Arianna Pozzuoli features at TPS Sunday night at the Drake
Arianna Pozzuoli has performed on stages in Canada, the United States, Singapore, the Philippines and Australia. Her words have found receptive ears at major poetry slam events on both sides of the 49th parallel. She has represented Toronto Poetry Slam (TPS) on the national and international stage, and for one amazing night she returns to the place where she got it all started to showcase her talents amongst friends.
On Sunday night, TPS will bring together poetry slam lovers from across the GTA for a fun night of slam goodness. Doors at the Drake Hotel Underground (1150 Queen St. W.) open at 7pm. Poet sign-up is at 7:30pm with the show getting underway at 8pm, hosted by That Brown Bastard.
The stage will be opened for 12 slammers and 5 open mic poets, so come early if you want to perform. This slam is going to be for the love, as TPS is in its “let’s slam for fun” phase between finals in April and the beginning of the new season in July. As always, cover is $5 at the door and if you want to get a seat be sure to arrive early. This is a show that pretty much always sells out.
An epic all-star line-up graces the stages of Pearl Theatre this Saturday night at Alignment
Approaching the arts in a multidisciplinary, collaborative fashion can be a challenge. Bringing together talented people from a variety of artistic pursuits can make an incredible show, however, if done right and with the right people.
One such occasion is nearly upon us as P.E.N.T.A. presents Alignment at Hamilton’s Pearl Theatre (16 Steven St.). The event is produced in association with Nationless Minds and the Burlington Slam Project.
Yes, regular readers, this event is taking place outside the borders of the Greater Toronto Area. However, it is an event of such epic proportions that everyone in the GTA who is able should start making plans right now to be inside the Pearl when things get started Saturday night at 7pm. The sheer number of artists that are booked for this extravaganza makes the trip west well worth it.
Here is what the artists of P.E.N.T.A. have in store for you when you step through the doors of the theatre:
- Two floors of poetry, music, dance, videography, photography and visual art;
- Many of the province’s top spoken word artists in live performance;
- The contributions of local youth showcasing their artwork created at the New Globe community centre;
- Komi Olafimihan & ZS Cheetham creating art live as everything happens.
When we say some of the top spoken word artists, we mean the award-winning Red Slam Collective (bringing an indigenous lens to the creative process of community building); the Burlington Slam Team and last year’s Ottawa Urban Legends slam team (now known as Missing Lynx); the 2012 Last Poet Standing winner and Toronto Poetry Slam Champion The P.O.E.; and former national slam champions Poetic Speed and PrufRock (who will perform with Hyf the Gypsy Sun, a former national slam finalist).
PrufRock, Ian Keteku and Brad Morden in performance in Vancouver last month
And that’s only half of the artistic line-up.
Did we neglect to mention that Atomic Wednesday will also be performing — a music/poetry duo that incorporates the vocals and ukelele of troubadour-poet Brad Morden with the witticism and lyrical power of 2010 world slam poetry champion Ian Keteku? We did? Well, they’ll be there. Just saying.
A whole host of phenomenal powerhouses in Canadian spoken word will also make Alignment an event not to miss. The work of such luminaries as Amanda Hiebert, Electric Jon, Cathy Petch, Truth Is …, Kevin Sutton and the Fire Flower Revue guarantees this show will be an unforgettable experience.
In addition, there will be a gallery-style presentation of photography and videography by Michelle Darby and Ruzanna Shortstuffyan to tie the whole endeavour together.
The event is hosted by Cyopoetics founder Greg “Ritallin” Frankson, who was also the national runner-up at last month’s Canadian Individual Poetry Slam.
You are probably thinking to yourself that such an incredible line-up must cost a fortune to experience. However, tickets for this show are just $15 — a steal for a show of this magnitude. To purchase tickets in advance, contact PENTA via email.
Shows like this are exceptionally rare. Don’t miss out on this one.
A Synapsis of Poetry: May 7-13, 2012
Another great week is ahead of us, as the weather (finally?) turns spring-like for good, and the poetry heats up as well. This is the time of year when slam teams are chosen, festivals start to take place and hungry poets share their words both inside and outside. It’s an exciting time. So let’s see what’s up in the world of spoken word and poetry slam in the Greater Toronto Area for the next seven days:
Monday
The Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts continues this week with Work in Progress – a free forum “that critically engages the intersections between collaborative artistic practices, class, and working conditions for community engaged artists.” Local spoken word artists Mahlikah Awe:ri (Red Slam Collective) and Greg Frankson (Cytopoetics) will sit on the panel. It takes place at The 519 Church Street Community Centre from 7-9pm.
Tuesday
The weekly edition of the Art Bar Poetry Series comes to you with the words of Jessica Bebenek, Sara-Jane Gloutnez, and E. Russell Smith set to reverberate in your ear canals. It goes down at Pauper’s Pub (539 Bloor St. W. at Bathurst) at 8pm. There will be an open mic for interested poetic flamethrowers. Admission is, as always, free.
Wednesday
Patrick de Belen
At the Central (603 Markham St. in Mirvish Village), young poets of the GTA will take each other on at BAM! The Youth Slam featuring Patrick de Belen. Teenagers looking for a space to share their words with others need look no further! The show gets underway at 7:30pm. An open mic is also available to all ages. Admission is $5 at the door.
Meanwhile, down at the Jang Bang Bar & Grill (430.5 College St.), Ellie Anderson is hosting the Get Your Groove On! Music and Poetry Night. During the course of the show, Ellie will play a songwriters’ round with Rex Baunsit, Ento Lao and Bob Ryder. In addition, special guests Lizzie Violet and Vanessa McGowan will share their words. Showtime is 8pm. PWYC.
Thursday
The monthly edition of The Beautiful and the Damned comes to its audience at Zelda’s (692 Yonge St.). This month is hosted by Duncan Armstrong and features Spencer Butt, Gemma Files and Carlin Belof. Come prepared to be amazed and dazzled! Doors are at 6:30pm. There is an open mic available for interested poets. PWYC.
Alignment by P.E.N.T.A.
Saturday
Though this one is a bit outside the GTA, it’s pretty epic. PENTA (People Engaging and Networking Through the Arts) presents Alignment at the Pearl Theatre (16 Steven St. in downtown Hamilton). The show is hosted by Ritallin and features the artistry of Missing Lynx (the Ottawa Urban Legends 2011 team), Red Slam Collective, Amanda Hiebert, Electric Jon, The P.O.E., Poetic Speed, Cathy Petch, the 2011 Burlington Slam Project team, Truth Is…, Hyf & PrufRock, Kevin Sutton, and Atomic Wednesday (Brad Morden & Ian Keteku). Plus, A Bboy-Bgirl showcase, artists from The New Globe youth community centre, live artists Komi Olafimihan & ZS Cheetham, a gallery including previous works by the above, plus photography & videography by Michelle Darby and Ruzanna Shortstuffyan. A show this epic is not to be missed. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are $15. Contact PENTA via email for advance purchase.
Sunday
The weekly Sunday Poetry at Ellington’s (805 St. Clair Ave. W. near Oakwood) focuses on the theme of CUBA! POETIC GESTURE! The show will feature poetry from Peta, Blakka Ellis, Oscar Ortiz, Maria Elena Mesa-Mejia, Enrique Castro, Steve Hall and others. This free event runs from 11:30am to 2:30pm.
To end the week right, the organizers of the Toronto Poetry Slam are bringing former TPS Team member Arianna Pozzuoli into town for a wicked feature set! Head down to The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen St. W.) to check out all the poetic action. Doors at 7pm, poet sign-up 7:30pm, showtime at 8pm. Come early to get a seat. $5 at the door.
Poetry remains strong in this city and people who enjoy it have lots of choice this week. Celebrate the explosion of spring with an explosion of word in your life! Let’s keep the poetry poppin’!
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Eddy Da Original One in Concert Saturday Night
Eddy Da Original One is definitely an apt moniker for the poet known to the government as Eddy David, for he was indeed one of the key pioneers for spoken word in the National Capital Region. From his earliest poetic forays as one of the Young Poets of the Revolution to the present day, when his poetry and beat-boxing have elevated him to legendary status within Canadian spoken word, David’s work has always been significant, important and well-received by audiences.
So now that he has put together a feature event — Beats, Rhymes and Lights — to showcase his work over two decades of artistry, you best believe Toronto should be there to support him.
The event takes place at the 918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts, Media & Education on Saturday evening. Showtime is 8pm.
During the show, Eddy Da Original One will recite and produce beats with his mouth while accompanied by sound activated lights and backed by a 3-piece band. Special guests include Joy Lapps (steel pan), Ms. Shay (gospel), Afrakaren (spoken word), Jerome Morris (R&B), and DJ Sean Sax on the wheels of steel. It’s going to be quite the spectacle!
Tickets are $15 each (in advance for groups of 5 or more), $20 advance single admission or $25 at the door. You can purchase advance tickets online or in person at A Different Booklist (746 Bathurst St.; telephone 416-538-0889).
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According to its website, the Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts ”is a multi-disciplinary arts festival that celebrates working class culture. Founded in 1986 by the Labour Arts Media Committee of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, Mayworks is Canada’s largest and oldest labour arts festival. The Festival was built on the premise that workers and artists share a common struggle for decent wages, healthy working conditions and a living culture.”
Alien-Nation is a celebration of creative resistance in struggle through art and music to build more resilient communities. By focusing on workers’ struggles and systemic discrimination and injustices, we raise our voices in solidarity with undocumented and precariously documented migrants for justice.
The show will feature three artists in the community who have a history of engaging around social justice issues – Lishai, a past member of the Up From The Roots and Burlington Slam teams and a highly engaged arts educator; Truth Is…, a noted slam artist on both sides of the border who has been involved with Mayworks for several years; and Ritallin, the 2012 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam runner-up and respected arts educator.
The feature performers are Dub Trinity, a high-spirited, six-piece dub/ska band that brings social consciousness to the dance floor. Having just released their latest album, Alexandria (and other cautionary tales), Dub Trinity’s relationship with political issues has led to collaborations with various community and human rights-based organizations.
The night will be topped off by the musical stylings of DJ Leila P.
It all takes place this Saturday night at The Rivoli (332 Queen St. W. at Spadina). Showtime is 8pm. Admission is $10 to $15 (sliding scale). The event is co-sponsored by No One Is Illegal – Toronto.
Dub Trinity features at the Mayworks Festival kick-off show Alien-Nation Saturday at the Rivoli
A Synapsis of Poetry: April 30 to May 6, 2012
Dear readers, I hope you can forgive me. I am currently in Vancouver, British Columbia where, by the time this post goes live, it will still be Sunday while it will be the early hours of Monday morning back home in Toronto. I do try very hard to make sure the posts go up at the appropriate times, but I believe these are special circumstances.
Ritallin is the 2012 Canadian Individual Slam Runner-Up
Last night, I (being Greg Frankson, a.k.a. Ritallin) finished second in the finals of the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. Having spent much of the day responding to various emails, text messages, tweets, Facebook postings, etc. expressing congratulations, it has been a tough day to find time to sit down in front of the computer and get the weekly synapsis of poetry out to you.
So in the spirit of keeping all the people of the Greater Toronto Area aware of the various poetry related events going on locally, here’s what’s on tap in spoken word and poetry slam for the next seven days:
Tuesday
The weekly Art Bar Poetry Series will be held at Pauper’s Pub (539 Bloor St. W. at Bathurst) at 8pm. This week features the words of Jamella Hagen, Steven Price and Heather Cadsby. Showtime is 8pm. If you’re feeling like sharing, bring poetry to share on the open mic. Admission is free.
Thursday
Visual art by J Peachy
The Queen Gallery (382 Queen St. E.) welcomes Vancouver-based artist J Peachy as its Artist-in-Residence from April 27 to May 6th, 2012. In conjunction with IFPOR, the poetry event Occupy the Poetry will bring together an all-star line-up of poets and other artists. This free event begins at 7pm.
Saturday
The good folks of SPEAKout are holding a full-day spoken word workshop at The Inner Garden (401 Richmond St. W., Suite 384). The event is part of National Youth Arts Week (NYAW) events, and features Lishai Peel. Tickets are $20 and include a light lunch and refreshments. Click here for ticket reservation information.
Another NYAW event, the Limelight Arts Crawl, will take over downtown Mississauga on the same day. Artists from the Mississauga Arts Council’s Limelight Association of Young Artists lead a walking tour featuring live art performances, including spoken word. The event runs from 1-6pm.
Members of the wind in the leaves collective and friends will get together for an event at Beit Zatoun (612 Markham St. in Mirvish Village) for an evening of music, poetry, prose and dance. The show starts at 7:30pm and costs $10 at the door. Contact the organizers via email to reserve a seat.
Eddy da Original One presents Beats, Rhymes & Lights at 918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts, Media & Education. The event is described as “an energizing evening of entertainment featuring his collection of new and old poems and stories in his first solo performance showcase.” Tickets are $15 for groups of 5 or more, $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Buy them online here.
And finally on Saturday night, the Mayworks Festival launches with Alien-Nation featuring Lishai, Truth Is …, Ritallin, Dub Trinity and DJ Leila P. at the Rivoli (332 Queen St. W.). The show is billed as “a celebration of creative resistance in struggle.” Co-sponsored by No One Is Illegal – Toronto. Showtime is at 8pm. Tickets are $10-$15 sliding scale.
Sunday
The weekly Sunday Poetry at Ellington’s (805 St. Clair Ave. W. near Oakwood) has a theme of Agression Against Iran, featuring work from Arnold Itwaru, Natasha Ksonzek, Charles Roach, Maria Elena Mesa, Steve Hall and others to be announced. Showtime is 11:30am to 2:30pm. Open mic available to those who are interested. Admission is free.
This month’s installment of Love Jones Sunday is hosted by Motion inside No One Writes to the Colonel (460 College St. at Bathurst), with spoken word and music performances by LolaBunz, Ekko Effect, Tammy Soulful, Your Man V, Areta Marshall, 3nne, Britta B, Dwayne Morgan and a special performance from Jef Kearns. Spins by DJ Soul Child. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are $10 at the door (dress to impress/no sportswear).
This week is kind of back-heavy, but I’m sure the true believers in spoken word and poetry slam in the GTA don’t mind all that much. After all, this was a very busy National Poetry Month and we all deserve a bit of downtime, don’t we? So recharge your energy and get out to support more poetic voices in the local community. Let’s keep the poetry poppin’!
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An Update from Vancouver: Two Toronto Poets in CIPS Finals!
At the Vancouver International Poetry Festival, the competition for the top individual prize in Canadian poetry slam is heating up.
After a round each of 1, 2, 3 and 4 minute-long poems from some of the best poetry slam practitioners in Canada, the field has been narrowed from forty to ten. Among the final ten are Toronto-based “storm” poet Alessandra Naccarato and Greg “Ritallin” Frankson, the Roots Lounge/Up From the Roots representative in the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam.
They will take on Loh El (Ottawa), Fannon (Guelph), RC Weslowski (Vancouver), Winona Linn (Kingston), Ryan Thom (Montreal), Jen Kunlire (Calgary), Colin Matty (Edmonton) and Matthew Christopher Davidson (Victoria) in three rounds of exciting, high quality poetry slam inside the historic Rio Theatre at Broadway and Commercial Drive.
The representatives for Burlington Slam Project and Toronto Poetry Slam also had strong tournaments, with Kay’la Fraser and Eytan Crouton respectively tearing up the mics they hit up during the preliminary round.
Watch Twitter (#VIPF) to see up-to-the-minute updates on proceedings at the CIPS Finals, which are set to get underway at 8pm local time (11pm Eastern).
In what must be one of the deepest draws in a single poetry slam tournament in Canadian history, GTA poets inhabit four of the forty slots in the 2012 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (CIPS), now officially underway in Vancouver BC.
On Wednesday night, the competition got underway with the Last Chance Slam. Thursday will bring the first set of preliminary bouts as the poets are divided into four groups of ten poets each. All will drop a four-minute poem and a one-minute poem as their opening salvos on the road to determining this year’s national indie championship. On Friday, a second set of bouts will see slammers each perform a two-minute and a three-minute poem. The top ten poets after four intense rounds of slam will advance to Saturday’s Finals.
Carrying the flag for the GTA are four veterans of the scene who are intent on being more than cannon fodder for the other poets — they come ready to unleash with both barrels blazing:
Kay’la Fraser – Currently part of the Guelph Spoken Word organizing crew, Kay’la slams at CIPS representing the Burlington Slam Project. She is a past member of slam teams from BSP and Toronto Poetry Slam. She is the founder of Sticks and Stanzas in Brantford and a passionate advocate for youth slam in Canada through her work with the Guelph Youth Poetry Slam and UNITY Charity in Toronto.
Eytan Crouton – A past TPS Grand Slam Champion and a member of the 2012 TPS Slam Team, Eytan is an accomplished comedian and emcee. Carrying the flag for TPS for the second year in a row at CIPS, he has come back to Vancouver hungry to improve upon his previous result.
Alessandra Naccarato – Also known as Alessandra Storm, the current Board Chair for Spoken Word Canada (SpoCan) is a two-time national finalist at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word with the team from Montreal’s Throw Slam. She represented Toronto at the 2012 Women of the World Poetry Slam last month in Denver, Colorado and competes at CIPS 2012 as a “storm” poet.
Greg “Ritallin” Frankson – A past SpoCan National Director and co-founder of Capital Slam, the Ottawa Youth Poetry Slam and YorkSlam, Greg is a two-time national finalist at CFSW with teams from Ottawa and Kingston. He is also heavily involved with planning for the first-ever YouthCanSlam national championship in August 2013 in Toronto. He represents Up From the Roots at CIPS 2012.
To track the results for Kay’la, Eytan, Alessandra and Greg from the slams in Vancouver, you can check the site for the Vancouver International Poetry Festival here, or follow VIPF on their Facebook page.
Good luck poets! Do the GTA proud!
