draft (beer) report on AN EVENING WITH MILTON ACORN AND FRIENDS

\Hi Marvin,
Returned from TO an hour & a half ago. Wilber Walnut is still keeping me company - we are drinking Zywiec beer, because we already drank the ritzy Quebec beers Wilber
'acquired' somewhere.

The EVENING WITH MILTON ACORN & FRIENDS last nite was a super success. The event started out as a potential disaster, as the shift manager at the pub wasn't aware of our room reservation. But all of us fed on the chaos, & I sold about 12 books, & gave a few copies to people I owed one to (e.g. haijin John Hamley, who wrote the intro, poet Bruce Hunter, who has given me copies of his books, & Anna Yin). I sold 5 package 'specials' of EEL PIE ISLAND DHARMA & ZENRIVER: POEMS & HAIBUN  for $20 (all I had). I'm very pleased at the positive reception EPID received - I packed 15 copies for the gig, & returned home with just one!

Everyone performed at the top of their game, from the opening skit of "finding Milton Acorn" to David Fox's professional reading of a number of Milt's poems, to Joyce Wayne's reading from her new novel. Morley Ellis (my best bud) started the whole shebang off with his music, & provided background music at the break. For the first half hour+ we all struggled without a mic against the backdrop of rowdy drinking Ryerson students. But once we were miked, we took over the upstairs room - hard to believe a raggle-taggle group of poets could hold a room against a bunch of drunken students, but we did - showing the power of poetry & Milt's legacy.

It was about the time we were getting amplified that an orange-uniformed SWAT squad of 5 swarmed thru the crowd - looking for ?????  - completing the anarchic fun & confusion of the first part of the evening!

By the halfway point of the evening, the students hellbent on rowdying had left, & the more astute of their number remained, captivated by this circus of Canadian people's poetry at its living finest! Terry Barker read 3 poems, and then was shouldered aside by Jim Larwill's alter-ego, Wilber Walnut. Wilber brought down the house, as I knew he would. His eye-popping performance (literally! - fortunately it turned out to be a pickled egg, which was unceremoniously juggled by several audience members - possibly eventually eaten) kept the entire room HUSHED and spellbound by his charismatic literary codgerisms. One sexy & bold young thing bought this horny old centurion (?) - 100-year-old-dude - a scotch & gave him her phone number with hugs & kisses. Wilber disappeared soon after, only to resurface for the ride back to Marmora, where he's now bragging of his conquests & giggling in a nasty way while drinking MY beer! Of course, Wilber is the author of "The Carnivoresque Self-help Guide for Swingers" and is used to "helping" him self.

Wilber & I are starting to fade as the beers & last nite's adrenalin rush are starting to take their toll   ...

whatever else we might write now could get us jailed, or bring back the SWAT team ... ?????? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

peace & pootry poer1
cris,m, wilrv, chse, ect


p.s. when the haz clrs well ti to rmeber who els wz trhe



On 2012-11-20, at 6:35 PM, marvin orbach wrote:

Hi Chris,
  I must add to my previous e-mail a great big thank-you for your
very kind inscription in my copy of EPID.   It was a big honour for
me. I am still enjoying the book.
  Have a great time in Toronto.
  Woof woof to Chase.
  Marvin.

On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 11:39 AM, Chris Faiers <zenriver@sympatico.ca> wrote:
thanks for the support, Marvin
A quick thank you note, as we're heading off to TO in a couple of hours.
back to you when we return,
thanks again! glad you like the book!!!
P&P!
C&C ... Wrfffffffffffffffffffff!


On 2012-11-20, at 11:20 AM, marvin orbach wrote:

Hi Chris,
 I received your Eel Pie Island Dharma  just yesterday.  Thank you
very much.   It's  a great work of art,   I enjoyed rereading it.  It
is really an important piece of literature.  And the book itself with
the beautiful cover is very well done. Three cheers to Hidden Brook
Press.   It will soon be on its way  to Biblioheaven at the U. of C.,
where it will keep scholars busy for years to come.
 I thought I would mention to you that I recently attended a small
press fair here in Montreal and met the Ottawa haiku poet Mike
Montreuil. He said he is vert  familiar with your work.  He added that
his haiku are less traditional than yours.  It's a small world, isn't
it.
 I trust Chase is doing well.
 Please keep in touch.
 Peace and Shanti.
 Marvin.