Fly Me to the Zoom

Posted by on Aug 15th, 2020 in News | 0 comments

Zoom is a delightful thing, isn’t it?
Over the past four or five months, I’ve done a metric freakload of poetry open mics in the U.K., a whole lot more in New York and California and Nashville, and also a handful in continental Europe. I even made my Australian debut earlier this week, though I had to wake up before 4:30 in the morning for it. And I got to do all of this without playing any plane fare, booking accommodations, or even bringing a passport. Spoken-word open mics are essentially the same wherever you go. That’s a funny silver lining of this silly pandemic – artists from all over the world are connecting and networking through the Zoom phenomenon.

While I’ve made some cool new friends and contacts in this global community, nobody has offered me a gig yet – at least, not outside of Toronto. Not a huge loss; I’ve already done plenty of features in the U.K. and the U.S. in the real world. But I do have a few local virtual events coming up, and you should go to them. You don’t even have to leave home.

First up: this Thursday, catch me on Zoom at Brenda Clews’ event, Pull Down the Northern Lights for Chandeliers.
Brenda will perform a new prose poem on the theme of writer’s block. (If you’re one of those people who feel that nobody should ever write poetry about poetry, this may fill you with rage and loathing for a lifetime. Oh well.) Then I and a few other local scribes will read a piece each, and we will discuss our writing processes and how we overcome lack of inspiration.

Then, on the 25th, I will host the Virtual Art Bar, featuring Ian Burgham and Sharon Goodier.
This is a prerecorded Facebook event – to view it, go to the Art Bar FB page and view videos of the featured poets reading their work, and me being silly.

Relevant links are on the right sidebar.

Also: Ad Lib’s Got Talent: Zoom Edition is coming back in September. Same folks, same vibe, same relaxed evening of art and whatever. Link to come.

Happy Amy Reville’s birthday. Here’s a thing.

Ad Lib’s Got Talent: Zoom Edition III

Posted by on Aug 3rd, 2020 in News | 0 comments

Another three weeks pass, another Ad Lib Zoom night.

Happening this Friday. Details on the right sidebar.
Performers include me (I’ll read part of a story-in-progress), Vanessa McMahon, Dimetre Alexou, Charlene Winger… and a special appearance by Virginia performance poet Special K!

Happy Simcoe Day. I hope Simcoe gives you everything you want.