Workshop: Speak Beat Roots & other Jazz Notes

Workshop: Speak Beat Roots & other Jazz Notes
November 06, 2008 – Central Library, John Dutton Theatre (616 Macleod Trail SE)
1:00 pm, $5

1:00-3:00 Clifton Joseph (Toronto) interviews Sheri-D Wilson (Calgary)
(Beat Readers: Kirk Ramdath, Caroline Szpak)

This was an intimate panel discussion on the influence of the Beats on the Spoken Word poetry of today. Dub poet Clifton Joseph interviewed Sheri-D Wilson, who has studied with the likes of Allen Ginsberg, Diane di Prima, Anne Waldman, Michael McClure and others. She illuminated the audience on the historical, social and poetic context of the Beats and what their work has meant to her own development as an artist in the developing field of Spoken Word. Local poets Kirk Ramdath and Caroline Szpak performed from Beat texts to contextualize the theory in poetic voice. In the end, the floor was open for questions and discussion and the audience had the chance to share their own stories about the Beats, in particular the female Beats (di Prima, Waldman, et. al) and what their work meant in their lives and growth as artists and members of the community.