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2008 Circus of Words/Cirque des mots
By Endre Farkas
Mar 5, 2008, 20:19
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A word of welcome
Welcome to the 4th annual Circus of Words / Cirque des mots. Once again, we are pleased to bring you the Greatest Show on Earth, a collage of text-based performances by poets, musicians, and dancers hailing from a broad range of artistic backgrounds. On the bill this year are videopoet Tom Konyves from Vancouver, poet-musician Noah Zacharin from Toronto, improvisational dancer/painter Vicki Tansey & poet Richard Sommer from The Eastern Townships, as well as Governor General award-winner Nicole Brossard, the godmother of Quebec postmodernism.
And there’s more. Part of our Circus philosophy being “all languages are equal and accommodated,” we not only have texts in both official languages but, this year, present Lebanese-born poet John Asfour weaving Arabic poetry with the traditional sounds of the ‘oud, and local rhymster Kaie Kellough (w)rapping up the evening.
This year the Circus is also doing its bit to leave no paper-footprints behind. Our program is going green; we will not have program handouts at the show. This is it—our virtual program.
So in a word—
Welcome, Bienvenue, Ahlan wa sahlan/الترحيب
Un mot de bienvenue
Bienvenue à cette quatrième édition de Cirque des mots / Circus of Words. Nous sommes heureux de vous présenter un récital aussi éblouissant qui met de l’avant la théâtralité de la poésie. Inspirés par le biais des mots, les artistes que vous allez entendre ce soir s’exprimeront par la parole, la musique, le mouvement et le vidéo. Laissez-vous séduire par ces jongleurs de mots et de métaphores, des gens qui savent vraiment évoquer le cirque des mots : Tom Konyves de Vancouver; Noah Zacharin de Toronto; le duo de Vicki Tansey et Richard Sommer des Cantons de l’est ; Kaie Kellough, poète montréalais praticien du spoken word ; et Nicole Brossard, écrivaine renommée et féministe engagée.
Ce n’ai pas tout. Encore une fois, nous vous présenterons de la poésie non seulement dans les deux langues officielles, mais aussi dans une troisième, dont l’arabe, provenant du poète John Asfour, né au liban et résident du Québec depuis maintenant plusieurs années.
Pour faire notre part dans la lutte contre le réchauffement global, il n’y aura pas de programme papier ; comme vous pouvez le constater, nous avons favorisé cette année un programme virtuel.
Pour terminer, trois petits mots portant le même message—
Welcome, Bienvenue, Ahlan wa sahlan/الترحيبet … bon spectacle!
Endre Farkas
Carolyn Marie Souaid
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Tom Konyves
"I would like to think that there exists a poetic state to which a poem aspires, an altered state of consciousness, a state altered by the poet’s ability to manipulate the form. I’m always after new forms for poems. I enjoy seeing a poem reflect simultaneity (when the poem becomes multi-directional, multi-layered) and the process of thought (when the poem includes disruptive elements)."
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| Tom Konyves |
Based in Montreal until 1983, Tom Konyves is one of the original Vehicule Poets; his work is distinguished by Dadaist/Surrealist/experimental writings, performance works and “videopoems”. In 1978, he coined the term videopoetry to describe his multimedia work, and is considered to be one of the original pioneers of the form.
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Compliments of
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| Compliments of Park Ex Pictures |
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Vicki Tansey
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| Vicki Tansey |
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| Vicki Tansey |
"For me, improvisation is a second by second immersion into the physical, emotional & energetic qualities of each moment, in the moment. It is leaping, responding , waiting, letting go. It is the curiosity, excitement & receptivity to all of this, time & time again."
One of Canada’s leading pioneers in the art of improvisation, Vicki Tansey, dancer, singer & visual artist, has been performing & teaching for over 40 years. Trained in both classical & contemporary dance, she has been on the faculties of the National Theatre School of Canada, the Visual Arts Centre & Saidye Bronfman School of Fine Arts, & the Dance, Theatre & Fine Arts departments of Concordia University, Montreal. Co-founder of Pinnacle Mountain Centre for the Performing Arts in the Eastern Townships, she is the subject of an in-progress documentary film by Quebec artist Louise Abbot: Vicki Tansey: In the Moment, & is the creator & director of the on-going multi-disciplinary performance work, The Physical Choir Theatre Project.
RICHARD SOMMER
"Poems owe something to rhythms of surf, breath, boughs, mutual sex, bird cries, but the struggle is to survive releasing this power, as communication through the narrow means of language. Rhythm, always, but constantly shifting, changing, always personal, for all but the poet through whom the words come."
Born in Minnesota, educated at the U of M and Harvard,
came to Montreal in l962 and taught there at Sir George and Concordia for 34 years, so inevitably a focus in poems is on continuities, their disruptions & revelations. Live now in Eastern Townships, for family, music, breath.
Philippe Mius d'Entremont
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| Philippe Mius d'Entremont |
Philippe Mius d'Entremont joue du violoncelle depuis son enfance. Musicien de formation classique, il a commencé à jouer dans des groupes vers 1990, comme violoncelliste et/ou bassiste.Il a enregistré et joué sur scène avec de nombreux artistes québecois, allant de la poésie avec Nathalie Lessard à la pop radiophonique avec Marie-Mai. Il est membre du groupe hardcore Les Ékorchés ainsi que plusieurs autres projets.
Philippe Mius d'Entremont has been playing cello since his early childhood. A classicaly-trained musician, he's started playing in bands around 1990, as a cellist and/or bassist..
Having recorded and performed for various Quebec artists, ranging from poetry with Nathalie Lessard to radio-friendly pop with Marie-Mai, he's currently a member of hardcore band Les Ékorchés, as well as other projects.
www.philmius.com
Emilie Girard Cellist
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| Emilie Girard |
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Compliments of
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| Compliments of The Word |
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Noah Zacharin
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| Noah Zacharin |
"I aspire to a close relationship with both the music and the listener. To this end I do my best to listen well, write true, play hard, and sing real."
Noah Zacharin was born in Montreal and resides in Toronto. He was given his first guitar at age 9, wrote his first song at 13, began performing at 14, and is happy to say that he still loves playing music.
He has been called “a wonderful songwriter and performer, and stunning guitarist”, a “wonderful, adventurous guitarist” “a poet, a songwriter, a singer we have been waiting for" "a great guitarist/singer/songwriter…a wonderfully musical player” “in a league of his own” "one of the best songwriters this country has produced."
He has published hundreds of poems, translations, and reviews in periodicals and anthologies worldwide, and is currently at work on two volumes of poetry and several children’s books.
For more information go to www.noahsong.com
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Compliments of
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| Compliments of John Abbott College English Department |
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John Asfour
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| John Asfour |
John Asfour has published 5 books of poetry and is the translator of the landmark anthology entitled When Words Burn and Joy is not my Profession, the selected poems of Muhammad al-Maghut.
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Compliments of
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| Compliments of DC Books |
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NICOLE BROSSARD
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| Nicole Brossard |
"une exploratrice lucide au coeur des mots vivaces et du désir."
Poète, romancière et essayiste, Nicole Brossard est née à Montréal, en 1943. Depuis la parution de son premier recueil, en 1965, elle a publié une trentaine de livres dont Le Centre blanc, La lettre aérienne, Le désert mauve, Hier, Cahier de roses et de civilisation. Deux fois récipiendaire du Prix du Gouverneur général (1974, 1984) pour sa poésie, elle compte parmi les chefs de file d’une génération qui a renouvelé la poésie québécoise dans les années 70. Elle a cofondé en 1965 la revue littéraire La Barre du Jour et, en 1976, le journal féministe Les Têtes de Pioche. Elle a aussi coréalisé le film Some American Feminists (1976). En 1991, elle publiait avec Lisette Girouard, une Anthologie de la poésie des femmes au Québec (Des origines à nos jours) et en 2002 Poèmes à dire la francophonie. En 1991, le prix Athanase-David, la plus haute distinction littéraire au Québec, lui était attribué et, en 1994, elle était reçue à l’Académie des Lettres du Québec. En 1999, elle reçoit pour une deuxième fois Le Grand Prix du Festival international de la Poésie de Trois-Rivières pour ses recueils Musée de l’os et de l’eau et Au présent des veines. En 2003, le Prix W.O. Mitchell lui est attribué. Ses plus récents livres sont La capture du sombre (2007) et Ardeur (2008). En 2006, elle reçoit le Grand Prix Molson du Conseil des Arts du Canada. Ses livres sont traduits en plusieurs langues et lui valent aujourd’hui une réputation internationale. Elle vit à Montréal.
avec
Philippe Mius d'Entremont
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Compliments of
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| Compliments of Quelles Sensations |
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Kaie Kellough
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| Kaie Kellough |
clarity, economy, rhythm: each line must be lean, muscled, rude as a jab snapped at your chin.
kaie kellough: mtl-based word sound systemizer, lit syncopator, author lettricity (cumulus 2004), co-editor talking book (cumulus 2006). kaie
has dubbed & inked his way across xanada & into the u.s. his words make sound blue sense & be bop inflected.
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Compliments of
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We Want
You
To be a brick in the Virtual Wall of Patrons of The Circus of Words/Cirque des mots.
Your $20.00 donation goes to feed the "starving artists"
Send your donation to
Poetry in motion/Poesie en mouvement
518 Birch Street,
Saint-Lambert, Quebec,
J4P 2N1.
Virtual Wall of Patrons:
MaxianneBerger Patti McCurdy Jennifer Boire Jacques Nolin Denise Roig Gina Roitman Larry Weller Ed Palumbo Ken Radu Kim Goldman Jay Goldman Julie Mahfood Connie Barnes Rose Lorne Zakaib Viola Zakaib Elizabeth Robert Park Ex Pictures Quelle Sensations English Dept. John Abbott College Scotia McLeod Anonymous Mega Corp The Word Dr Silver DC Books Tom McKendy Yassaman Ameri Pauline Souaid Marcel Souaid Anonymous Steve Souaid Anonymous
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Compliments of
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| Compliments of Megacorp |
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Circus of Words/Cirque des mots
Crew
Vera David Program Cover
Vera David Heisler has been making art for the majority of her life. Born and educated in Hungary, she has taken full advantage of her Academy Art training. Throughout the years and many countries her art has always been well received. Here in Montreal she has continued with her electronic art, sculpture and painting. Vera David is an experimentalist exploring different art forms. Innovation is part of her mind and character.
Vera has contributed her art to Circus of Words for three years
A selection of her works can be seen at the site: www.flamencomontreal.com/veradavid
Michael Towe Documentation
Michael Towe appeared on the art scene in 1975. For thirty years he has been painting and paint making. Most recently he returned to photography, showing his photos at Galerie Joyce Yahouda last May and continues to explore the urban landscape.
Paul Brian Imperial Light & Sound
This is the fourth Circus of Words / Cirque des Mots that he has been involved in. Mr. Imperial is also the Artist-in-Residence of the Tableau D’Hôte theatre company (www.tableaudhotetheatre.com). With various productions, he has toured to Toronto, Ottawa and Virginia. Selected credits include Surviving Wor(l)ds (Step Dans Fuego Productions) and No More Raisins, No More Almonds from the collaborative efforts of the Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre’s YAYA (Young Actors for Young Audiences), the Tauben Family Foundation and AWAR (Action Week Against Racism). Thanks Mom, Dad, Glenn, Charlotte, Olivia, Liz, Paul-Eric, Endre, Carolyn, Mike and to the artists and audience members, enjoy the show.
Mike Payette Light & Sound
Originating in theatre as an actor, Mike Payette has been privileged to have worked with both established and independent theatre companies since a very young age.
As a director, some of his credits include the English Montreal premiere productions of I Am Yours by Judith Thompson and Amigo’s Blue Guitar by Joan MacLeod and the Centaur Children’s Series. This past winter, Mike directed and co-adapted Come Good Rain for Black Theatre Workshop’s school tour which toured in various parts of the province.
With a BFA in Specialization in Theatre and Development from Concordia, and MECCA award winner for Revelation Artist of the Year, he is also co-founder and artistic director of Tableau D’Hôte.
Charles-Alexandre Gagnon Video
specializes in audio and video recording and post production and is the president of CAGE productions, a multimedia production company offering semi-professional and "affordable" video production.
Vian Tu-Le Video
Patti McCurdy Video & Tickets
Katherine Harwood Farkas Book Table
Carolyn Marie Souaid Producer
Endre Farkas Producer
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