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Art & Books

Poetic pugilism

The poets at my table in the dimly lit Brigantine Room at Harbourfront Centre are discussing a friend’s facebook posting that called tonight’s NOW sponsored poetry contest a “bloodsport.”

It’s true that the official name of the contest is “The Battle of the Bards.” But these poets think their friend is taking the term “battle” a little too literally. It’s really a metaphor, I guess.

They agree that the event is mostly for fun and is a good opportunity for all the competing poets (who are selected at random as long as they meet a certain publishing criteria) to get some exposure. Master of Ceremonies, and winner of the first annual bard battle, Jacob Mcarthur Mooney confirms this, telling me both earnestly though a little tongue and cheek that “the rumours of competitiveness have been greatly exaggerated.”

Yet the stakes are nothing to scoff at. The winner, selected by three person judging panel made up of Poet Laureate of Toronto Dionne Brand, Authors at Harbourfront Centre Director Geoffrey Taylor and Authors at Harbourfront Centre Artistic Associate Jen Tindall, gets a reading spot at a literary event called, The International Festival of Authors – you might have heard of it, as well as an ad for their book in NOW.

The poets at my table also confess that the main reason they have come, despite not putting too much stock in the competition aspect, is to support their friend, battling bard, Rocco de Giacomo. This seems like a good time to confess that Rocco is a friend of mine as well (and it’s no coincidence I too am sitting on this particular table), something that becomes pretty obvious to several people in the room when Rocco reads a humorous poem that is addressed to me and, you could say, is about our friendship. I am both embarrassed and, well, touched that he chose to do this particular poem during the five minute allowance each poet is given.

Rocco is followed by the most seasoned writer of the evening (the poets read in alphabetical order) Governor General award winner Kildare Dobbs, who is helped on stage by his wife, visual artist Linda Kooluris Dobbs . Rocco’s publisher and friend, Luciano Iacobelli whispers to me that he thinks it’s disrespectful to ask such established poets to compete like this for a spot at the Authors Festival, as opposed to just being invited.

As Dobbs, after his reading, is helped down the few steps leading from the stage, I find myself thinking he is deserving of more than a five minute reading spot, competing against mostly much younger and less established poets. (though the festival also invites a few poets, regardless of the outcome of the competition, so, either way, he may be a part of it after all)

Walking with his cane towards his seat, Dobbs proclaims “old age is not for sissies,” much to the delight of the crowd.

During the break I have a very pleasant conversation with Linda (Dobbs’s wife), who appreciates how Authors at Harbourfront (which puts on the Authors Festival) is spot-lighting poetry, but acknowledges that she thinks her husband has been deserving of an invite to the festival for some time.

I ask competing poet Ronna Bloom, a rather established poet in her own right, as well as a trained psycho-therapist, if she feels she ought to have been invited to the festival, as opposed to having to compete. She thinks it over as only a therapist can, and admits she would love to be invited, but doesn’t feel entitled to it. She seems to be enjoying the opportunity to share her work, as well as appreciating hearing the work of her peers. Perhaps, I ought to take a page from her book. I resign myself to just listening to the poems for the poetry’s sake and worrying about the politics of poetry another time.

And there are truly some amazing poems to hear. Some personal favourites in the second half of the night for me were a poem about splinters (you could say) by Robyn Sarah and a poem about light or was it about the perception of light or was it about glass? by Souvankham Thammavongsa. Of course, like all good poems, they were, in actuality, about life and have left me, still, pondering their images and meanings.

The winner of the contest is yet to be announced and I really have no idea who it will be, or if it matters. Perhaps, with a few sessions with Ronna, I might just say, it doesn’t matter who won, because the winner was poetry itself. But I’m not there yet. When I look at what authors appear mostly at the big festivals (hint: not poets) or what books get mostly reviewed in The Globe and Mail, or in this publication for that matter (hint: not poetry), the best I can do is say that poetry is a very dignified loser. Though maybe that is a kind of winning?

Jacob Scheier is the author of the poetry collection, More to Keep us Warm (ECW Press), which won the 2008 Governor General’s Award.

UPDATE: Gary Barwin and David Groulx have been announced as co-winners. AUTHORS has also invited poets to read at IFOA: Ruth Roach Pierson (Contrary), Souvankham Thammavongsa (Found) and Zachariah Wells (Track & Trace).

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