And rob mclennan has posted a little review of my zine Obsolete Objects in the Literary Imagination!

I first came across this film projected into the closet of a former funeral home, at a group art show this summer. This piece was the most captivating of the show, so I’m glad to see it up on vimeo for re-screening!

I asked for a copy of Actual Air for my sixteenth birthday, after reading what was probably the only poetry book review to ever grace the pages of Spin magazine. I don’t think we actually had the internet at home then, and I definitely didn’t have a credit card to order things online- but that subscription to Spin was a weird cultural gateway I religiously read cover-to-cover every month. (This, coupled with living in a small town with no music or book stores, led to circumstances like me being really, really familiar with the back catalogue of a band like Pavement, without ever actually hearing a Pavement song until years later.)

So I came to Berman’s poetry way before I fell in love with the Silver Jews. Actual Air was one of the first contemporary poetry books I owned, and was so different from anything I’d had access to until that point. The book is tangential and dryly funny – Berman has this direct delivery that makes his writing really accessible, but still unexpected. I was instantly charmed.

The new year and my birthday often make me come back to Actual Air. ‘Self Portrait at 28′ was the first poem I adhered to when I got the book, and for the past few years I’ve read it aloud on my birthday. It’s just fun to read – a chatty, thoughtful meditation. And it occurred to me that as I’m 28 today, it would be appropriate to revisit it. I made a little recorded cover that you can stream above, and read along with here.

I started a long-poem project in November, dedicating the month to working on one piece, which has turned into this. Salt’s a twenty-page poem wading through dreaming, desire, and their negotiations. Hand cut cotton-paper covers with hand-inked titles it took me far to long to paint, in a larger format than I usually work in (8 1/2″ x 7″). This one was a real labour of love. I’ve made thirty copies.

You can see two samples of the text here, and here.

Copies are 5$ each (plus postage). You can contact me at: bitsofstring (AT) yahoo dot ca to get yours.

In August, I printed the manuscript of poems I’ve been working on, put it in an envelope and took this photo at the post office. A couple of months ago, they got back to me, and now I can finally tell you that my first book, Cutting Room, will be out with Coach House Books in Fall 2012.

I’m thrilled, nervous, grateful and still a little stunned about the news.

Liisa Graham and I are sharing a table this weekend at the Small Press Fair here in Toronto. Liisa will have her usual beautiful book arts projects, and I’ll have copies of Obsolete Objects in the Literary Imagination, alongside my usual array of zines. It’ll be the first chance you’ll have to pick up Obsolete Objects from me in person, since I missed both Expozine and Canzine this year.

Here’s the details:

Small Press of Toronto
Saturday, December 10
11-5 pm
University of Toronto – Hart House
7 Hart House Circle Toronto, ON
FREE!

Accessibility Info
The venue has a ramp at the entrance, elevators and wheelchair accessible bathrooms and the fair itself is all on one floor, in a large hall. Here’s a link to more accessibility information about the space, including interior maps and TTC directions.

I was at a bar a couple of weeks ago and, apropos of nothing, a woman came up to me and started talking about the Portuguese noun saudade. This day also coincided with my reading some Suzanne Buffam. I interlibrary loaned the book for a second time this week just to read this poem set again.

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Greasy Spooning: Love, Lust, and Longing

Greasy Spooning is a free, queer, accessible literary performance salon celebrating love, lust, and longing in all its permutations. From booty calls to U-Hauls, smutty bedtime stories and dream lovers, epic failure and righteous triumph. For one night only.

17 November at 7:30 – 18 November at 02:00
Buddies In Bad Times Theatre
12 Alexander Street
Toronto, ON

(fbook link)

Featuring readings, screenings, and performances by:
Heidi Cho
Eshan Rafi (‘Becoming Irfan’)
Morgan M. Page
Hywel Tuscano
Olive-or-Oliver
Flerida Peña
Cris Renna
Sarah Pinder
Chy Ryan Spain
Matthew Harris
Louis Esme Cruz
Aidan Gowland
Anu Radha Verma
Melannie Gayle
Lusty Day and Beef Jerky (‘Every Ho I Know Says So’)

With DJ TK spinning to close the night on the dance floor!

8pm – 10pm :: readings, screenings, performances and open mic
10pm – late :: dance and cruise

Limited open mic spots – come early to sign up.

/// ACCESSIBILITY INFO ///

Wheelchair accessible
ASL interpretation by Tala Jalili and Cindy Muskat
Scent-free space, in support of folks with multiple chemical sensitivities.

For further access requests or inquiries, feel free to get in touch with us: bitsofstring@yahoo.ca

The fine print: This event is free! But we will gladly take your small donations at the door. All funds will go toward interpretation services and performer honoraria. This event has been made possible through a grant from The Community One Foundation (thanks, Community One!).

- I’ve got a new poem based on the work of Henry Darger in the art zine Mad as a Bad Tornado, that’s launching at a show at the South Square Gallery, Bradford, UK on Friday November 4th.

Darger was an amazingly dedicated artist and writer – compiling a giant novel and various huge artworks that remained virtually unknown until after his death. The protagonists in all of his artworks are a roving band of pre-teen girls who do much swashbuckling and adventure-having. My poem ended up riffing on the powerful girl gang quality of his work that I love so much. The zine is compiled of multiple visual artists and writers responding to his art – I’m really curious to see what everyone else chooses to focus on. Jean McEwan, the editor, is putting out a pretty limited print run of these, so get them while they’re around to get.