The return of Hunkamooga

My column "Hunkamooga," which ran in Word: Toronto's Literary Calendar for about four years, is back, this time in sub-Terrain, a triquarterly out of Vancouver. Not thrilled with the frequency, but if I keep writing the column right on deadline, or slightly after, it'll be fairly fresh. Plus, I'm actually getting paid, which is nice.

My sub-Terrain piece "I Hate Poetry," which appeared a couple issues ago, was to have been the first new Hunkamooga column, but they forgot to include "Hunkamooga" on the page. The new column is about novel-writing. Sort of. It's the first piece of writing I've completed in well over a month.

The Hunkamooga columns for Word — at least, revised and expanded versions — made up the bulk of my book Confessions of a Small Press Racketeer, which was published by Anvil, the press that shares an owner/editor with sub-Terrain. I think I've gotten far more response for that book than I have for my poetry or fiction books cumulatively.

Over and out.

Owen

Owen Jay Ross

was born June 23, 1954,

died September 30, 2000.

He'd have been 52 today.

Does he read my blog? I'm thinking about you, Owen.



Over and out.

Poetry Boot Camp in July!

I've scheduled one of my notorious Poetry Boot Camps for this July. Please spread the word to Toronto friends. Details below.

Over and out.


STUART ROSS'S POETRY BOOT CAMP

Saturday, July 22, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (there is a 45-minute lunch break:
participants may bring their own meal or visit one of the many
neighbourhood restaurants)

Upstairs at This Ain't the Rosedale Library, 483 Church Street
(just below Wellesley), Toronto

$75 includes class, materials, & light snacks.
Call 416-929-9912 to register. Space are limited!

Poet and writing instructor Stuart Ross offers an intensive one-day
workshop for beginning poets, experienced poets, stalled poets, and
haikuists who want to get beyond three lines. Poetry Boot Camp
focuses on the pleasures of poetry and the riches that spontaneity
brings, through lively directed exercises and relevant readings from
the works of poets from Canada and abroad. Stuart also touches on
revision, collaboration, and publication. Arrive with an open mind,
and leave with a heap of new poems!

Stuart Ross is a writer, teacher, and small-press activist.
Co-founder of the Toronto Small Press Book Fair, he sold 7,000 copies
of his books in the streets of Toronto during the '80s. His most
recent poetry book is the acclaimed Hey, Crumbling Balcony! Poems New & Selected (ECW, 2003) and he is the editor of Surreal Estate: 13
Canadian Poets Under the Influence (The Mercury Press, 2004). In
spring 2005, Anvil Press released his Confessions of a Small Press
Racketeer. Stuart has published several literary magazines, including
Mondo Hunkamooga, Who Torched Rancho Diablo?, and Syd & Shirley, and is the Poetry & Fiction Editor for This Magazine.

"I believe that if Stuart Ross was living and working in the United
States, and writing the exact same poetry he does now, he would be
rich and famous. Well, famous, at least."

- George Murray, The Globe and Mail

Hat trick

I have poems in the current issues of 3 magazines:

Walrus
Twaddle (see www.ryanbird.com/twaddlemagazine/issueone.html)
Taddle Creek

Three of something is a hat trick, especially if you're Dave Keon. Hat Trick is also the title of a very fine book of poetry by Lillian Necakov.

Over and out.

questions

"'These are questions which are not easily answered, Roscoe,
Why don't you come sit down over here in the shade
And rest awhile, with the shade spread on the ground,
And birds that ride the branches in the gentle swaying,
And stay to dinner.'"

-- Ron Padgett, "The Story of Roscoe"

light

"Where there is nothing to say
the light of disappearance exists."

— from "Temple," Tomaz Salamun

Road + Fork

Some loose ends to tie up:

***
The weekend-long workshop with the Men's Group, near Barrie, last weekend was a great success. Sure, they were rich guys who talked about real estate, investments, work, and sports. But they were also great adventurers, bringing in a surrealist poet to work with them for three days. An unusual gig for me, because it's rare that I work with adults who aren't writers, but who are willingly doing a workshop. Looking forward to more such experiences. Enriching.

***
The Fictitious Reading Series had another great installment Sunday night, although the crowd was very small. Fine readings by Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer and Richard Truhlar, and even more interesting was the onstage chat Kate conducted with them afterward. We thought we had a great lineup, and wondered why the turnout was so sparse. Is it that fiction fans aren't used to coming out to readings? And how come poets have so little interest in fiction? Times have changed.

***
Tonight is the bill bissett celebration. I spent a few hours this afternoon with Jeff and Rox. What good guys. Wish we had a lot longer to kick around together. I won't be reading my poem from the anthology, but an older poem, "One of Those Lakes in Minnesota," because it mentions bill, because it was written in the spirit of bill, and because it's a way of making Debby present at the reading, where I know she'd like to be.

***
Dana Plato: thank you for all you have given me.

***
My blog will now go on vacation, except for the occasional announcement, while its owner goes in for repairs. I'll try to be back soon.

xo

Over and out.