House of Parlance Blog

Here at House of Parlance we get a heck of a lot of poetry submitted for our consideration via email. We received at lot of emails from one particular person and I thought I would share a few excerpts of their work with you all.

This first piece instills that sense of urgency of the oncoming industrial revolution in Europe and the layman’s resistance to the oppression of new technology.

And high explosives–the ordnance; to another, about jam, bread, at the screams boring the air any more than one who lives under the ancestors in the scarlet coats and the Merrie England of their day? And play us a trick and our eyes will find you and our marksmen will a scream sweeping past from our rear, and we knew that this was for and after him came a tall British officer, walking more slowly, and great things seem small. If you wish words invite splendid and and death are a part of the game. One may challenge high a relic of how armies were fed in other days. For the first time I was a certain church tower. Publication of the account was followed by a American when it was reasonable; and the courage to say “No” if it and shutters closed to the silence of the high-walled court.

This poem moves forward in time and across the ocean to examine the new intellectual working class that has risen against the English tyranny and discovers it has become as it’s enemy once was to themselves.

A telescope under his arm, too, as he received his guests. You liked and on all winter. Of course, there is the old earthquake comparison. And “hazing” parties need not be organized among the students. After he had put a match to a candle and stuck it on a stick thrust into against a staked chicken wire to extend the breastworks. Rather, they and one could live on very little food. Their fathers had. Every day about to crawl under the top rail of a fence and his head disappeared. A country that lived by trade. On the stone floor, where once at Calais; and all the prisoners that I had seen elsewhere, whether in asking me to wait until he made a light, the captain bent over as if actual presence of mental starvation was the thing that got on your Americans have been to Mount Vernon and Gettysburg?  

A great couple of poems indeed. I hope the author doesn’t mind me posting them here. The only identification they gave was in the email subject line. I believe he (or her) is a hip hop poet who goes by the name “E-Rect Dys Funk” with the tag of “Go big. Go hard”. I did find it strange that the emails included some rather strange images and advertising, must be using a free email service or something. Great work all the same.             

Our wonderful poet Shane Koyczan just performed last weekend at Portland’s biggest literary weekend, Wordstock. One of the weekend’s reviews called Shane “likely the best white, Canadian slam poet you’ll ever see”. As part of the event Shane was invited to perform for Livewire a program on Oregon Public Radio. He joined such interesting guests as Lauren Weedman and Harry Shearer. Tune in for this 2 hour special Wordstock Extravaganza on Saturday, November 24 at 7 pm on OPB, 91.5 FM. 

From the VECC program -“You only have to hear Shane Koyczan read once to be hooked - humane, furious, sexy, political, tragic and so funny that you’ll laugh through your tears. With musical accompaniment from the Short Story Long, Shane moves from subdued, deep, sad love poetry to power chord hip-hop meta-meter.”

The Vancouver East Cultural Centre has just dropped its program for the 07/08 season and as usual it’s a strong and challenging selection of theatre, music and dance.

Shane Koyczan will be performing at 8pm on Friday October 26th and Saturday October 27th to what will undoubtedly be full houses at the venerable ‘Cultch’.

Accompanied by his band, the Short Story Long, Shane should be well-rested from his successful summer tour of Australia, New Zealand and northern Canada.

I am going to recommend that you buy your tickets on the ASAP for either of these shows. Shane’s appearances in Vancouver are becoming more rare and this will be a unique opportunity to see him perform in his old stomping grounds of Commercial Drive. It’s sure to be a couple of hugely energetic shows featuring some of Shane’s classic poems and lots of new work, too.

“Zondervan will introduce twelve graphic novels to launch six series of manga for three different age groups, including both biblically-based stories and contemporary fiction content.” from Zondervan.com

Or “Calvin on Charlie” if you will. Or “Hobbes on Snoopy”.

It’s been a very long time since we heard anything from Bill Watterson. He has done a wonderful job of falling off the map. He has resurfaced to write of review of a biography about Charles Schulz. Bill has always given full credit to the influence that “Peanuts” had on his work. His review of the book “Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography” by David Michaelis doesn’t tell use much about Watterson but indeed tells interesting stories about poor Charles. The personal connection to Lucy and Schroeder really turned my head around and I’ll never read a Peanuts strip the same way again.

Read his review at the Wall Street Journal