LeXXX
The putative theme for the 30th Lexiconjury was allegedly "erotica," but there was nothing particularly erotic about it, perhaps because sub-themes included "hockey" and "Tony Danza." We arrived to find the front room of the Cameron House festooned with cowboy boots. Festooned, I say! Above, Jon Paul Fiorentino, the self-described "Tony Danza of Canadian literature," reads a story about hockey.
Dave Bidini couldn't make it due to illness, so Bill read a story of his, which was about hockey. Jill Hartman couldn't make it due to the craven greed and stupidity of Jetsgo, so Angela read something of hers, which was about neither hockey nor Tony Danza. Connor Green read the lyrics to "Tiny Dancer," but substituted "Tony Danza" for each occurence of the words "tiny dancer," and to make it more entertaining he declaimed it in the vocal style of the head of the New York Sanitation Department.
There were lots of Lexiteers present whom I had not seen in dog's years. Peter McPhee was back from his labours in the west, with photos of a house outside Nelson he's in the process of buying. Helen Tsiriotakis was back, and Steve-O was back, with short hair! Michelle Cross was back from Buffalo, with a Buffalonian named Aaron. Here's Michelle looking all sweet & innocent and fooling nobody, least of all Alana:
Saghi Ghahraman read some intense poems which would have gotten her detained, and worse, in her native Iran, but which in Toronto drew applause, comparisons to Kathy Acker, and some inappropriate hooting from the back of the room. Aaron's open-michelle reading led an inebriated female heckler to comment, "You don't know what you're talking about, manchild!" Later, a herd of us proceeded to Sneaky Dee's, where Helen encountered poutine for the first time in her life, and Steve-O said, "Dovercourt is the Pape of the west end." I don't know what that means, but it sounds meaningful.
For more photos, click here or on the photos above to get to my Flickr site.
Update: For an account of the evening that actually talks about, like, the poetry, be sure to check out Mark Truscott's excellent review.
posted by Nadia at 12:05 p.m.
2 Comments:
Great job reviewing, Nadia. The combination of superior memory
for quotation and timings
of audience misbehaviour
and blend of social nuance
with the presentational aspects
an enviable ability. My computer
wdn't load "more photos"
so just saw the two on the front
page. You make me wish I saw the
first set with all the hockeytalk.
What goods eroticism without hockey? But such sound human detail
..if i'm ever in nelson and miss a
whole reading, squiddity will be the one to give the real sense.
My own reviews are so vague.
John B
Bathurst is the Bloor of Front Street.
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