Bywords: Poetry and Ottawa Literary Events

Local Scene: Bywords Summer Reading

On Sunday, July 21, 2007, at Chapters on Rideau, Bywords kept its promise to deliver not only some exceptional poetry, but also "the sultry guitar and vocals of John Carroll." And, boy, could Carroll ever play that acoustic Martin. As friend and poet Mike Heenan noted, Carroll uses a "steel-fingered pickin' technique . . . Steel strings with finger-picks are hard to play well, as you can't hide any mistakes. [Carroll also] plays slide guitar on his lap . . . equally difficult for the same reason." The upbeat tunes of Carroll's first two songs got peoples' heads swaying and feet tapping. Then, showing his versatility, Carroll's third offering was a sardonic ballad about a debauched hero whose welfare cheque has been spent on something other than rent. The words of the refrain - "Down and out, drunk and high" - both belied the pretty melody and testified to the resilience of the human spirit.

Following the musical set, Ottawa native Matt Beanish read "Untitled," followed by "May Day Haiku" (Bywords.ca, June 2007), a lovely piece that speaks to the connection between humanity and nature, particularly in the spring: "rosebud lips bloom / May Day sunshine breaking free / ocean-eyed summer sight." Then, the carpe diem tone of "Today," is conveyed by a prophetic voice: "Today I am hopeless, faithless, aimless and shameless . . . Tomorrow I'm dead, today I'm alive."

Then, the intriguing image of "A wooden face on the wall" in Martin Cooney's "Viator Pass On" (Bywords.ca, April 2007) reminded me of the Knights Templars' alleged, covert worship of a severed head. Next, "The Dance of Elfron," a poem inspired by on-line computer games, showcases the truncated language inspired by technology: "Kill those spiders / kill those bears." "Dash around . . . never stopping." Cooney's third poem, "Wolf," also contained an outstanding image: "the night found shape in the middle of the path."

Award-winning writer cb forrest was the next poet to take centre stage. He dedicated "origins" (Bywords, Summer 2007), a poem that chronicles the trauma of childhood illness, to the medical staff at CHEO. The ironically titled "Summer Sommelier" is concerned with humanity's abuse of the environment. Once, the lake water tasted "good & cold," but now it is a toxic soup with

a hint of pleasure craft gasoline
mixed too rich
ripe robust & raunchy
with an aftertaste of sopping Band-Aid gauze

To say that poet Anne Ledressay is devoted to her craft is an understatement. I have heard her read at Bywords before, and am increasingly impressed each time. Ledressay chose two readings from Bywords, Summer 2007: "Packing to move" and "Conversation: Tired." The latter poem, particularly, exhibits a preoccupation with words, whether spoken or written:

My thoughts are smudged like pencil scribbles
at the touch of an eraser Words come
in slow motion my tongue thick
around them

Perhaps the poet's intimate relationship with the muse is best expressed in "Mental Health Day" a poem that sees the poet escaping from the hum-drum work world and focusing on creating "and memory turning into poetry."

University of Ottawa instructor Sean Moreland then performed "Nyra Shadda," in a song-song, meditative chant. This esoteric, atmospheric piece transcends the mundane and explores the dark aspect of desire - the eponymous love interest is a nightmarish creature that simultaneously attracts and repels the speaker. Moreland's exceptional delivery of this complex poem was a highlight of the afternoon.

After Moreland's performance, Bywords alumnus Guy Simser presented "Sealer Jar Silence" a poem inspired by the late Ella Fitzgerald's signature song "A Tisket, a Tasket." Next, "Billy," an indictment against war, meditates on the accidental death of Billy Colgate "tub-shaped and not yet ten." Billy is symbolic of all young people (the "cadavers of war") who have been killed in battle and causes the speaker to reflect that "Memories entrenched are like buried landmines."

Then, in a change of pace, Carleton student Mark Sokolowski teased the audience by promising an assortment of poems about "girls, [his] brother and hands." Seriously, though, Sokolowski's poems exhibit an effort to define the function and nature of poetry. For example, "Hip Wader" (Bywords, Summer 2007), even as it criticizes the superabundance of poetic material about spring, it implicitly recognizes the absolute appropriateness of the subject matter:

So many poems
about spring
about cherry-bombs going
off like blossoms.

In "Apology Attempt No. 1," the speaker recognizes language's injurious and therapeutic properties: "I should have plucked the barbs from the words first . . . . Here I am, trying to resolve this with a poem."

Arts columnist Carol A. Stephen began her set with "Empty Spaces," followed by "Ghost Towns" an elegiac poem wherein time ravages the signposts of prosperity and modernity and "Yesterday burrows under the weight of progress." I was especially taken with the lighthearted "My First Thursday," an engaging poem that recounts a fowl love triangle, or "chicken fling," among Sally Sue, Fred and . . . Ben! Stephen's comic and confident presentation of the piece showed that she is a seasoned performer who isn't afraid to have a little fun with her audience.

First-time Bywords reader Andrea Wrobel then read "Untitled," a poem that invokes the Greek tragedian, Aeschylus, to provide cohesion. And, "Lie and you'll lose her" (Bywords.ca, June 2007) demonstrates art's binary nature; specifically, its ability to wound and heal:

I
Always seem to bring you down
With paper
And a black pen . . . .
I build you up the same way, too.

With the poetry portion over, John Carroll ended the afternoon with a final musical set. For me, the highlight was "Down at the Lafayette," a song that pays tribute to the Chateau Lafayette, a venerable Ottawa institution. In Carroll's lyrical rendition, the old watering hole's redemptive quality is conveyed by religious imagery including "with a quart of holy water he was miraculously cured," "speaking in tongues," "path to paradise . . . road to ruin" and "washing away sins." With its clientele of angels, saints and souls, "last call never really comes, down at the Lafayette."

Perhaps with Carroll's song in mind, and given that it was hours before last call, Bywords host Amanda Earl invited everyone to the pub for a post-Bywords celebration.