Stolen Sharpies and other Punkness
A friend picked me up a copy of Stolen Sharpie Revolution (by/edited by Alex Wrekk) at the Cut-N-Paste Fair in Toronto last weekend (and he paid for it in TTC tokens, which I think I'm going to make into a tradition.) I've been flipping through it. What a great little book. Small, all kind of sexy and bright red, and the inside a crazy mishmash of zine-style layout, typed and pasted text blocks, and great advice on everything from how to make your own silkscreens, to how to publish other people, to how to get into postal art circles, to how to run a zine distro. And a fine resource of (mostly American) distros and small presses and the like. I'm going to be poring over it cover to cover in the next little while. It makes you want to go find your Sharpie and start cutting and pasting.

Its main point seems to be that really, nothing can't be DIY-ed. You could pay a print shop $12 a shirt and a $60 setup fee to print your small press's promotional shirts, or you could go get some emulsion, a screen, and a bulk pack of Fruit Of the Looms and have fun for an afternoon for a lot cheaper. There are tips on copy machines, block printing, getting cheap paper that card shops are throwing out, spraypainting badges, writing to zinesters, getting published by someone else's zine, starting a zine library, and taking your zines on tour.

There's another whole meditation to be done here on why people who make tiny photocopied books that they give away or sell for a buck apiece even do this, but as far as I can tell, the reason is pretty simple - some people need to sing, some people need to perform, and some people need to produce printed matter. And finding other people with the same obsession is always exhilarating. I like the zine crowd - I think I tend towards a far more staid kind of layout in my own small press publishing, but the more zines I read, the more amazed I am at the culture.

And there's yet another possible meditation on the interface between a world full of webpages and a boom in zine publishing - both very ephemeral, cheap, widely-distributable ways of putting your thoughts/experiences/ideas/aesthetic out into the public forum. Casting a net for likeminded folks.

The website for the people who made this lovely little compendium of all things zine? www.microcosmpublishing.com.

Kwame Dawes is Coming to Town!
Now Playing: As It Happens
Thanks to John W Macdonald's blog, I got clued in to the fact that the National Archives is going to be host this weekend (the 10th, 11th, and 12th) to a series of readings and workshops by Kwame Dawes!

I'm particularly excited because I've known Kwame for more than a decade (off and on) - it's a little known fact that in the early 90's he was the front man for the Fredericton-based Juno-nominated reggae phenomenon Ujamaa, which also featured my big brother Kit on bass. I'm bringing my copy of their CD to the reading.

Kwame is a terrific poet. Get out and see him!

The Best Bag EVER
Now Playing: Wake the Dead; Celtic covers of Grateful Dead songs
Okay, I've been meaning to do this - last weekend I got a late Christmas present. It was a bag made by Sean Zio, commissioned for me by my friend Carolyn. It's the best bag ever - it's totally me. It fits a copy of the New Yorker, my writing book, wallet and CD player, and usually a paperback to boot. It has an inside pocket, it has front pockets that were initially part of the pants that the bag was made from, and a button pocket in the back. I LOVE this bag.

Zio (who is a one-man Prada-demolition force - everyone should have a Zio bag) sells his bags at craft sales around town, in particular the Ladyfest sales and Ravenswing. Here are a couple of shots of my bag. You can't have it, it's mine. But you could email him and beg him to make you a bag too.

Well, hell.
Now Playing: Dave Lauzon's Dusty Owl concert; really should be making dinner now
Like it says in the title - well, hell.

I was looking for information on Q the Romantic Revolutionary for the Dusty Owl site (she's featuring in February, check it out) and I skipped through the Capital Slam website. And there it is: a link to this site (to my review of the opening reading this year.)

Just when I'd sort of figured no one even knew this site existed, and I'd pretty much stopped posting. Hm. Just goes to show. Someone is reading this. Or somebody was vanity-googling. C'mon, guys, fess up...

And yes, I really am listening to Dave Lauzon's Chocolate House show from December's Dusty Owl. Great stuff. Want to hear it? Last I saw, it was available on the Sanctuary website.

Ottawa Craft Resources Online
This is a great link for local craft sales and events. Just found it!

http://www.debbiesdabbles.ca/

Ravenswing Christmas Edition
Topic: craft and zine fairs
Yesterday, while a couple of friends took most of the Dusty Owl inventory out to Montreal for ExpoZine, I packed up the Gandalf's Granddaughter stuff and headed out to Ravenswing.

Best Ravenswing yet, at least for me. I made more sales than I've done yet at Ravenswing (in fact so did Carolyn and Cathy,) and there seemed to be a lot of traffic. I think an event needs to be around for about six months before it really kicks off, and I'm thinking/hoping that Ravenswing is hitting a stride. Sure, we're off for two months because of Christmas, but it seems like Zio's idea for creating an open, accessible space for crafters and zinesters and indie publishers to get together and put their work out for sale is starting to click. There was a good mix of different crafts, four different zine tables, and a knitting workshop (free craft workshops are now going to be offered at the sales, which might pull in a few more people.) Really looking forward to seeing where this fair goes in the New Year.

By the way, if you want to get involved, or you just want to see what's going on, you can check out the Ravenswing Yahoo! group - it's an online forum for all the participants and other Ravenswing groupies/junkies/minions. And you can join if you'd like!

Oh, and at ExpoZine in Montreal . . . Dusty Owl Press sold more than $100 worth of stuff! Hooray for Montreal. What a town.

Come to Ravenswing!
Now Playing: As It Happens
Topic: craft and zine fairs
This Saturday, 1:30-5:00, is the Ravenswing Craft and Zine fair at the Jack Purcell Community Centre. Come on out! Cool crafts, an open mike, zines, vegan food, art. Christmas shopping at craft fairs is way cooler than Christmas shopping in a mall.

Sean Zio Reports from the land of the Streeteaters
Missives from expeditions beyond Ottawa - my friend Sean just went up to Montreal for the weekend to hang out with Paula Belina, who's with the Streeteaters zine/collective. Here's what he said:


I have just barely landed from the excitement of Montreal and of the Streeteaters.

The highlight of the weekend was, of course, the reading at Casa Del Popolo on Sun, Nov 20th. The night was called "Who is Sounding," named after an Anne Waldman workshop. The mc/organizer Paula Belina wanted the evening to include all that is 'sounding,' like spoken word, music, and, well ... sound. The concept sounded more dramatic coming from Paula.

The show featured nine performers and had four open mic performers. You would not believe the talent that graced the stage, One artist, Luna Allison, is someone to watch out for. She has a cd coming out in Dec. There were zinesters, spoken word artists, singers, and writers.

The best part about the show was the audience. They were actively listening - nodding and saying things like "Nice" or "Yes" when they heard something that resonated within them. While performing, I truly felt like I was in dialogue with each audience member.

And my performance --- I actually ended up on stage three times. Yes, I am a spotlight queen. First, I joined Paula Belina and Raphy (a oet/musician/artist) in a dance performance of Anne Waldman's "An Open Letter to Jesse James." It was so awesome. We wore these great masks Raphy made that day and we played out both the sound and content of the poem. It was so Montreal .. like, who the hell would take a contemporary dance performance to a spoken word poem seriously in Ottawa?!?!? lol

Following the intermission, I went on stage again with Paula Belina. I had collaborated with her on one of her poems and we performed it together. The poem was called "The Magic Poem" and that is what it was, magic. At the end of it, Paula got the audience to say, in three sections, "ma" - "gi" - "c." While they were playing out the three syllables, Paula was interspersing phrases like, "You are" -- "Life is" -- "The Day is" --- You would not believe how incredible it felt to hear and to be a part of that.

After the magic performance, I walked up to the mic. I performed "To Julian of Norwich," "Love Your Pain," "A Theory of Angels," and "Come to Gethsemane." I only messed up about two or three times and I was able to improv my way out of each one. Overall, the actual performance went very well. While performing, I feel most comfortable in my skin and Sunday night was no exception.

At the end of the night, I received some great compliments and I sold a chapbook and traded another. Later that night, Paula sincerely complimented me when she said my show was "tight" - meaning well-put together and seamless. I felt validated by her comment.

The best part of it all was that I was paid! I'm a real poet! They even contributed to my bus ticket. I had the time of my life and I made a few bucks. Life cannot get any sweeter than that, for me.

The rest of the weekend was a blur of joy, hanging out with poets and artists and going to great little spots where eccentric people eat vegan food, drink coffee + smoke.

Totally on Spins and Needles
Topic: art events
I finally came to my senses and went to Spins and Needles.

This was voted the Best Arts Event in Ottawa at the last Golden Cherry Awards, and it's deserved. Mostly, in my mind, because of the vibe, the attitude, the idea that art is an inclusive, collective thing, and - most happily for me - that you really shouldn't take it that seriously. Have some freakin fun. Tortured artists get into fewer cool conversations.

The idea is, you go to the basement of the Clock Tower Pub (Bank and Isabella right next to the Queensway), where there is a DJ, a bartender, and literally buckets of random crafty supplies lying around. You grab a table and a drink of your choice, and knit or collage or paint or sew or doodle whatever takes your fancy, while listening to house beats and chatting with a lot of other likeminded people.

I went with my friend Cathy, and luckily the "Craft of the Month" was collage on canvas! They'd provided canvasses, glue, string, buttons, magazines, paper, tissue, cloth, bottle caps, plastic grommets, you name it, and I actually got to work for the first time on a real canvas. I think it may actually have been my first ever collage. (I'm going to be finishing its edges, finding a frame, and hanging it on my living room wall soon - so it actually did turn out!)

We got in a little late and there were few tables open. So we asked a couple sitting at a big table if we could grab a couple of chairs there. They looked a little confused, but shrugged and said yes. We were at the table amassing our collage gear maybe eight minutes when I realized we'd sort of set up at the table with a first date. They hadn't had any clue that there was an event that night. Oops.

But it turned out to be wonderful - for one thing, we got to see what it would be like for a couple of 'straights' to suddenly find themselves in the middle of a freaky Ottawa event like Spins and Needles. The girl, Christina, was delighted; her date was definitely a 'dude's dude' and didn't really know what to make of the whole thing.

"I'm just so amused by this whole thing," she kept saying. "The - vibe - I don't know how to put it, but this is great. I don't think I've smiled this much... maybe ever." He mumbled something, and said, "If you guys get her hooked into this, she'll never pay any attention to me," and we said, "Well, grab some glue!" He didn't take us up on it. She kept looking around her, her face literally alight.

But he did offer a couple of interpretations on the weirdness we were both creating on our canvases - Cathy's involving a lot of strange hellish images and kitschy slogans from Jane magazines, and mine featuring a lot of postcards from Morocco, a giant black-and-white robot, and a recreation of Odysseus's ship. "That's awesome," Christina said, "That's so cool," leaning over to look at where I was gluing the words But before I send you home, you must make a journey over a strip cut from a postcard of the city of Fez. And she kept looking around. "Come on," she told her date. "No matter what, you have to admit, this is going to be memorable. We're going to remember this night for the longest time."

The rest of the room was full of people knitting, creating stunning textile collage, one table full of stencillers, and at least one painter. Brad, from World Beats & Eats, came around with chili chocolate cookies for everyone, because Spins and Needles was celebrating (sort of) having argued their fine for 'illegal postering' down to $90 from $360 (for more on that, check out their website.) They were fantastic. Cathy and I happily snipped and sliced and occasionally got advice from Christina, who turned out to also have some experience with collage herself and gave me tips on glazing my collage when I was done. She also convinced me to include the elephant in the top left corner...

Christina said, "You know, I have to be in the mood before I really create anything..." but we told her to come back for the next one anyway. She was cool. When we left, we shook hands with our inadvertent tablemates, and Christina said, "Thanks, guys, this was the best date I've ever had."

"Yeah, thanks for making this really interesting," her date said. We gave her a picture cut out of a National Geographic, of a rock covered in paleolithic handprints, as a memento.

Next Spins and Needles is, I believe, on December 15th? GO. Make Christmas presents for your friends and family.

Oh, and here's the collage I made:

The Trent U Zine Fair Rocks.
Now Playing: cold rain, Ashley MacIsaac
Topic: craft and zine fairs
I love the Trent U zine fair.

We went down there last weekend - we only knew about it because my friend Steve Curtis is living in Peterborough and found out about it, and got us a table. So we rented a car, and the Zytvelds and I drove down to Peterborough Saturday morning, packing carrots and sandwiches and coffee and all the Dusty Owl books.

I don't know what it was, but this was the best fair we've been to all season. The Trent U OPIRG group helped to organize it, from what I understand, and it was held in Satleir House, which is a beautiful old house reclaimed by the Trent Student's Union. It was small - eight or nine tables, I'd say - but the energy was fantastic, and the traffic was surprisingly high. People seemed genuinely surprised that we'd come all the way down from Ottawa (and we really wouldn't have been there if it hadn't also meant getting to visit Steve, or Kuma, as we have somehow wound up calling him; Kuma is Japanese for 'bear.')

This is also the kind of crowd that runs a Free Market (a room in the basement that just has stuff - if you want to get rid of anything, give it to them, if you need something, come see if they have it, it's all free... what a brilliant idea! I walked away with a rice steamer...) and who provide pasta salad, drinks and desserts to all the vendors at the fair. My hat off and my undying devotion to them.

I'll have to get some pictures up when Cathy gets the film developed. High points were the visual artist kitty-corner from us; the strange post-verbal zine Cathy picked up; and the fact that the fair also included a performance by The Cheshire Smile, a band from Oshawa (I think) who were absolutely stunning. Good, strange, original, totally collective-weird, with a healthy dose of Broken Social Scene going on. And a painter (who was part of the act; he had a shaker, but mostly he was just up there to be working on a painting while they played...) I gave the lead singer my address, so hopefully they'll be sending me a copy of their CD. I really, really hope they do, they were great.

We also got to poke around Peterborough a little, as Kuma took us to Speak Volumes (a great indie bookstore, and I'm not just saying that because they carry our books) and to the record store next door, which was mindboggling, and the Spill, which was the sort of coffee shop we don't have anymore in Ottawa, not since Screaming Mimi's closed anyway. After the fair, we dropped in at the Only, too - the last bastion of smoking in bars, and absolutely wall-to-two-story-wall coated in old photos, beer ads, and paintings... very cool.

And we got to crash on Kuma's couch and head groggily back to Ottawa in the morning. Fun. Chaotic. I was actually glad to see the back of the rental car by the end of the weekend. But absolutely worth it. If they run another of these, we want to be there. The fair was small, but it was clearly full of talented, intelligent people, and the energy was way better than at any of the bigger fairs we've been to this year.