Oversion’s Weblog

One for the ages, so much history going into it, like a symbol of where things are at at this late stage, almost symbolic. A Thursday evening at the end of May, 2009 of all the years, with chronic era displacement, colossal technological heaves across the bow of art and war, and science, the midge revolution, a kind of kaleidoscope of say, 1949 to the present, poetry, relations among people, developments of cities, questions like ‘what takes power, and what is continuously more pleasent but always defeated, juvenile headgame national politics versus verdant viral subtle thought, and choices in representation at the micro level. In short, a poetry reading, put on by the always likeable and always reasonable and always friendly and smiling bookthug books here in Toronto. Just to hear that Ken Belford was reading in Toronto was enough to sense all things were possible, upon first hearing of it months or weeks ago, a kind of ‘legend of the best minds sort of known of by that way poet and chanteur, whenawonce the feathers of the further birds were signalling this way, just days before, Mark Truscott and Kemeny Babineau were added to the bill. Suddenly a rare and immense occassion, once again. They are both, as we who so carefully swim in the lean waters of the notion of having dependents, fathers, besides being writers and publishers, genuinely devoted, so to get them out to do a reading and enter into a full fledged night in Toronto, it is something across months. As with many others present, and on Bathurst, a short walk from my building, on a night my usual confident arrival home from work to Dupont Station to collect my bike met ! like a housecat discovering his bowl is missing ! my bike had been stolen, ohhhh, i watched Law&Order with passion of that eveninghour! Ill-construing villains?! With 15 minutes to go in the episode, Kemeny’s voice broke the focus on th tv thru the window

with a Bandido’s Burrito large enough to split

Amazingly fresh spring air, electricity of a possible storm, like a memory of Canlit, we made our way to the local reading! And with such little premonition of just what an adventure it would be. 

jay drives up

truscott^belford

drumbolis strolls in

poems as intros

Jay has several inventive format altrations a show, and this one read poems of his own as approximate random introduction of each reader. A perfectly pleasent result. Each reader was then announced to begin in an already established calm poetry reading brocade of imagery and wondering. Truly believe Bathurst St put on a show to this effect as well as the whole city. 

And then there they were, poetry readings. Mark Truscott began with his very short ellipses and passionately read them, his breathing intense to get across what he was trying to. I thought it was quite successful, tho at one point, fairly early on, I suddenly recalled his west end gallery reading series was 90 minutes a reader, and, knowing Jay angles away from wasting a lot of time on breaks, suddenly thought 4 hours of reading could lie ahead, but no. Oddly, I found myself making up Truscott-like poems as I waited for the bus up in Downsview this aft. 

Mark Truscott at k6c

kemeny babineau at

Kemeny visually described a tree or vine to contextualize a poem

I sleep in his grandmother’s bed. My home seems so private. It could make me biased, but his poems this night were as alive spreading trees and night’s verdancy of intense growth and much unseen but sensed domain, bringing thusly the countryside south or north of brantford – reminding again a Stanley Cup Final at Gretzky’s, if there’s an afternoon game - 

And then Ken Belford, all the way from Prince George, one night only, on Bathurst, like a Springstein Townsend DiPrima Lander of a poet, trying, so trying to bring all that was possible for the first time to Bathurst ST  - some poems old, some utterly current, fine entertaining cosmological theories, 

showing on theoretical map where he lives

he lives just northeast of where he’s showing. Hmmm, take a break: 

belford drumbolis goldstein kaufman babineau