Street: 349 Dalhousie Street
City/Town: Ottawa, ON

Come down to the Cajun Attic for the March edition of Bill Brown’s 1-2-3 Slam. Featuring the poetry of Luna Allison and wrapped up by the ska musical stylings of The Living Sound System. Poets drop 1-min, 2-min, and 3-min poems to see who wins Bill Brown.

And if you don’t know who Bill Brown is, you better ask somebody!

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Voices of Venus featuring Ruthanne Edward

Written
by
Katie
on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
.

Returning to their regular scheduled programming, VoV brings you the story-telling stylings of Ruthanne Edward. Swing by Umi Cafe on Tuesday, March 9th for a sellection of tales featuring ass-kicking heroines, selkie sweeties, and a few stories picked special with women’s history in mind.
Doors open at 7pm.

Open mic at 8pm. $5/PWYC. See you there! :-D

.

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Dusty Owl Reading Series “Open Hoot”

Written
by
Katie
on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
.

Sunday, March 7 @ 2:00: The Dusty Owl “Open Hoot” returns

In the six years we’ve been housed at Swizzles, the open mike has been one of our favorite aspects of the Dusty Owl. Always entertaining, often surprising, our open mike has seen everything from song to storytelling, from poetry to drumming, from interpretive dance (yes, interpretive dance) to improv comedy.

So we’re kicking off our anniversary month with another classic Open Hoot. Bring your songs, your stories, your poems, your rants and raves. Bring your instruments and your voices. Our shiny antique mike and friendly, welcoming stage are waiting for you. And so is our Object of Desire - the strangest on-the-spot poetry competition in the city!

We’re at the corner of Queen and Kent, down the stairs beside the Thai restaurant! See you there!

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Capital Slam featuring Elyse Maltin

Written
by
Katie
on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
.

Date: Saturday, March 6, 2010
Time: 6:30pm - 10:00pm
Location: The Mercury Lounge

Capital Slam keeps rolling with the third-to-last qualifying slam of the season!

We have a special feature this time out… Elyse Maltin! Elyse is the director of the London Poetry Slam and repped London and/or Southern Ontario for the last two years at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word!

(I think she is coming up here to scout!)

As we get closer to the end of the season, our priority sign-up list shifts. During March the priority goes to anyone who has slammed exactly once this season. Who are those people? Glad you asked. They are:

Ami
Angela Plant
Anushka-in-Repair
Brandon Wilson
Brother Gavin
Cathy MacDonald-Zytveld
Caytey Lush
Crazy Dave
Dan C.
DJ Aunt Heather
D-Lightful
Douglas Thew
Emily
Father Truth
Festrell
Graham Coles
Hyfidelik
Inez Dekker
Ivy
Jenna Tenn-Yuk
Jonathan Appleseed
Josie Frank
Ken Kicksee
Kevin Matthews
Lucas
Madame H
Maggie
Miriam Alsakammari
Monica King
Monique Simonot
Moze
N is for Nubian
Nathan Bishop
Ron Lankton
Ruby Ruth
Ruthanne Edward
Sepideh
Sir Realist
Tammy Mackenzie
Truth Is…
Vocab

Since there are so many spots are not guaranteed so still come early. Doors and sign-up are at 6:30. $7 and free for performers.

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O-Town Hosts Good Po’t Bök Tomorrow: Joy!

Written
by
trevor
on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
.
Bök Bök Bök

Photo courtesy of blurasis on Flickr

Let’s be clear about one thing: Christian Bök will never be employed to write verse for Hallmark cards. (Although if I’m wrong, they will be the most awesome Hallmark cards EVER, and I will collect them all.) For those of you not up to speed on your avant-garde Canadian poetry, Bök - a University of Calgary English professor by day - is the mad genius behind the best-selling 2001 collection Eunoia, which features five chapters of poems made up of words using the same single vowel. Seriously. There’s an “a” chapter, an “e” chapter, and so on until the end of the alphabet. (Bök once said he wrote Eunoia - which is not only Greek for “beautiful thinking” but also the shortest word in the English language containing all five vowels - to show how each vowel has its own personality. If that’s so, I might suggest not inviting “u” to tea with your grandmother.)

Click to continue reading “O-Town Hosts Good Po’t Bök Tomorrow: Joy!”

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Folk Duo Fang at Carleton Place and Umi Café

Written
by
Francois
on Wednesday, February 24, 2010
.

Word and Accordion Geeks Unite!

Get ready for accordion and upright bass hilarity as Vancouver folk duo Fang pads into our neighbourhood for performances Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Van Slam Team alumnus, member of the acclaimed spoken word/folk band The Fugitives and soloist extrodinaire Barbara Adler is packing up her vocal chords, box of instruments, treasure trove of great stories and taking her new project to venues in Carleton Place, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. If you’ve seen Adler perform before, you already know that her heartfelt and sideslapping verse draws on dating advice from dead poets and accolades the furniture moving super powers of her grandmother, a Librarian School Graduate in her 50s with biceps that rip through her cardigan. You also know, that Adler has the unique ability of compelling people to stomp in the aisles teary-eyed from the beauty of it all while yelling for more. Fang promises to be a rollicking good show.

Wednesday, Feb. 24
CP Cinemas
Carleton Place
Time: 6:00-900pm,
Cover: $10 or pay what you can

Thursday, Feb. 25
Umi Café
Voice of Venus Special Presentation, Featuring Festrell
Time: 8:00-11:00pm,
Cover: $7

More on Fang from Adler’s website: http://www.badler.ca/home.html
“Fang is Vancouver’s premier accordion and drums duo, featuring Barbara Adler (vocals, accordion) and Ben Brown (drums, vocals). Fang is the White Stripes, wisely exchanging their guitar for the magic of a shiny red and white accordion. Patti Smith meets Geoff Berner, meets a bottle of cheap rum. Bass, snare, tambourine, and lots of flailing. Fang is punk yells, pop choruses, audience yelp-alongs, and fast running vocals. Surprisingly little polka. Fang will change how you feel about the accordion.
For this tour, James Meger (upright bass) will be filling in for Ben Brown.”

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The Dusty Owl Reading Series celebrates black History Month

Written
by
Francois
on Friday, February 19, 2010
.

Telling Our Canadian Stories in Rhythm & Rhymes

When:   Sunday, February 21, 2-5pm

Where:  Swizzles Bar & Grill (246-B Queen St., Between Kent and Bank Streets)

In association with 3Dreads & a Bald Head we will be hosting THE RECIPIE.  Sharing the spotlight with the Ottawa slam champions will be the ever graceful poet Jacqueline Lawrence and singer-songwriter Rita Carter.  This spectacular array of artists is gathering to raise funds for the Black Youth Conference.

THE RECIPE consists of award winning, critically acclaimed poets. They have shared the stage with Amir Suliman, Shihan, and critically acclaimed poet Saul Williams.  Members have performed their poetry across the globe and serve audiences an entertaining, insightful dose of poetic food for thought, in an unprecedented show.  Jacqueline Lawrence has published two chap books with her writers’ collective “Write on the Edge”, and one solo release entitled Surrender.   She enjoys sharing her scribbles s with audiences in Toronto, Montreal, New York, and Jamaica.   In Ottawa, Jacqueline has read at the Mercury Lounge, CBC Poetry Face Off, the Dusty Owl, CookUP Rice and Tree Reading Series.  She has appeared on the 3rd World Players Presents and Literary Landscape radio programs.  Rita Carter is young yet writes with the poise of an old soul.  She is often compared to artists like Tracy Chapman, India Arie, and Lauryn Hill. Inspired by real life experiences, Rita touches everyone  in her audience with her love for live music and her naturally artistic sense of vocalism.

Following will be the Dusty Owl Open Set.  Share your new work with one of the best audiences around Ottawa.  Admission is free.  Donations will be lovingly accepted.

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Weekend round up

Written
by
Karen
on Friday, February 19, 2010
.
Photo courtesy Jackman Chiu on Flickr.

Photo courtesy Jackman Chiu on Flickr.

So it’s the last weekend of that winter festival, but if you’re hankering to stick to indoor activities this weekend, there are a few to keep you occupied.

Sadly, we’ve heard the Owen Pallett shows at the Blacksheep are all sold out, but have no fear - other music options abound. Tonight’s show at Raw Sugar with Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone is sure to be captivating - their unique collaborations and compositions will be introduced by the sweet sounds of The Silver Birch Society.

Other music shows include the final tour of Straight Reads the Line at Mavericks, as well as Woodpigeon at the Blacksheep on Sunday afternoon - my recent discovery of this band was so overwhelmingly exciting that if their latest cd had been on cassette, I’d have worn out the tape by now. If you’re down in Wakefield for this show, be sure to also check out their International Film Festival, running every Sunday from now until the end of March.

For events that are incorporating art, music and more, check out UnScene GrassRoutes, the Great Glebe Fundraiser or Voices for Haiti at Wall Space Gallery. Also, check out Sexual Overtones and friends at the Ladytron DJ Snowblower 2010 Closing Party. And because it’s the last weekend of Ottawa’s annual winter fiesta, it’s also your last chance to do some crafting outdoors with Spins and Needles!

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