Full house @ January livewords and the winner was . . .

It was a great Thursday night at Cervejaria for our Janaury edition of  livewords with Mick Burrs, Luciano Iacobelli & Ryan Kamstra!

There was not a seat in the house for most of the night as we listened attentively as Mick read from the draft manuscript of his 29th chapbook, Ryan let us into his world-view with lyric energy, and Luciano gave us new narrative poems that were finely crafted and compelling.

We had 10 contestants in our open mic contest – the best reading of a cover poem. Pieces ranged from Priscilla Uppal, W. H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, to an anonymous chapbook piece, and well-known spoken word pieces expertly done.

Our contest judges: Shannon Maguire, Lara Solnicki and Kurt Zubatiuk selected Toronto Poetry Slam host & producer David Silverberg as the winner of our $50 prize.

Thanks to Mick, Luciano & Ryan for their words and presentation. Hats off (ot the apparal of your choice) to all our open mic contestants and well-deserved kudos to our winner. Thanks to Lara (who is singing with Sean Bray at 93 Harbord on Friday nights) Sharon & Kurt for their well-considered judging. A ‘we are not worthy’ shout out to Andrea Ledwell, editor of Gadzooks! for running the book table. And as always our gratefull thanks to Joe and the staff at Cervejaria.

January 22 – livewords with Burrs, Iacobelli & Kamstra

On Thursday January 22 livewords presents:

Words by:

Mick Burrs: “If time is now running short, you may mention anything above in my Bio, especially about co-editing Crossing Lines with Allan Briesmaster (Seraphim Editions, 2008), and add anything else you may want from the following bits of data: Steven Michael Berzenksy (aka Mick Burrs) has had seven books published (the most recent, Pages Torn From Trees, lyricalmyrical press, 2007) and 28 chapbooks since 1971 and will be launching his 29th chapbook on the livewords stage!  He has recently had poetry set to classical music and performed at the Royal Ontario Museum; he once edited the literary magazine Grain; and he is currently working on a play based on the disconcerting dirt-free life of the Chilean dictator Pinochet. Mick would like the 24-hour day to be officially expanded into a 36-hour day so he might get a bit more sleep.”

Ryan Kamstra: Stumbled from Thunder Bay, raised by lesbian nuns and witchy witches, Ryan Kamstra sat by the water and wept two albums (all fall down 2002, i want an army 2005) and cried one crypt of poetry (late capitalist sublime 2002). The blood now trickling from his ears spawned this latest offering Into The Drowned World (Insomniac Press 2008): about our world that already ended at the turn of the millennium, addressed to the archangel Madonna. In his spare time he fronts glam band Tomboyfriend feted throughout lands near and far as well as does outreach for knit-goods-for-homeless-shelters project Streetknit. He works as a personal support worker in Toronto. Visit his soul-expropriating exploits: www.ryankamstra.com/.

Luciano Iacobelli: was born in 1956 in Toronto. While earning a degree in Education from York University, he studied English Literature and attended writing courses taught by Frank Davey and Don Coles. In 1986 his first play The Porch was staged in Toronto, followed in 1988 by a one-man show entitled Byrdbrain. Throughout the 1990′s he focused on art and painting and was involved in a number of group shows featuring Italian-Canadian artists. In 1990 he founded Lyricalmyrical Press, a grass-roots publishing company specializing in handcrafted chapbooks, and he continues to be its chief editor and designer. Luciano is a partner in Quattro Books. He lives in Toronto with his son Julian. The author of six chapbooks, The Angel Notebook (Seraphim Editions 2007) was his first full-length publication.

† OPEN MIC CONTEST:

Best Reading of a (cover) Poem  – yes a poem by someone else that you read/perform devilishly well – and for your efforts you may win a $50 Cash Prize; sign-up at 7:30 PM.

Contest judges will pick the winner.

@ Cervejaria, 842 College Street (just west of Ossington)
7:00 p.m. Doors Open
7:30 p.m. Open Mic Sign-Up
8:00 p.m. Performances Commence (just west of Ossington)