The Hermit Poet

Just back from attending and participating in a poetry reading in downtown Vancouver sponsored by SFU’s Writing program. A nice bunch of writers whose work seems competent, although at times somewhat “workshop-ish” – ie. a little clunky in places, as if a draft or two away from completion. Some needed more focus. Others were over fixated on the apparatus of the narrative and did not deliver as compellingly on style.

A couple of readers stood out for me — unfortunately I failed to note their names. The first was an slightly-older-than-middle-aged woman who I suspect was a visiting faculty person or perhaps a successful alum of the program — she read a rather entertaining episode from her memoir concerning her “catastrophic wedding.” Engaging, well-written, and very funny though somewhat poignant. I liked it quite a bit. The other writer was the last reader on the program before the open mic — again, didn’t catch the name, but he read a rather solid excerpt from a novel about a French-Canadian boy growing up on the prairie. He also had a fantastic reading voice — comfortable and confident — the kind that makes it easy for an audience to be pulled right into to story without distraction.

I read as part of the open mic — actually, I was the only person on the open mic list. I chose four poems: “Credo,” “First Poem,” and two from the “Letters to the Unknown Wife” series. All were well-received. I ended up chatting with two writers afterward about the surviving post-MFA, applying for programs in the U.S., publishing work in the U.S. market, and how to make a living as a writer. I enjoyed the good conversation and the reminder that I’m not alone out there — other Canadian writers who have studied abroad and returned to Canada are facing the same struggles of isolation and displacement. It is hard to fit back in to a culture and country you have been away from for so long.

There’s a great irony, as some of my old MFA cronies pointed out, in the fact that my manuscript was based around the idea of exile — and the odd thing is that I feel more of an exile now than when I lived in the US.

In any case, look forward to the next few days of posts. I’ll be back on the clock writing useful posts about poetry and writing — even though my class on How to Write a Love Poem was cancelled, I feel like the information and notes are worth sharing — especially just before V-Day.

Oh, and in other news, I travelled out to Kitsalano last night for a Scrabble match and won handily at 386 vs 294. I had gambled at one point and passed a turn in order to play “beliefs” — a spot conveniently opened up the following turn. 90 points for the word. Not bad for a game that started with a handful of obscure consonants and one vowel. I opened with “wiz” and did not draw a single “r” or “t” the entire game. I did feel quite proud about expandin “wize” into “wizen” and later into “wizened” — talk about getting the most out of a “z” — well, almost the most — I never had the opportunity to add the “un” to the front 🙂 My opponent had a great play with “boytoy” on a triple word score. The game appropriately ended with “hoser” — hmmm.. it’s a “Welcome Home Neil” sort of play.