Saturday in the Salon / It isn’t yet the Fourth of July

Posted by Jeff on May 26th, 2024 in News | 0 comments

Another Zoom gig coming up at the end of this week: I’m kicking off June with a virtual reading at Saturday Literary Salon, hosted by Dane Ince.

I’ll be reading from my novel Hate Story, with a little bit extra, and there will be an open mic, so you can share your own work with an international audience.
The Zoom link will be available on this web page.

In other news, I’m currently continuing my stand-up classes at Comedy Bar Danforth, and there will be a couple of live class shows in July.
I’m still not one hundred percent sure that stand-up comedy is something I want to pursue seriously (or if it is, I probably should’ve done it twenty-five or thirty years ago), but I’m enjoying the classes and meeting a few interesting people. You can see me at the occasional local stand-up open mic, where I’m often the only performer whose material isn’t about sex or scatology. (And always the only one promoting a book.)

I’ll leave you with the most infamous Thomas the Tank Engine episode, for no particular reason. I think Henry deserved his punishment, don’t you?

Cheerio.

The Colour of Magic Theatre

Posted by Jeff on Apr 22nd, 2024 in News | 0 comments

Quick note to let you know (if anybody even reads my website) that I’m featuring once again at Magic Theatre Poetry Reading on Zoom, next Sunday at 9:30 a.m. EST.
The reason it starts so early is that the host (and the live version of the series) is based in Thailand. So the start time is also 2:30 p.m. in the U.K. There’s an open mic following my set, so feel free to share your own writing with the folks.

Facebook event page linked on the right sidebar, complete with Zoom link info.

In the meantime… I’ve been dabbling in stand-up comedy. For better or for worse.
I’ve completed the Second City stand-up classes and am soon going to start the Advanced class at Comedy Bar East. And I’ve appeared at a few open mics here and there. So far, it’s not going badly enough to quit.
Here’s a video of my Second City Stand-Up 2 class show on February 25. See if you can guess which part is a ripoff of one of my poems.

See ya. Don’t take any wooden igloos.

Every girl’s crazy ’bout a Sharp Dressed Words

Posted by Jeff on Feb 22nd, 2024 in News | 0 comments

I know this is short notice, but…

I’m going to be one of the vendors at the second annual Sharp Words book fair in Hamilton this Saturday.

I’ll be sharing the venue with many small and independent presses. If you’re in or near Steeltown on the weekend, drop by, say hi, maybe even buy a copy of Hate Story if you don’t have it yet.
More information at the link above and on the right sidebar.

Also… if you’ve been following my brave attempts at stand-up comedy since last summer:
I’ve been taking the second Second City stand-up class for the past several weeks, and my final class show is this Sunday. Tickets linked at the listing on the right sidebar. I don’t know if I’m supposed to be inviting folks publicly like this (it’s mainly intended for family and friends of the class members)… but screw it, you’re probably not even reading this anyway.

Now, here’s a cute young’un watching Psycho for the first time.

See you soon, crocodile.

He do the song about the sweet lovin woman. He do the song about the knife.

Posted by Jeff on Jan 11th, 2024 in News | 0 comments

Just a couple of quick things to start off the year.

One:
Remember when I said that I was going to be the guest in the January 2024 episode of the poetry podcast The Poetic Robin Hood?
Well, I did not lie. And you can listen in here.

Two:
It’s that time of year again… time for Damon Lum’s birthday, which means he’s hosting another Ad Lib’s Got Talent at the Arts and Letters Club. I’m in it again, along with the usual gang of comics and musicians and what have you. Info on the right sidebar.

If you’re not good, I may even decide to attempt stand-up comedy.

Now… here’s a thing. A thing for you.

Buy my book.

New Year, new podcast interview, no problem

Posted by Jeff on Dec 16th, 2023 in News | 0 comments

Well. What a year that was.

I did a book tour in Australia. I saw lots of crazy animals there, dipped my feet in the Indian Ocean for the first time, swam in the Pacific Ocean less than forty-eight hours later, and performed in a handful of well-paid poetry gigs. Failed to see a living quokka, though.
I also conducted my own little ragtag Canadian Book-Fair Mini-Tour (inspired partly out of petty anger at the way Toronto Word on the Street mismanaged my exhibitor application this year). This tour saw me attempting to promote my novel Hate Story in Ottawa (twice), Vancouver and Lethbridge, Alberta. I was also supposed to be at an event in Timmins, but the flight was delayed and eventually cancelled at the last minute (never, ever, ever booking with Porter again); I was also hoping to be in Montreal two weeks ago, but apparently that event was too cool to accept my application. Missed my chance to do a Hamilton fair because I didn’t even know of its existence until the last minute; maybe in 2024?

And I performed at the inaugural New Mexico Poetry Summit in Albuquerque. And I had a few other gigs here in Toronto, and a few on Zoom. And the Writers’ Union of Canada selected one of my short stories as a runner-up in a contest, finally and definitively proving York University wrong about my writing abilities. And I was showcased in the Toronto Guardian and appeared in at least one more podcast…
And I performed stand-up comedy in front of live audiences for the first time, and found I wasn’t entirely terrible at it. And I turned fifty, with shockingly little life accomplishment to show for it. Just think of what Orson Welles achieved before he was thirty. I’m a disgrace.

Who knows what’s in store for 2024? I have no idea; almost all of it is up in the air.
One thing I do know: the year will kick off with my appearance on The Poetic Robin Hood, a poetry podcast hosted by Christopher Moore. No, not the famous Christopher Moore – the Chicago-based poet.

The episode will be available on New Year’s Day, on Spotify and other online platforms.
Not sure what time it’s going live. I’ll be flying home from Saskatchewan that day (yes, more bloody flying), so I’ll catch it later.

Now, here’s Baby Meryl Streep silently showing her love for the Beatles.

See you next Tuesd—I mean, next year.