Sunday, February 4, 2007

In French. The Slamontréal team presents a totally trippy slam event. You’ll hear the exciting new sounds of a style that is taking hold in Quebec under the tutelage of Ivy.

In English. The mainstage anglo show at the Sala Rossa this year could stand alone as a major draw for anyone curious about the Canadian poetry scene. Toronto’s top bad boys and girls will join up in Montreal to give us a show worthy of the counter-culture’s best. The 1950s had their Kerouacs, Ginsbergs and Burroughs. We have our own brand of deliciously marginal artists.

Bill Bissett (iconoclastic poet), Naila Keleta Mae (interdisciplinary artist, charismatic stage performer, and one of the discoveries at the 2004 FVA), Dwayne Morgan (poet, organizer, winner of best spoken word album at the Canadian Urban Music Awards in 2003), Jill Battson (poetry activist, initiator of numerous events), Robert Priest (a dozen poetry collections and several prizes in a back pocket), and the young Spin (of the Dub Poets Collective of Toronto) will be the guests of the warm and dynamic Andrea Thompson (poet and radio host for poetry programming on CiTr radio and Bravo!TV). A one-of-a-kind evening with — watch for it! — some quiet humour that just might help us shake off those nasty prejudices against our Toronto partners-in-poetry!

Open mic, bilingual.