Random Acts of Poetry, a celebration of poetry and literacy, begins its fifth year during the week of October 1st to 5th, 2008. Random Acts of Poetry is a project of the Victoria READ Society, a non-profit literacy organization, established in 1976. Random Acts of Poetry is funded by The Canada Council for the Arts.
During the week, 25 acclaimed poets across Canada, from Victoria to Newfoundland, will commit Random Acts of Poetry in their cities and adjacent small towns. On buses and subways, in donut shops and cafes, police stations, grocery stores, shelters, curling rinks, on city streets and country lanes, poets will read poems to strangers and give them their books. Poets will also read their poems in ESL and Adult Literacy classes and, as well, will present poetry in middle school classes, and give the students a book of poetry written by middle school students, We Can Say This, published with support from of the TD Bank Financial Group.
Fredericton poet Joe Blades will read for his second year with Random Acts. Blades has published four books of poetry, hosts the weekly
Ashes, Paper & Beans on CHSR 97.9 FM, is Vice President of the League of Canadian Poets, and is a member of the BlackTop MotorCycle Gang writers group.
Patrick Lane, one of Canada’s premier poets, says of Random Acts of Poetry, “There are no accidents. Nothing is random. A poem sits in a poet’s pocket and jumps out when you least expect it. It can nestle in a mechanic’s ear, a politician’s hand, a waitress’s bright eye, somewhere, anywhere. You look up from work and there’s a poem. It reads itself to you. It asks you to take a break. It says: Right here. Right now.”
“Poetry,” says Wendy Morton, founder of Random Acts of Poetry, “is the shortest distance between two hearts. I have read poems to hundreds of people, many of whom hadn’t heard a poem in thirty years, and watched their eyes fill up with tears. Some burst into laughter or laid a hand on my shoulder, hugged me, took my hand. Poetry can connect us with each other as humans as no other art form I know. Poetry is a gift that we can create from whatever life has in store for us.”
Across Canada poets will commit random acts in: Victoria, Nanaimo, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Pickering, Trenton, Ottawa, Port McNicoll, Windsor, Montreal, Laval, Fredericton, Edmundston, Charlottetown, Halifax, and St. John’s.
Contacts:
Joe Blades, T/F 506 454-5127, joe@joeblades.com, Fredericton, NB.
Wendy Morton, T 250-642-3542, email: wendymorton@shaw.ca, Otter Point, BC.
Claire Rettie, Victoria READ Society, T 250-388-7225, crettie@readsociety.bc.ca, Victoria, BC.
Found 12:28 pm, Thursday, 30 October 2008, in the intersection of York and George streets in downtown Fredericton, NB, while I was biking on a short lunch break for Art Bank work first to Simm's then back to Old Government House on the Woodstock Road.
After starting tonight's show with "Natural Resources" by Utah Phillips & ani difranco from the CD the past didn't go anywhere, we slid into an interview with live guests: Yolande House and Susan Douglas (Fredericton) on National Novel Writing Month. I think this unexpected version of the logo is a DJ Crisis Detector version, somehow, of the CMYK PDF online . . . let it go, let it go . . .
Second half of the show started with "longstoryshort" by Sekou Sundiata, followed by the Silver Wave Film Festival media launch of this past Thursday. "How to Remain" by Aural Heather.
“... a friendly combination of anecdote and academia. The writing is crisp and clean with plenty of visual elements—photos, illustrations and official documents. Intriguing scraps of human interest stories are peppered throughout.”
website: http://internationalartistday.com
Howlin' full moon Canadian election night . . . I wanted something grounded, local . . . something to hear, to listen to, and to think about. I dug out my recording of the 2007 Christina Sabat Memorial Lecture by New Brunswick artist-craftsperson Peter Powning. 
After the fact is still good news. A letter and first installment cheque arrived in today's mail. I hadn't waited for results of my grant application of early August before buying the Air Can tickets (in late July) for the WORDspinner Fall Literary Extravaganza last month in Grande Prairie, Alberta; Dawson Creek, BC; and points in between. My participation in the readings tour and related events wouldn't have happened if I had waited until now to receive word I'd been awarded a Career Development: Arts-by-Invitation grant. Thank you very much!
Joe Blades reading at South Peace Secondary School, Dawson Creek, BC, on 19 Sept 2008. Photo by Dymphny Dronyk.
Joe Blades talking at Peace Country's First Small Press Fair. It was held in The Rabbit Hole Bookstore, Grande Prairie, Alberta, on 21 Sept 2008. Photo by Dymphny Dronyk.
Joe Blades reading poems of his, published in The Prairie Journal of Canadian Literature, at The Rabbit Hole Bookstore, on 21 Sept 2008. Photo by Dymphny Dronyk.
Joe Blades writing "Storefront Poetry" at The Rabbit Hole Bookstore, Grande Prairie, Alberta, on 24 Sept 2008. Photo by Dymphny Dronyk.
Random Acts of Poetry, a celebration of poetry and literacy, begins its fifth year during the week of October 1st to 5th, 2008. Random Acts of Poetry is a project of the Victoria READ Society, a non-profit literacy organization, established in 1976. Random Acts of Poetry is funded by The Canada Council for the Arts.
