Photos from Banff

Hello writers!
Sending pictures....
love to you all
rebecca

Corey reviews Tear Down by Ali Riley

I like to think there is something slyly appealing about books that are short-listed for awards, as opposed to those that win awards. The talent is evident in such books, but in one way or another they are a little too disturbing to be chosen as a vessel for the hopes and dreams of whatever institution is administering the prize. Or, as Ali Riley puts it in the title to one of her poems, “Always the Demonic Sorceress, Never the Bride.” After her nearly-award-winning debut Wayward, Ali Riley’s second collection of poetry from Frontenac House, Tear Down, is the winner of the first annual Corey Frost award for a book that might be too edgy to get past most poetry award juries but that unmistakably demonstrates how exciting the horrific imperfect world can be, and especially the world of men and women, when viewed through the lens of great writing. Like her first book, Tear Down is often about women who are outcast, persecuted, misunderstood, or simply complicated, particularly in the opening sequence entitled “My Sister, Guard Your Veil: 7 Easy Pieces,” which includes poems addressed to or in the voice of women as diverse as Courtney Love, Snow White, the controversial British artist Tracey Emin, and the 16th-century Saint Teresa of Avila.

Riley is also interested in boys, though, at least to the extent that they contrast with and intersect with girls, and the middle section of the book, called “The Boyfriend Sutras: 108 Performances” has some of the most dazzling, alive, up-and-down emotional writing in the book. My favourite poems are found here, including “Hausfrau,” a sharp and vivid story of deferred desire; the poem “One Woman Show,” which would make a great one woman show, stuffed with hilarious scenes and memorable one-liners like “We met cute, during a police raid” and “I see the penis as Post Industrial now;” as well as the simple, beautiful theorem of a poem, “Love is the Reason I Loathe Geometry.” This last one runs the risk of being corny, but the risk proves to be worthwhile in the end and the poem has the elegance of something not written but discovered.

Tear Down, as the title suggests, is also about Einstürzende Neubaten – not the industrial noise band from Berlin, although their name does come up, but the literal meaning of that phrase: tearing down new buildings. The penultimate section deals with dwelling places, and it seems they are mostly doomed. As a structure, though, the book holds together quite well because there is a thoughtful continuity in the kind of language used. Throughout, the poems are peppered with recurring lines that take on different meanings in different contexts, such as “I want your eyes on me,” and frequent references to music and art: “I feel like Joseph Beuys/ smothered in gold leaf and honey/ explaining pictures/ to his dead hare.”

Another reason why poetry juries would find Riley’s work impressive but perhaps not comforting is the surprising range of forms she uses, from prose poem to single-word lines. I’m particularly fond of the prose parts, especially those in the boyfriend section, when the poet loosens the admirable restraint shown in the earlier poems, and the result is a string of clever, daring lines one after the other. One gets the impression reading these parts that a life spent with Ali Riley, or even a short part of a life, would be always entertaining, always stimulating, and unpredictable: a poetic life in the most noble sense.

Congratulations Dale.

Here are the three top poets in the 2008 CBC Poetry Face Off.

Circle of She

As promised, here is the review I wrote of Moe's CD, Circle of She, which is being launched tonight (Friday, April 25, 2008 at the Calgary Arrata Opera Centre, 7:30pm). Wish I could be there, Moe.

two drops of snow

Thank you Corey, for setting up this wonderful tool for us to all keep in touch.

I have been thinking about everyone since my return home yesterday afternoon. It has been strange eating leftover spaghetti and making sandwiches for lunch today, although I am sure the banal existence that I left behind will slowly begin to feel normal again. As much as I am missing everyone, I am knowing that this was an experience I will never loose or forget. I am already cautious about how I will be defining myself in the future context of "spoken word" but I am also thinking about what outfit will be worn at my CD Release on Friday. (inspired by Kimm's cabaret) There is so much that I have learned, and so much still left to learn.

So, with all this banter what is it I am really trying to say?

***
one leaf
two drops of snow
three dessert choices
four deer
five glasses of wine
six hours of sleep (almost)
seven hours of dancing
***

I left Banff on those notes
and now I search for more that will help me compose the picture of what exactly this experience has meant.

Thank you to you all for contributing, collaborating, and for inspiring me! (no tears this time) but you are all Divine!

Sacred Noise will forever be a part of us
in body and blessed being,
moe.

De retour

I'm home again, after a long sleepy journey through the air above the prairies. After getting up at 4:15 I managed to fall asleep on the airporter shuttle bus, only to be woken up by falling off my seat and slamming into the seat in front of me, when two elk wandered in front of the bus in the snowy dark and the driver, quite sensibly, braked hard. Back here in NYC the leaves are out on the trees and the city already seems to be gearing up for another stinky, sweaty summer.

I've sent email invitations to all of you to join the blog as co-authors so that you can add posts. I've set it up so that only members of the blog can comment on existing posts, although anyone can see and read the blog. This can be changed as well, if you think you'd rather that only we can read it. Feel free to email me with your opinion on this, or post it to the blog. I can also set it so that you are (individually) notified by email whenever a new post is added, so let me know if you'd like that to happen to you.

Welcome home.

Voici la première post sur notre Banff blog, Four Deer, où on peut poster tous les produits du notre séjour à Banff, soit les produits textuels, visuels, orals, ou mentals.

Several people have mentioned to me that they have poems, video-poems, recordings, notes, reviews, and thoughts they'd like to share with everyone else, so I thought we could do that through this blog. All of you will be added as co-creators so you can make posts. Pictures can be embedded, as well as videos and audio tracks, or you could simply link to youtube or flickr or the second-generation website of your choice. I know many of you are on facebook, but not all of you, so I thought it would be preferable to use this site which is accessible to everyone.

More to come.

Love,
Corey