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FOUNDER STAN BURFIELD TO FEATURE JUNE 7TH

5/18/2017

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The featured poet at the June 7th, 2017 London Open Mic will be the organization’s founder and organizer Stan Burfield. The June event is the last of his tenure, the culmination of five seasons of work. He will be passing the torch to co-organizers Mary Dowds and Kevin Heslop. Before his featured reading, he will be introduced by his wife Linda. 
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BURFIELD’S BIO:

I was raised on a small farm in central Alberta. My first ambition, a very serious one, was to live alone in a log cabin as a trapper. That changed to farmer, then biologist, then journalist, then florist.


In Calgary, I studied biology, then journalism. Amongst numerous more-nondescript jobs, I was for two years a reporter.

Then, over a four-year period, I went on some extremely long, arduous adventures by foot, canoe and bicycle, hoping they would break me out of my life-long shyness and anxiety. No such luck. So, having read that poetry was a possible route into the subconscious, which I assumed was the home of my anxiety, I took a poetry anthology out into a closed provincial park near St. John’s, Newfoundland. For a month and a half, I read, wrote and memorized poetry until it floated across the sky in my dreams. But it did nothing for my anxiety.

In 1987, I married Linda, a flower designer, and we opened and ran a flower shop in Vancouver for nineteen years.
When we sold the shop and semi-retired, we moved to London, Ontario in 2008 to be near our children and grandchildren.

With more time on my hands, I revved up my poetry writing, and, as a form of shyness therapy, began attending Ron Stewart's excellent poetry workshop. When I got used to that, the next logical step in the direction of my fear was to find a place to read to an audience. Since there was no open mic for regular “page poets” in London then, I decided I would have to organize one. In doing so, the constant social contacts that were necessary turned out to be just the therapy I needed. The stress nearly killed me but I eventually got used to it, and by the fifth season had lost most of my shyness. After 62 years, I felt like I was stepping through a door into a completely new life.

In the process, my ability to write decent poetry has dramatically improved. And I have a place to read it!

RECOGNITION: 

• The 2014 Ted Plantos Memorial Award from The Ontario Poetry Society.
• 2nd Prize in the 2014 Poetry London Poetry Contest.



Concerning our Glorious Future

As I lift the spoon
from this morning’s coffee
I feel the same long pull of time
that my father did
my mother
that their parents did and theirs
a chain rattling down
into the well so far
I cannot imagine.
And up, out of that darkness
into this present,
all of it--
the slow ages of our reptilian forebears,
our fearful hominid ancestors,
the entire charging ascent of Man--
comes to a juddering halt
at this drop of coffee
falling
from this
spoon.


We are stranded here
immovable
at the endpoint
of time, banging
our heads
on the ceiling.


THE EVENT

WHERE: Mykonos Restaurant at 572 Adelaide St. North, London, Ontario. The restaurant has a large, covered terrace just behind the main restaurant, which comfortably holds 60 poetry lovers. Mediterranean food and drinks are available. Overflow parking is available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.

WHEN: June 7th, 2017. Poetry begins at 7 pm. Come anytime before that and place your order.

THE FEATURED POET: Stan Burfield opens the event at 7:00, followed by a Q&A.

OPEN MIC: Following the featured poet, 15 open mic poets will read until 9:30 at the latest, with an intermission at about 8:00. Each poet has five minutes (which is about two good pages of poetry, but it should be timed at home). Sign up on the reader`s list, which is on the book table at the back. It's first come, first served.

COVER: Pay What You Can (in jar on back table, or use Donate Button on website Donate Page). Donations are our only source of income to cover expenses.

RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who donates at the event receives a ticket for a raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by The Ontario Poetry Society.





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JASON DICKSON features at our May 3rd London Open Mic

4/13/2017

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London Open Mic will feature well-known local writer, poet and novelist Jason Dickson at its May, 2017 event, the second-last of its 5th season.

Jason Dickson is a writer and bookseller from London, Ontario. He has three titles published by BookThug. His latest book (co-authored with Vanessa Brown) London Culture: 150 Moments will be published by Biblioasis this June. His writing has appeared in Quill and Quire, Geist, Maine Antiques Digest, Kotaku, Rue Morgue, Canadian Notes and Queries, Fine Books and Collections, and Open Letter. He also co-owns with Vanessa the antiquarian bookstore Brown & Dickson located on Richmond Street.


It is Easy to Get Lost Near the Thames

It is easy to get lost near the Thames
as it sneaks through the tufts of forests
appearing every acre, near farms
with their own wildness, settlement

and entrapments.

but to approach it from the fields,
for a moment, and reach a clearing,
as They never enter the water,

often baptized and clean.

On a moonlit evening, the folk
lining the road with their wagons
watching, as each took their turn

falling in the water, born in the water
learning that the river, not their good farm
is the safest place to be.


                 From The Demon Book -- Jason Dickson

​

THE EVENT

WHERE: Mykonos Restaurant at 572 Adelaide St. North, London, Ontario. The restaurant has a large, covered terrace just behind the main restaurant, which comfortably holds 60 poetry lovers. Mediterranean food and drinks are available. Overflow parking is available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.

WHEN: May 3rd, 2017. Poetry begins at 7 pm. Come anytime before that and place your order.

THE FEATURED POET: Jason Dickson opens the event at 7:00, followed by a Q&A.

OPEN MIC: Following the featured poet, 15 open mic poets will read until 9:30 at the latest, with an intermission at about 8:00. Each poet has five minutes (which is about two good pages of poetry, but it should be timed at home). Sign up on the reader`s list, which is on the book table at the back. It's first come, first served.

COVER: Pay What You Can (in jar on back table, or use Donate Button on website Donate Page). Donations are our only source of income to cover expenses.

RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who donates at the event receives a ticket for a raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by The Ontario Poetry Society.



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JAMES DEAHL and NORMA WEST LINDER feature at our April 5th, 2017 reading

3/13/2017

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​London Open Mic is proud to feature two of Southwest Ontario's poetry legends at our National Poetry Month reading, April 5th at Mykonos Restaurant.

Poet/publisher JAMES DEAHL was born in Pittsburgh (USA) in 1945, and grew up in that city as well as in and around the Laurel Highlands region of the Appalachian Mountains. He moved to Canada in 1970 and holds dual American/Canadian citizenship. Deahl is best know for his 1987 collaboration with Milton Acorn, A Stand of Jackpine. He is the author of twenty-six literary titles, the latest being: To Be With A Woman (Lummox Press, 2016), Landscapes (Cyclamens and Swords, 2016) and Unbroken Lines (Lummox Press, 2015).

A cycle of his poems is the focus of a one-hour TV special, Under the Watchful Eye (Silver Falls Video Productions, 1993). The audiotape of Under the Watchful Eye was released by Broken Jaw Press in September, 1995. These have been reissued on CD and DVD by Silver Falls.

Tasting The Winter Grapes (Envoi Poets Publications, 1995) won the Award of Excellence from the Hamilton & Region Arts Council. In 2001 Deahl was presented with the Charles Olson Award for Achievements in Poetry. His When Rivers Speak (Unfinished Monument Press, 2001) won the Ramada Plaza Hotel Award. Most recently, Deahl won the 2013 Monica Ladell Award.

In addition to his writing, he has taught creative writing and Canadian literature at the high school, college, and university levels. He no longer teaches, and for the past dozen years has mostly been a full-time writer/editor/translator. As a critic and literary historian, Deahl is the leading Acornic scholar. He’s a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada.
Poet/novelist/educator NORMA WEST LINDER was born in Toronto, spent her childhood on Manitoulin Island, and teenage years in Muskoka. She is a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada, PEN, The Ontario Poetry Society, The Canadian Federation of Poets, WIT (Writers in Transition), and Past President of the Sarnia Branch of the Canadian Authors Assoc. Linder is the author of 6 novels, 15 collections of poetry, a memoir of Manitoulin Island, two children’s books, and a biography of Pauline McGibbon. For 24 years she was on the faculty of Lambton College in Sarnia, teaching English and Creative Writing. For 7 years she wrote a monthly column for the Sarnia Observer, and she is a regular contributor to “Daytripping in Southern Ontario”. Her short stories have been published internationally and broadcast on the CBC. Her poetry has been published in Fiddlehead, White Wall Review, Room of One’s Own, Quills, Toward the Light, Prairie Journal, FreeFall Magazine, Mobius, and other periodicals. In 2006 she compiled and edited Enchanted Crossroads for The Ontario Poetry Society. Her latest publications are collections of poems entitled Two Paths Through The Seasons and Adder’s-tongues. She has two daughters and a son.

THE EVENT

WHERE: Mykonos Restaurant at 572 Adelaide St. North, London, Ontario. The restaurant has a large, covered terrace just behind the main restaurant, which comfortably holds 60 poetry lovers. Mediterranean food and drinks are available. Overflow parking is available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.
WHEN: April 5th, 2017. Poetry begins at 7 pm. Come anytime before that and place your order.

THE FEATURED POETS: James Deahl and Norma West Linder open the event at 7:00, followed by a Q&A.

OPEN MIC: Following the featured poet, 15 open mic poets will read until 9:30 at the latest, with an intermission at about 8:00. Each poet has five minutes (which is about two good pages of poetry, but it should be timed at home). Sign up on the reader`s list, which is on the book table at the back. It's first come, first served.

COVER: Pay What You Can (in jar on back table, or use Donate Button on website Donate Page). Donations are our only source of income to cover expenses.

RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who donates at the event receives a ticket for a raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by The Ontario Poetry Society.

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Andy Verboom features at the March 1st, 2017 London Open Mic.

2/11/2017

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Andy Verboom is from subrural Nova Scotia and currently lives in London, ON, where he organizes Couplets, a collaborative poetry reading series, and edits Word Hoard, a journal of creative and academic dialogues. His poetry has won the Descant/Winston Collins Prize for Best Canadian Poem, has been shortlisted for Arc’s Poem of the Year, and has recently appeared in Vallum, The Puritan, Arc Poetry Magazine, Contemporary Verse 2, and BafterC. He is the author of Tower (Anstruther Press, 2016) and co-author (with David Huebert) of Full Mondegreens, a winner of the Frog Hollow Press Chapbook Contest (2016).

THE EVENT

WHERE: Mykonos Restaurant at 572 Adelaide St. North, London, Ontario. The restaurant has a large, covered terrace just behind the main restaurant, which comfortably holds 60 poetry lovers. Mediterranean food and drinks are available. Overflow parking is available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.

WHEN: March 1st, 2017. Poetry begins at 7 pm. Come anytime before that and place your order.

THE FEATURED POET: Andy Verboom opens the event at 7:00, followed by a Q&A.

OPEN MIC: Following the featured poet, 15 open mic poets will read until 9:30 at the latest, with an intermission at about 8:00. Each poet has five minutes (which is about two good pages of poetry, but it should be timed at home). Sign up on the reader`s list, which is on the book table at the back. It's first come, first served.

COVER: Pay What You Can (in jar on back table, or use Donate Button on website Donate Page). Donations are our only source of income to cover expenses.

RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who donates at the event receives a ticket for a raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by The Ontario Poetry Society.

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Ron Stewart features Feb. 1st, 2017

1/12/2017

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London poet and workshop leader Ron Stewart is being honoured Feb. 1st for his longstanding support for poets and poetry in London, and for supplying the impetus for the creation of London Open Mic Poetry five seasons ago. Over the years, he has inspired many poets to write and keep writing by creating an inviting home in which poetry could be shared, learning take place, and creation flourish. The London poetry scene is in his debt. (Scroll down for bio.) 

THE EVENT
​

WHERE: Mykonos Restaurant at 572 Adelaide St. North, London, Ontario. The restaurant has a large, covered terrace just behind the main restaurant, which comfortably holds 60 poetry lovers. Mediterranean food and drinks are available. Overflow parking is available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.

WHEN: Feb. 1st, 2017. Poetry begins at 7 pm. Come anytime before that and place your order.

THE FEATURED POET: Ron Stewart opens the event at 7:00, followed by a Q&A.

OPEN MIC: Following the featured poet, 15 open mic poets will read until 9:30 at the latest, with an intermission at about 8:00. Each poet has five minutes (which is about two good pages of poetry, but it should be timed at home). Sign up on the reader`s list, which is on the book table at the back. It's first come, first served.

COVER: Pay What You Can (in jar on back table, or use Donate Button on website Donate Page). Donations are our only source of income to cover expenses.

RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who donates at the event receives a ticket for a raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by The Ontario Poetry Society.

BIO: Ron Stewart started writing poetry shortly after a crash in Northern Ontario took the lives of three friends (two pilots and a flight attendant, Ron’s co- workers). When asked why he turned to poetry, he replied that both careers are two syllable words that start with p and end with t, and, as a person with very little imagination, he thought it appropriate. Ron has been published in journals, anthologies and online. One of his poems “Sunset” was carved in stone on the tombstone of a dear departed friend. His “A Boy Growing up in London” poem was studied in an English class in Sweden. He has read in library basements, coffee shops, churches, museums, art galleries and bars. Both as a performer and judge, Ron has participated in slam poetry events, and has judged the Poetry in Voice high school competitions for the past five years. Ron created and ran a poetry workshop in Landon Library for five years before retiring to pursue other challenges. In 2006, he won the Great Blue Heron Poetry Award and in 2010, the poetry division of the Coffee Shop Authors competition.

But most of Ron’s life has existed in a very different sphere than that of poetry.

Ron Stewart graduated from Royal Military College with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in 1966 specializing in Aeronautical Engineering (aircraft engines). He underwent pilot training in Manitoba and received his RCAF wings in 1967. His first flying job in the Airforce was as an instructor on the DeHavilland Chipmunk. During that tour he alternated between flight and ground school instructor positions. It was here that he authored his first book (a flight training manual). Next was the C130 Hercules squadron based in Namao (Edmonton, Alberta). Here he flew worldwide transport and tactical missions in probably the best and most versatile aircraft ever built. On Herc missions, Ron got to see the world as very few others ever will. Some of the places his job took him to were Canadian Forces Base Alert, Thule and Sondresom Greenland, Reykjavik and Keflavik Iceland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Cypress, Hawaii, Wake Is, Guam, Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, Japan, Alaska and the Yukon and Northwest Territories. He also accompanied The Queen, Prince Phillip and Prince Charles on three separate Royal tours.

At the end of his Hercules tour Ron retired from the Airforce and joined Aircraft Accident Division of Transport Canada. As part of his training to become an aircraft accident investigator Ron studied at USC in Los Angeles, the University of Arizona in Tempe, Az and the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

As an aircraft accident investigator, Ron participated in over 200 investigations, ranging from ultralight sport airplanes to large jet transport aircraft as well as many helicopter accidents. He didn’t stop flying here either, but kept up his pilot skills on the fleet of Transport Canada aircraft. He also learned to fly helicopters during this time. In the final two years of his Transport Canada career Ron became the Regional Aviation Safety Officer for Western Canada. In this capacity, Ron became responsible for flight safety promotion for the region – basically all of Alberta, the Yukon and the Western half of the North West Territories. This job entailed promoting flight safety through presentations, flight safety seminars, meetings, inspections and safety analyses. It was here he became comfortable in front of an audience. In 1979 Ron joined Great Lakes Airlines and flew for the many iterations of that airline until retiring in 2007 when the airline was known as Jazz.

Presently, Ron is enjoying life in Kilworth with his best friend, his wife for 50 years Janet, their dog Calliope and cat Penelope. He volunteers at Country Terrace nursing home and Hospice London with his dog as part of the St John Ambulance Therapy Dog program. He spent the last 2 years writing grant proposals and fundraising for an addition at his church. This half million dollar project was completed this past summer.


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DAVID STONES FEATURES DEC. 7TH

11/21/2016

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David Stones, a well-known regional poet who has read to acclaim in many of our open mics, will feature at the Dec. 7th London Open Mic.

A poet and spoken word performance artist, David lives in Toronto and maintains a secondary residence in Stratford, Ontario. Since semi-retiring from senior executive and CEO roles in the marketing/ communications and business sectors, David now devotes his creative energy to the craft of creating and performing “little islands of grace” and what he jokingly calls “small acts of poetry to change lives.”

David Stones published his first book of poetry, Infinite Sequels, in 2013, and his one-man show of the same name followed soon after. Acclaimed by audiences and described as “mesmerizing,” “riveting” and “not to be missed,” David has performed Infinite Sequels on stages throughout southern Ontario, from Toronto’s Arts & Letters Club to a recent stint at Stratford’s 2015 SpringWorks Festival. Published in various poetry journals since his student days at the University of Toronto, David also performs regularly at poetry events throughout the GTA and southwestern Ontario. In 2017 he will be the Anchor Poet as part of London’s Couplets series, as well as Feature Poet at several events including Bay Street’s Words & Music Salon. David has recently completed his second book of poetry, Such A Frail Book Of Endings, as well as a unique poetry cycle, 141 Imitations Of Love….. Follow David and his blog @ www.DavidStonesPoet.com .

THE EVENT

WHERE: Mykonos Restaurant at 572 Adelaide St. North, London, Ontario. The restaurant has a large, covered terrace just behind the main restaurant, which comfortably holds 60 poetry lovers. Mediterranean food and drinks are available. The terrace is open to the parking lot behind. Overflow parking is available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.

THE FEATURED POET: David Stones opens the event with a reading that begins at 7:00, followed by a Q&A.

OPEN MIC: Following the featured poet, 15 open-mic poets will read until 9:30 at the latest, with an intermission at about 8:00. Each poet has five minutes (which is about two good pages of poetry, but it should be timed at home). Sign up on the reader`s list, which is on the book table at the back. It's first come, first served.

COVER: Pay What You Can (in jar on back table, or use Donate Button on website Donate Page). Donations are our only source of income to cover expenses.

RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who donates at the event receives a ticket for a raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by The Ontario Poetry Society.

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DON GUTTERIDGE to launch his latest collection at Nov. open mic.

10/18/2016

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London Open Mic Poetry is proud to host London’s most well-known member of the Canadian literary scene, Don Gutteridge. The Nov. 2nd London Open Mic will launch Gutteridge’s 20th book of poetry, "Inundations", published by Hidden Brook Press: Brighton, 2016.

Gutteridge is the author of more than fifty books, including poetry, fiction and scholarly works in educational theory and practice. 
​
In 1972 he won the President’s Medal at The University of Western Ontario for his poem "Death At Quebec". Among his best-known poems are the mythic tetralogy: Riel: A Poem For Voices, Coppermine: The Quest For North, Borderlands, and Tecumseh.

Gutteridge is best known across Canada for his historical fiction. He has also recently produced a series of mystery novels, The Marc Edwards Mysteries.

Gutteridge was born in Sarnia, Ontario in 1937, and was raised in the nearby village of Point Edward, Ontario. His high schooling took place in Sarnia and Chatham, Ontario. He attended the University of Western Ontario (UWO), where he graduated with a BA Honours in English in 1960. Gutteridge then taught high school English for seven years before joining the Faculty of Education at UWO in 1969. He is currently Professor Emeritus. He lives in London, Ontario with his wife Anne. He has two children, John and Kate, and six grandchildren.
​
THE EVENT

WHERE: Mykonos Restaurant at 572 Adelaide St. North, London, Ontario. The restaurant has a large, covered terrace just behind the main restaurant, which comfortably holds 60 poetry lovers. Mediterranean food and drinks are available. The terrace is open to the parking lot behind. Overflow parking is available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.

THE FEATURED POET: Don Gutteridge opens the event with a reading that begins at 7:00, followed by a Q&A.

OPEN MIC: Following the featured poet, 15 open-mic poets will read until 9:30 at the latest, with an intermission at about 8:00. Each poet has five minutes (which is about two good pages of poetry, but it should be timed at home). Sign up on the reader`s list, which is on the book table at the back. It's first come, first served.

COVER: Pay What You Can (in jar on back table, or use Donate Button on website Donate Page). Donations are our only source of income to cover expenses.

RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who donates at the event receives a ticket for a raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by The Ontario Poetry Society.N MIC

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DAVID HUEBERT OPENS SEASON 5.

9/14/2016

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London Open Mic Poetry's fifth season opens Oct. 5th with featured poet David Huebert, an exciting, lively poet who has read to acclaim at many of our past open mics.

A child of Halifax, Nova Scotia, David Huebert came to London three years ago to begin his PhD in English at Western University. A writer of poetry, fiction, and critical prose, David published his first poetry collection--We Are No Longer The Smart Kids In Class--with Guernica Editions in 2015. In 2016, his story, "Enigma," won the CBC Short Story Prize. David has published creative work in journals such as Event, CV2, Matrix, The Antigonish Review, Prairie Fire, and The Puritan, where you can read his work online for free. He is currently completing a short fiction collection called Peninsula Sinking and a second poetry book called Alkaline Purr.

THE EVENT

WHERE: Mykonos Restaurant at 572 Adelaide St. North, London, Ontario. The restaurant has a large, covered terrace just behind the main restaurant, which comfortably holds 60 poetry lovers. Mediterranean food and drinks are available. The terrace is open to the parking lot behind. Overflow parking is available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.

THE FEATURED POET: David Huebert opens the event with a reading that begins at 7:00, followed by a Q&A.

OPEN MIC: Following the featured poet, 15 open mic poets will read until 9:30 at the latest, with an intermission at about 8:00. Each poet has five minutes (which is about two good pages of poetry, but it should be timed at home). Sign up on the reader`s list, which is on the book table at the back. It's first come, first served.

COVER: Pay What You Can (in jar on back table, or use Donate Button on website Donate Page). Donations are our only source of income to cover expenses.

RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who donates at the event receives a ticket for a raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by The Ontario Poetry Society.

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Lynn Tait, our June 1st featured poet

5/17/2016

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Lynn Tait of Sarnia, one of the most entertaining readers of all our regional poets, will feature at London Open Mic's last event of Season Four, on June 1st, 2016.

Tait has been writing poetry for over 40 years. She was first published in a literary magazine when she was 15, but has not publically referred to herself as a poet until this last decade. Although most of her poetry is free verse, she does like to work with other forms, especially erasure and glosa.

Tait is a member of The League of Canadian Poets and The Ontario Poetry Society (TOPS). Her poetry has been published in numerous literary journals in Canada and the U.S., including the Windsor Review, Quills, Contemporary Verse 2, and in over 70 anthologies including Under the Mulberry Tree, published by Quattro Books and edited by James Deahl. She published a chapbook “Breaking Away” in 2002, a book: Encompass I in 2013 (with four other poets), and has currently completed two full-length poetry manuscripts.

Tait has served as an editor/compiler for a number of anthologies for The Ontario Poetry Society. 

She is also an award-winning photographer. Her photos have graced the covers of a number of poetry anthologies. 
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THE EVENT

WHERE: The Mykonos Restaurant at 572 Adelaide St. North, London, Ontario. The restaurant has a large, enclosed terrace just behind the main restaurant, which comfortably holds 60 poetry lovers. Mediterranean food and drinks are available. The terrace is open to the parking lot behind. Overflow parking is available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.

WHEN: Wednesday, June 1st, 2016. Doors: 5:30 to 6:30 (it's a restaurant.) Event begins at 7:00

THE FEATURE: Lynn Tait will read for 20 minutes, followed by a Question and Answer session.

OPEN MIC: Following the feature, 15 open mic poets will read, for a maximum of five minutes each (which is about two good pages of poetry, but it should be timed at home). Sign up on the reader's list on the book table at the back. It's first come, first served.

COVER: Pay What You Can (in jar on back table, or use Donate Button on website Donate Page). Your contributions are our only source of income to cover expenses.

RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who pays what cover they can at the event receives a ticket for the raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by The Ontario Poetry Society.

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May 4 at London Open Mic:  Indigenous Poetry featuring Charmaine E. Elijah, David D. Plain, and Gloria Alvernaz Mulcahy 

4/19/2016

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Charmaine E. Elijah is a poet and scholar from the Oneida of the Thames. She studied Aboriginal Studies at the University of Toronto and is currently at Western University where she studies Anishinabbe, the original languages and cultures of the Great Lakes area.
 



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​David D. Plain is a member of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation (Ojibwa) and a grandson of Chief On The Plain. He holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Tyndale University College and Seminary, Toronto, Canada. Always a lover of history, he has devoted much time and effort to his family's genealogy and how it has affected the history of the Ahnishenahbek of Aamjiwnaang. David has published four titles through Trafford Publishing. One title, "The Plains of Aamjiwnaang" won a Golden Scribe Award for excellence in the non-fiction category in 2008 and it was also a Finalist in the 2014 Eric Hoffer Awards.

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​Gloria Alvernaz Mulcahy is of Tsalagi Aniyunwiya ancestry and was born in the Monterrey Bay area on the Pacific coast. She became a member of the League of Canadian Poets after her first book of poetry - Songs that Untune the Sky. She has a PhD from the University of Maryland, and acted as both Chair of the Department of Psychology and Curator of the Creativity Centre at King's College, Western University.

Alvernaz Mulcahy's most recent book, Borderlands & Bloodlines, is focused on her indigenous roots-exploring how displacements and re-locations become journeys of necessity. The poems reflect on all our relations where cultures/races and classes touch edges occupying land, sea and sacred spaces.

 Alvernaz Mulcahy is co-author of several poetry books and various CDs with sound poet P. Kemp including Gathering Voice (2004) and Pinceladas in 2005. She launched Pinceladas (in English and Spanish) at Centro Cultural Canadá-Córdoba, Argentina de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Her most recent publication, Viva la Vida is part of an Anthology of collaborative textual poetry and is based on two poems about Frida Kahlo-mestiza (Alvernaz Mulcahy) and Frida on Exhibit (P. Kemp) which culminated in a video poem edited by videographer D. Sneppova featuring Alvernaz Mulcahy as Frida and includes her photography from Mexico and videography. Alvernaz Mulcahy's poetry is featured in various books including Four Women and Origins (Red Kite Press) and appears in various anthologies - New voices: A celebration of new Canadian poetry (Clifton Whiten, Ed.; Mosaic Press) and Anthology of magazine verse and yearbook of American poetry (A.F. Pater, Ed.; Beverly Hills: Monitor Books). She is a mixed media artist-filmmaker, photographer, and musician, and more recently has created drawings influenced by petro glyphs & pictographs combined with her poetry.
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THE EVENT
​

WHERE: The Mykonos Restaurant at 572 Adelaide St. North, London, Ontario. The restaurant has a large, enclosed terrace just behind the main restaurant, which comfortably holds 60 poetry lovers. Mediterranean food and drinks are available. The terrace is open to the parking lot behind. Overflow parking is available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 4th, 2016. Doors: 5:30 to 6:30 (it's a restaurant.) Event begins at 7:00
THE FEATURE: Aboriginal poetry, stories, music, and other performances, followed by a Q&A. The feature will last for a full hour (vs our normal 20 minutes).
OPEN MIC: The normal poetry open mic section will be significantly shortened because of the lengthened feature that precedes it. Each poet has five minutes (which is about two good pages of poetry, but it should be timed at home). Sign up on the reader's list, which is on the book table at the back. It's first come, first served.
COVER: Pay What You Can (in jar on back table, or use Donate Button on website Donate Page). Your contributions are our only source of income to cover expenses.
RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who pays what cover they can at the event receives a ticket for a raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by The Ontario Poetry Society.
 

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