She’s a wilting tomato
A french fried potato
She’s crumpled and crumbled and spent
She lies on her deck
And says what the heck
Here’s what I intend to invent:
A magical fan
That’s my excellent plan!
I will cool myself cooler than cool
And if that doesn’t work
I will spend my last cent
On a cooler than cool backyard pool
Apologies to Lewis Carroll
’Twas votecrack, and the Cheese’d of Skin
Did Grump and Twitter in the night:
All Klimsy’d were his alt-right views,
And Nasty Women gave him fright.
“Beware the Drumpercrock, my girl!
The clod that bite, the maw that’s jabber!
Beware the Orangefaced Turd, and shun
The furious Pussygrabb’r!”
Took Vorpal pen in Tiny hand;
Ponscumm’d Bad Hombres that he sought—
So dozed he with Deplorebull’d fools
And drooled he there in Fuddled Thought.
And, as in pompous glare he stood,
The Drumpercrock, with Eyes of Bulge,
Came whiffling through the Golfcan Yuge,
Miss-spelling as it Grease-ly stomped!
One, two! three! six! Want cheeseburger! he whimpered Zwill,
His Vorpal cellphone insecure!
His SackPence blumph, intellect nil!
He jowls galumphing, “Crooked Hill!”
“And hast thou tamed the Drumpercrock?
Let’s build that wall, my Bigly boy!
O frabjous pee! CovfeeFeeFee!”
He Bannon’ed in his Frittled Sploy.
’Twas horr’bl, and the Cheese’d of Skin
His Putin o’er the grumbll sailed:
Flimsie’d t’were the old white men — SAD! —
And pink pussy tuques prevailed.
Post-script: This open-mic poetry event was a blast. Thanks to the Almanac for the always-groovy space, and to MC extraordinaire Michael Gravel and the Raving Poets Band for bringing the magic. Meanwhile, the Old Trout Puppet Workshop is back in town with its own peculiar version of Jabberwocky at the Roxy, 8529 Gateway Blvd, through Nov. 26. Liz Nicholls sets it up over at her 12th Night blog.
Quartet authors Vivian Hanson, Laurie MacFayden, Billy-Ray Belcourt, Lisa Pasold at the Almanac, Sept. 20, 2017.
Laurie MacFayden reads from Walking Through Turquoise
who would ever believe
looking into your ordinary eyes could stop me from breathing;
that touching your scars could transport me to the stars
who would ever believe two ordinary sets of hands
could cartwheel to the moon and back, and again, and back
then sleep in an ordinary bed
in an ordinary room
under ordinary sheets,
dreaming extraordinary dreams.
often there is panic after love’s reveal:
how to snare it, wrap it? ensure it can’t fly away
listen — you put a ring in my heart
not the kind that encircles a finger;
the kind of sound
a happy bell makes.
who’d have ever thought
this ordinary life
could turn ordinary eyes into happy jars of cherry jam
turn these ordinary lives into sacred trust,
turn you into me
and me into you …
all ordinary
and grateful.
Walking Through Turquoise, Laurie MacFayden’s third book of poetry, continues to explore the secrets and flirtations mined in her previous titles, White Shirt and Kissing Keeps Us Afloat. The sweet, clumsy intricacies of relationships; things you want to shout from rooftops but can’t; that tickle in your gut the first time she calls you honey. MacFayden ponders a one-way trip to Mars, the turmoil of clouds, the majesty of moonstone. ‘How can desire survive the tragedy of human aging?’ she asks, never losing sight of the joyous, wet, throbbing hallelujah. Walking Through Turquoise is a celebration of the glorious, swirling twine that binds us to things of this earth and beyond.
can you be buried in a canoe?
can you paddle on through
and come out the other side?
if the dog jumps out will the vessel tip?
at the bottom of the lake
will your toes find mud or bone?
between the shore and the floating dock,
whose sad, lonely cry swims you home?
— excerpt, red canoe
Published by Frontenac House, Walking Through Turquoise is part of Quartet 2017 which also features A Tincture of Sunlight, Vivian Hansen; The Riparian, Lisa Pasold; and This Wound is a World, Billy-Ray Belcourt.
Calgary launch: Tuesday, Sept. 19, Wordfest space, Memorial Park Library, 7-9 p.m. Author readings and refreshments.
Edmonton launch: Wednesday, Sept. 20, The Almanac, 10351 82 (Whyte) Ave., 7-9 p.m. Author readings and refreshments.
the map of our world has no beginning or end
our cartography tells us not where we’ve been
or where we need to go, merely:
where we are joined is at the chest,
the welcoming corner bone of hip,
the intersection of dusk and constellation
joined by alchemy, spirits of the woods,
by hobo roads and caution stones
— excerpt, world map
‘It was all completely serious, all completely hallucinated, all completely happy’
Beginning July 9, a collection of my paintings, Real Straight Talk About Souls, will be on display at the Woodcroft branch of Edmonton Public Library.
The exhibit is part of a larger, ongoing body of work in which the titles of the paintings are borrowed from beat poet Jack Kerouac’s writings — mostly from Dharma Bums and On The Road.
The exhibition’s title is from On The Road:
The show will be on display through October 2017. Woodcroft library is located just north of Westmount Shopping Centre at 13420 114 Ave.
‘Ma-Wink fallopian virgin warm stars reflecting on the outer channel fluid belly waters’
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I’m honoured to be among the writers on this year’s Alberta Literary Awards shortlist. My short story Haircut
(published in Alberta Views) is a finalist for the Howard O’Hagan Award. Winners will be announced at the Alberta Literary Awards Gala
on June 10 in the Lister Centre at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
The Writers Guild of Alberta is presenting two readings featuring shortlisted authors:
An Afternoon with the Authors, Sunday, May 28, at 2 pm at Audreys Books, 10702 – Jasper Ave., Edmonton; and An Evening with the Authors, Wednesday, May 24, at 7 pm at Shelf Life Books, 1302 – 4th Street SW, Calgary.
Here is the complete list of finalists:
R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature (Picture Books)
James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction
Howard O’Hagan Award for Short Story
Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry
Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Award
Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama
Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction
Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction
Six area writers have been invited to pen letters to their younger selves, whether as children or as young adults, and share these aloud with the audience, followed by a Q & A session. The event includes a silent auction, cash bar, and desserts from Cafe Reinette donated by The Writers’ Union of Canada. Proceeds go to our kids camps and sponsoring youth in financial need from Edmonton and rural Alberta to attend.
Marilyn Dumont, Minister Faust, Mieko Ouchi, Thomas Trofimuk, Thomas Wharton and Laurie MacFayden are the featured literati letter writers and presenters. They’ll have copies of their books available for purchase.
Tickets are available at the door for $25.
spatherdab 