The Roar 2007 Festival News

It's done...and what a show! it was!!

September 24, 2007

Saturday, the day after the ROAR, I had the blues…The ROAR was such an intense high, and then, at 3 a.m. coming in the front door of chez Trofs, it was done. When I woke up, the blues crept in but also something else – a pure feeling of elation, delight, accomplishment.

Saturday afternoon, I took my six-year-old to a birthday party, grabbed Shane Rhodes new collection of poems, “the Bindery” (I’m reviewing this book for Alberta Views)and headed down to the south side to read at the launch of “DailyHaiku I” the print edition of the Michael Gravel initiated website DailyHaiku.org, which has been handed off to Nicole Pakan and Patrick M. Pilarski, who have beautifully maintained, nurtured and continue to grow this website. And now, they’re a print journal. More on this at the “failed Buddhist”

So, I stopped at what used to be my favourite cigar shop, under its former name of La Tienda. It’s still all right, but not anywhere near its former glory. I was half a block from Café Select on 109 Street, the site of the Haiku reading, and I was early, so I stopped for a cigar. Sat out front on the bench and cranked up a particularly fine Romeo y Julieta.

Sunday, I started to drift inside the too-soon memories of the ROAR, of all the readers and performers…and the energy in AXIS café at the finale, which was high, intense, excited and blissful. My profound thanks to, the lovely Heather Haley, the “kicking it out verse” from Shima Robinson, Mary Pinkoski’s brilliant and visceral poetry, the fabulous Spoken Word Youth Choir, with Gail Sobat conducting, the extempore of Phillip Jagger and Gary Lee, the syncopated verse of Richard Stevenson, and rob mclennan’s way-too-short set. My thanks also to the wonderful musicians in the Raving Poets band, Randall Edwards, Mark Kozub, Gordon McRae, and Michael Gravel, who continue to push the edges of song, and poetry, into an art form of its own. This would have been a show worth ten times what we were charging at the door.

But, I have to say, when Jack McCarthy took the stage in the first half he completely wowed the packed-to-the-nuts audience. Every now and then, a poet, performer, comes along and puts on this kind of show for an audience (this audience was mainly poets, and lovers of poetry) and by being exposed to the work of a master craftsman, the entire community is raised up. The bar is raised a notch. We, as a poetry community, grow by being exposed to this kind of incredible performance.

If you weren’t there, at the ROAR finale, shame on you!!!

Some of you may remember another growth spurt like this when the progressive Stroll board lead by Mark Kozub, and Gordon McRae, and Phillip Jagger, and John Chalmers, brought in slam poet Jeffrey McDaniel and dub poet Clifton Joseph. That forward-thinking board caused a revolution in the poets who were exposed to those “outsiders.” The same thing happened the night Stephen Scobie came up with the Raving Poets Band and did the sound poem “Kon ichikawa”…That one performance created growth…a sort of freeing up of conventional constraints.

Well, the same thing happened Friday night at the ROAR. I expect to see evidence of growth in the coming months and years, the residual effects of Jack McCarthy’s incredibly moving performance. If you ever doubted the power of words…this performance was emphatic proof!!

But, the entire night was brilliant. I wandered and saw a bit of almost every show. Adam Snider’s Night Moves, with Laurie McFayden (who gets better and better every time out), Corine Demas and Lisa Pruden – Mark Kozub’s heart-felt and brilliant “new bachelor” poems, Timothy Anderson’s riveting voice, Laura Crawford’s wonderful performance, which as followed by an equally brilliant Tippy Agogo – all of you are stars. And let’s not forget the Pilarskinator’s Fabulous Leprechaun Burlesque, with Michael Appleby, Nicole Pakan, Patrick Pilarski, and Adam Snider.

(I owe an apology to the excellent poets from Poet’s Ink! who were billed as Writer’s Ink in most of our advertisements…. AHHH!!! At some point last week, my brain slipped out the back of my head. Mea Culpa…my friends.)

It was a stunning night. Big thanks are due to Alice Major and the Edmonton Poetry Festival, who “loaned” us some great performers. Thank you.

And my team – you know who you are – who gather venues and delivered p.a.’s and hosted readings….kudos. You put on a hell of a show.

And finally, all our sponsors:
AlbertaViews, Dave and Hazel at Accu-Search, Phil at AXIS café, Three Bananas, Naked Cyber Café, L’Espresso Café, The BANK Ultra lounge , Java Express, Tzin wine and tapas, and Audrey’s Books. Please visit these fine establishments who are supported the ROAR! Finally, thanks to The Raving Poets, Vue Weekly, and Geist Magazine.

— Thomas Trofimuk