Howlings from the Wall

responding to questions about our format, there are two types, the poster version and the zine. wonderful covers developed as a way to spice up the zines being mailed out to subscribers. despite these fancy accoutrements, graffito's purpose is to create a format which allows anyone not only poets, to read the writings of the poets that grace our poster. in keeping with this philosophy, a third of our posters are posted around the university of ottawa, bars, cafés, bookstores, and libraries from sandy hill to billings bridge. wannabe affectations aside, this is a poster. put it on a wall!

the united states of poetry, mercury records/mouth almighty records at a store near you. price $17.99 approx.

this is a ground-breaking cd. the sheer number of significant or well known poets such as: amiri baraka, czeslaw milosz, leonard cohen and the 20th century icon allen ginsberg, will attest to the calibre of this project.. it was released on the heels of its' sister project the five part pbs tv series, the united states of poetry, which received rave reviews in vibe, the village voice, and the new york times to name a few. surely this indicates the resurrection of poetry.

what makes the cd, is the infectious quality of the performances. the positive vibes kept me listening over and over. leonard cohen's democracy, emily xyz is definitely someone i'd like to hear read. i have visions of her doin' commercials for merrill lynch, met life, prudential or possibly a new coke commercial. tracie morris' word play rap poetry was a thoughtful, suggesting that the girl hanging with her boyz' on the corner, is no different than the girl driving in her boyfriends/husbands lexus and his 50,000 job. the haunting poem by joseph brodsky is a real gem, but at times is overshadowed by its musical accompaniment. one of the most touching poems is by 70 year old besmilr brigham who for the greatest part of her lifetime lived in pace mississippi, winner of a nea fellowship and former student of robert duncan. what can i say about lou reed, other than rock on man.

the cd does have its problems the first and most notable being its music. i have nothing against musical accompaniment, but some of the pieces didn't seem compatible with the poems, also the level of volume relative to the reader was just too loud, sometimes drowning out the poems. the other problem i had with this cd had to do with its production. there was too much background hissing during the readings of the poets. i wonder if boyz II men or winston marsyllis, would tolerate this? the cd also focuses on older more established poets, and that's ok as long as new and emerging talent are given the same opportunity. i expected to find in the words to these poems in the liner notes as this is the norm for a music cd, also with the use of musical accompaniment, a definitely a must on the next cd.

poetry for many decades seems to have been asleep. the fact that this cd and its' sister project exists, demonstrates that writing, reading and performing poetry is once again part of the fabric of our society. there are hundreds of good reasons to buy this cd, but i'll give you one. this is the best anthology of poetry on cd i've ever heard and worth the dollars and cents. call ahead though, so far the two stores i've checked-out are sold out.

road trip 3, by p.j. flaming, published by broken jaw press, box 596 stn. a, fredericton nb e3b 5a6 canada. price $3.95

this is a chapbook leaves little hidden. road trip 3 is out there and p.j. flaming gives no quarter when baring herself or her soul. this chapbook travels all the roads; from co-dependence to free-spirited running. flaming opens with a strong piece called lost cars miles & loves which is sort-of a categorizing of a relationship in stages of her partners cars, which she sums up in the last line of the first stanza "i've spent my whole life looking for you and your cars." in only show in town there's a desperate sense of trying to forget, but that the memories consume even her present. flaming ends the poem with a lament for what can't be forgotten.. "the body has a memory / that only love can deny / that no one can deny that no one can deny / for s/he's a jolly good fellow." this is certainly one of the strongest chapbooks in image and language that i've read this year. the emotions are laid open like a wound, first to air, heal and maybe even scar somewhat. take a trip on her blazing highway journey.

p.j. flaming will be appearing may 25, with joe blades, for the tree reading series, @ sawgallery 67 nicholas st. for info call rob mclennan at 235-2783.

Have you seen the writing on the wall

---

Managing Editor: b stephen harding, Editor: Robert Craig, Consulting Editor: Seymour Mayne, Art Consultant: Kane Faucher
Guest Editor: Tamara Fairchild
Home | Cover | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4