The Vagabond Trust
Writers At Home In Migration

Vagabond Stephanie Yorke says:
12th of March, at 7pm, at the Garrison Ale House, I am going to be part of CBC’s poetry slam. I don’t know if this is a Picaroons approved shop, but if it isn’t, you should go and drink something other than non-picaroons beer. There will be four other competitors - Shane Neilsen, Nela Rio, Biff Mitchell, and Vanessa Moeller. Also, music.

March 3, 2009

Read’s Newsstand, 435 King St., Fredericton, NB, 7-9pm

THE VAGABOND TRUST reading series

featuring readings by members:

Doughnut Philosopher Mike Romard

Cannonball Captain Jordan Trethewey

Eagle Eye Ryan Griffith

Boxcar Breezer Corey Nowlan

Beaver Cat Kerouac Steph Yorke

Crimson Road Carson Butts

and if we’re lucky…. Library Scissorbill Jordan Stewart

Hosted by Doughnut Phil and brought to y’all by READ’S and PICAROONS. This free event is open to those who like coffee and tea and/or a good story.

Gallery 1313 in Parkdale, Toronto

THE VAGABOND TRUST reading series

featuring readings by . . .

angela rawlings

Jenny Sampirisi

David Seymour

Rebecca Rosenblum

Daccia Bloomfield

Angela Szczepaniak

and the musical rar-rar of DJ BRONSON LEE

Hosted by Kathleen Brown and Darrah Teitel. A free event brought to you by Parkdale’s Fireside Culture Week, The Vagabond Trust and Gallery 1313.

CLICK HERE FOR MAP TO EVENT

Hello Vagabonds, and others: On the 12th of March, at 7pm, at the Garrison Ale House, I am going to be part of CBC’s poetry slam. I don’t know if this is a Picaroons approved shop, but if it isn’t, you should go and drink something other than non-picaroons beer. There will be four other competitors - Shane Neilsen, Nela Rio, Biff Mitchell, and Vanessa Moeller. Also, music.

Good storm day my New Brunny and NewFounded colleagues.

UPDATE from your Toronto girls:
I’ve added info on our first Toronto Reading date in a new Page under About Us called TRUST EVENTS. If you click on the links of the author’s names it will direct you to their blogs, websites or else reviews of their work. Darrah and I are hard at work organizing the reading, and putting out a Call For Submissions for Writers for the Toronto Chapter. Charlotte is hard at work playing commando and coming up with a top secret plan for our 2009 expedition which will be revealed in 97 and 3/4 hours exactly. I may have found us a permanent monthly reading venue as well as a meeting venue if we can’t secure a brewery. Check it out:

NOT MY DOG

ON WRITING GROUPS:
Whilst strolling on the internet this morn, I came across this post on the Descant Blog:

“Writing Circles have me running rings”

So we aren’t the only ones in agreement about writing circles and writing workshops often evolving into either a stagnating form/process or else there being a lack of community and support over time. Whoever this person is, their group sounds like a unique situation, though different from ours. I do like their idea to invite a renowned writer out for dinner with their group. It gave me an idea: perhaps we can invite several writers to a decompression dinner post-expedition, share our stories with them, and get their advice on where to take/direct some of our experiences post-trip. It would also involve a wider literary circle in to see exactly what it is we’re doing, which I know is still wonderfully unmappable. Comment on this!

CAMPEYE’s DIARY:
Still woefully unemployed and dragging my pack from one couch to another.
Saw a promising apt on the weekend which has a deck! and would be appropriate for housing any Merrytime vagabonds on an Upper Canada tour. Wait, my apologies - Atlantic Canadian vagabonds (poor NFLD, always the bridesmaid of the region).

On my page you’ll notice I am pleased to report two of my poems that were shortlisted (but did not place) for the Ralph Gustafson Poetry Prize will be published in the Spring 2009 Fiddlehead. At last some good news. Other than that, I eat a lot of raisins.

Over and out hobo rangers. In Vagabonds We Trust,
Campeye Comet

I’ve got something up! It’s a page of my own and it’s called, creatively, “Carson’s Page.” Check it out. There’s a poem of mine there, preceded by some important information about myself. Yup!

Howdy y’all,

My St. V’s gift to you:

I have finally posted my travel poetry from our seasick southwest Newfoundland ferry excursion last August. There are six in all (Everything is Coming Up Rose Blanche, Campfire at Night, Anchor, A Porpoise’s Purpose, An Avalon Argument).

Wait! That’s five you say?

You can check out the sixth called Vagabond, in two weeks when Qwerty winter 2009 hits newsstands.

Let me know what you think. Writing doesn’t exist in a total vacuum. This is your chance to participate, communicate, give us something to mull over.

Until again,

Cannonball Captain JT

when I think of her
she is kissing me on a wharf
and we both fall into the ocean
sucking salty blue face

that or she is kissing him
somewhere in the unreachable sky
and they fall on top of me,
on top of the wharf, the ocean,
our kissing, and it all dies, squealing,
under what I thought was Heaven.

My ears look fine with this haircut.
You make me want to rip open a bird of paradise.

Not the dumb movie this time.
People coming out of the good movie will see me.

In the food court you talk about wedding dresses.
I think I’ll have the two-piece chicken meal.

You say I drink too much.
I throw up on your parents’ anniversary cake.

I bought a large coffee, you went medium.
You wanted out so fast.

You were a Prima ballerina assoluta
My inflexibility was a point of pride.

I think every phone call is from you.
I dream you fax me a photocopy of your breasts.

I need to meet a blonde girl and run into you at the mall.
I will lie and say she is a humanitarian.

This popped up online about a year ago, and I was immediately intrigued by it. I was more intrigued, however, by the way that people reacted to it. Most of the people that I described it to called it creepy. I don’t really see why. It’s no creepier to me than a pacemaker or an ipod.

I have two characters in the novel that I’m working on who are getting these tattoos. Or, at least, they’re getting electronic tattoos that are based on these. So I’m going to get to have some fun with other characters reacting to the tattoos, but I also want to use them to talk about how tattoo artists could react to them.

And yes, this means that I’m working on the novel again. It’s easier to get stuff done for it when I’m supposed to be focusing on something else. So, uh, I’m totally still focusing on short stories. Yeah.