PurdyFest #6 article in EMC newspaper - Aug. 2, 2012

This is PurdyFest weekend in Marmora

Posted Aug 2, 2012 By EMC News

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EMC Entertainment -The sixth annual Purdy Country Literary Festival (PurdyFest) will be held this weekend in Marmora and the hamlet of Malone. Poets from across Ontario will again gather to celebrate and share their poetry. The focus of this year's festival is resurrecting the legacy of Canada's "People's Poet" Milton Acorn. Professor/ author Terry Barker and publisher/scholar Joyce Wayne will lead presentations on Acorn and his recent posthumous collection, In A Springtime Instant, at a symposium in the Marmora Library building from 12:30 to 2:30 on Saturday, August 4. Copies of Milton's book (Mosaic Press) will be available at a special festival price of $20.

After the symposium poets and musicians will gather on the islet in the Marmora Dam to share a round robin poetry reading. Everyone is invited to participate in this fun event, Another Dam Poetry Reading, which will be kicked off by popular Marmora musician Morley Ellis.

Two big events will be featured on Sunday afternoon at organizer Chris Faiers' retreat, ZenRiver Gardens, in the hamlet of Malone. That Not Forgotten, edited by Kingston poet Bruce Kauffman, is an anthology featuring the work of over 100 poets, many of them from this area. Tai Grove, the book's publisher with Hidden Brook Press, will host this large reading, which will include a performance from professional singer Honey Novick. Tai will then switch hats and emcee a group reading by members of The Canada-Cuba Literary Alliance. Time permitting, poets will be able to share in an open mike reading after the group readings.

The annual potluck supper is a great chance to meet and mingle with the Fest's poets/publishers/musicians/ visual artists. It will be held late Friday afternoon, August 3, at ZenRiver Gardens.


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Conrad DiDiodato has left a new comment on your post "PurdyFest #6 article in EMC newspaper - Aug. 2, 20...":

Congrats, on another Purdyfest!

This is the mother of all Canadian poetry festivals.



Posted by Conrad DiDiodato to Riffs & Ripples from ZenRiver Gardens at 10 August 2012 10:43

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updates PurdyFest #6 = ACORNFEST!

Purdy Fest 2012 (AcornFest)

Free rough camping begins at ZenRiver Gardens several days before the more organized activities. There is an outhouse, campsites, firewood & the river - the rest is up to the campers.

'Formal' events begin late Friday afternoon, Aug. 3rd, with the POTLUCK SUPPER. Bring what you wish (fast food welcome, homemade preferred, chips-dip-snacks appreciated - BYOB). The Friday night campfire/reading is not to be missed. Bring your tent and stay.

On Saturday Aug. 4th, professor/philosopher Terry Barker hosts the SYMPOSIUM on Milton Acorn (coinciding with the publication this year of the new selected of Milt's work, IN A SPRINGTIME INSTANT, James Deahl, editor, Mosaic Press, publisher). The Symposium runs from 12:30 to 2:30 pm in the William Shannon Room of the Marmora Public Library (by the only stoplights in Marmora!).

Later in the afternoon on Saturday Aug. 4th, local musician/singer Morley Ellis will kick off ANOTHER DAM POETRY READING on the islet in the Marmora Dam (less than a 10-minute walk from the library - through the Lions Park and along the paved riverside walking trail). Most years CELEBRATE MARMORA coincides with our festivals, and there will be booths selling food & local produce, as well as face painting for the kids, etc. in the park. In the evening a travelling Shakespearean company performs in the park. The ANOTHER DAM(N)  POETRY READINGS are very freeform & democratic. Poets read one poem at a time, round robin style, around and around the blankets and lawn chairs on the islet, until everyone has read/said/performed everything they wish to. Musicians & singers welcome! This can last from an hour+ all the way until dusk ... Morley energetically kicks things off with his broad repertoire of songs and sing-alongs around 3:30 pm - leaving time for a snack & a wander thru the park displays after the Symposium.

At ZenRiver Garden on Sunday afternoon  Aug. 5th, Tai Grove wears two hats. First as President of the Canada Cuba Literary Alliance (CCLA), Tai will host a group reading by CCLA members. Then he'll don another hat as publisher of Hidden Brook Press and host a reading by poets included in his latest HBP anthology, THAT NOT FORGOTTEN. Readings are anticipated to start after lunch - maybe 1 - 3 pm for both readings including break, mingle and splash time.  Come with a lawn chair or blanket, your own refreshments and the good cheer of sharing poetry. If we have enough time we will do an open mic.
                                              

See blog at - http://riffsandripplesfromzenrivergardens.blogspot.com over time there will be info about the festival - events, times and locations along with other lit info and poetry.

Each year the CCLA participates in PurdyFest  (the long weekend in August) by organizing a CCLA members reading – if you are a member we hope you will join us – new members are welcome. This year, 2012, the literary festival is being dubbed AcornFest in celebration of Milton Acorn. Wearing my other hat as HBP publisher I have been invited to organize a second reading for the new HBP anthology “That Not Forgotten”. Both readings will be on Sunday, August 5th in the afternoon – times to be announced later. We hope you will book the full day of lit stuff and nature.



PurdyFest Directions:

Marmora Public Library – the town of Marmora is at the crossroads of highway #7 and #14 – the library is on the south west corner.

Marmora Dam – follow #14 north by less than 0.5 km turn left / west towards the river. The dam is at the north end of the river park.

Chris’ directions – For the dam, rather than give street directions, it may be best to instruct people to continue north, upstream, from the Centennial (main) Marmora park to the dam along the dirt road and the towpath. It's about a 1/4 mile walk - you can see the dam from the bridge over highway 7.

ZenRiver Garden ZRG – Chris’ private Zen retreat is on the Moira River, east of Marmora. East on #7 – 4 or 5 km past Greenside Ln, left / north on #11 / Deloro Rd. Turn right / southeast onto Malone Quarry Rd. Follow down the hill to the bridge. If you get to the hamlet of Malone on Deloro Road you have gone too far north by a km or so. Malone is 9 or 10 km north of #7.

If you type - Malone, Ontario, Canada into Google Map or MapQuest you will get directions. Try to click on this url and see if it takes you to the map.
http://maps.google.ca/maps?sugexp=chrome,mod%3D0&q=Malone,+Ontario,+Canada&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x4cd343739bbc238b:0x46354053a6005dee,Malone,+ON&gl=ca&sa=X&ei=PtoFUJ3mA6P50gGhzZDkCA&ved=0CAkQ8gEwAA

Chris’ directions – Drive west (towards Ottawa) on Highway #7 to the orange flashing lights marking the intersection of the Deloro Road (a few kms from Marmora). Turn left (north) off #7 onto the Deloro Road and follow it a few kms to the village of Deloro. The road veers sharply left at the village (almost everyone dead ends at the old slag piles the first time - no problemo). Continue past the village of Deloro about 5 or 6 kms to the tiny hamlet of Malone. The sign marking Malone is placed at least a km before you reach the few houses which make up the tiny hamlet. Turn right (south) onto Malone Quarry Road. It's a short dirt road which leads to the bridge crossing the Upper Moira River. The millpond is on the right (west) side of the bridge, and ZRG is on the left (east) side of the bridge. There's the cedar entrance to ZRG with the prayer flags flying, so it's easy to find. People can park anywhere on the left side of the Malone Quarry Road (ZRG is also on the south side of the bridge as well, but the main part of ZenRiver Garden is on the north bank, where the shaman shack is located and where we hold the potluck suppers and the readings.)



 

~ ~ News on PurdyFest #6 = AcornFest ~ ~

This summer's Purdy Country Literary Festival is named AcornFest in honour of Canada's People's Poet Milton Acorn. Events will take place over the August holiday weekend, beginning on Friday, Aug. 3rd. 

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Update on Hidden Brook Press anthology launch from publisher Tai Grove:
Hi Chris

I just heard back from Bruce Kauffman the editor of the north shore anthology that will present at the Purdy Acorn Fest

He sent out an email to all of the authors and he got a YES reply from 40 saying that they are going to come and read. That is aside from the CCLA reading.

Let’s hope it is sunny again
 
For your promo info you can put – Authors will read from the North Shore Series anthology, That Not  Forgotten published by Hidden Brook Press, editor Bruce Kauffman. The almost 400 page book includes poetry and prose by some of the finest authors in the north shore geographic area between Kingston and Port Hope on the north shore of Lake Ontario.

Gotta run

bro

This message is being sent from
Hidden Brook Press, or the personal email of Richard M. Grove / Tai
109 Bayshore Road. Brighton, Ontario, Canada, K0K 1H0
writers@hiddenbrookpress.com  1-613-475-2368
www.HiddenBrookPress.com
 
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Directions to ZenRiver Gardens:

ZRG is located in the pioneer hamlet of Malone by the millpond bridge on the Upper Moira River.

From Highway #7 turn north at the flashing orange lights onto the DELORO ROAD (about 1 km east of Marmora or roughly 12 km west of Madoc traffic lights at intersection with Highway #62 north).

Follow the Deloro Road to the hamlet of Deloro (turn north, left, onto O'Brien Street when you reach Deloro). Continue thru the hamlet and continue along the Deloro Road about 5 or 6 kms until you reach the hamlet of MALONE. Malone is tiny, just several houses. Turn right onto MALONE QUARRY ROAD (dirt) and follow it a hundred yards to the bridge over the Upper Moira River.

The millpond is on the right (west) side of the bridge, and ZenRiver Gardens is on the northeast side of the bridge. There are prayer flags, the rainbow-hued Jimi Hendrix treestand, etc. which make ZenRiver Gardens pretty obvious!


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Timetable

Free rough camping begins at ZenRiver Gardens several days before the more organized activities. There is an outhouse, campsites, firewood & the river - the rest is up to the campers.

'Formal' events begin late Friday afternoon, Aug. 3rd, with the POTLUCK SUPPER. Bring what you wish (fast food welcome, home made preferred, chips-dip-snacks appreciated). The Friday nite campfire/reading is not to be missed ...

On Saturday professor/philosopher Terry Barker hosts the SYMPOSIUM on Milton Acorn (coinciding with the publication this year of the new selected of Milt's work, IN A  SPRINGTIME INSTANT.  James Deahl, editor, Mosaic Press, publisher). The Symposium runs from 12:30 to 2:30 pm in the William Shannon Room of the Marmora Public Library (by the only stoplights in Marmora!).

Later in the afternoon local musician/singer Morley Ellis will kick off ANOTHER DAM POETRY READING on the islet in the Marmora Dam (less than a 10-minute walk from the library - through the Lions Park and along the paved riverside walking trail). Most years CELEBRATE MARMORA coincides with our festivals, and there will be booths selling food & local produce, as well as face painting for the kids, etc. in the park. In the evening a traveling Shakespearean company performs in the park.

The ANOTHER DAM POETRY READINGS are very freeform & democratic. Poets read one poem at a time, round robin style, around and around the blankets and lawn chairs on the islet, until everyone has read/said/performed everything they wish to. Musicians & singers welcome! This can last from an hour+ all the way until dusk ... Morley energetically kicks things off with his broad repertoire of songs and singalongs  around 3:30 pm - leaving time for a snack & a wander thru the park displays after the Symposium.

On Sunday afternoon Tai Grove wears two hats. First as President of the Canada-Cuba Literary Alliance (CCLA), Tai will host a group reading by CCLA members at ZenRiver Gardens. Then he'll don another hat as publisher of Hidden Brook Press and host a reading by poets included in his latest HBP anthology, THAT NOT FORGOTTEN. Readings are anticipated to start after lunch - maybe 1 - 2 pm? (people will be tired after several nights of camping & Saturday's featured activities).

                                               
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Recommended Area Activities

Although not specifically scheduled or promised, on the Holiday Monday festers often make the hour drive to Ameliasburgh to visit Al Purdy's grave and his historic A-frame cottage.

There are also many beautiful spots near Marmora, including Callahan's Rapids Conservation Area. Last year a gang of festers spent an afternoon wading upstream in the Crowe River in this magical spot. Poets have also visited Petroglyphs Provincial Park, a sacred First Nations spiritual teaching area, and Bon Echo Provincial Park, another sacred First Nations shamanic locale.    


As poet Anna Yin so aptly noted last year, PurdyFests are vacations for poets. You will be inspired, we promise!


peace & poetry power!
Chris Faiers/cricket  ... and Chase, my shih-tzu familiar on steroids ...WRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOF! (welcome to AcornFest!)


keep current on AcornFest at the blog Riffs & Ripples from ZenRiver Gardens:

http://riffsandripplesfromzenrivergardens.blogspot.com/


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Anthology of PurdyFest poetry????

Yes, brother Junebug,
James suggested this after the first PurdyFest ... I've got some poems in the annual PurdyFest files, & I'm sure if we sent out the word, we'd be inundated!

p.s. also perhaps poems inspired AT ZRG and PurdyFests - might make for a broader list of topics (e.g. Stan White wrote some intriguing ones about the early inhabitants of Malone hamlet)

p.p.s. and perhaps also poems READ at PurdyFests (thinking of CCLAers, etc.)

(To start spreading the word, I'll put this on my blog on the announcement for AcornFest)

                                           ........>........>.......>

On 2012-05-12, at 12:32 AM, Richard M. Grove wrote:

Hi Chris

I think we should spread the word that one day – when there are enough poems we will publish a collection of poems about ZRG. You have enough poets visiting year after year that there should be enough for a book one day.

bro

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Hangin' with Bubo (great horned owl): shaman haibun

Hangin' with Bubo (virginiansis) (Marmora, Ontario trails haibun  -  December 29th, 2004) Another adventure on the trails of Ontario ... it was so bright yesterday (finally) that I decided to do my daily walk facing into the sun. Chose the snowmobile trail which runs behind the old quarry hamlet of Malone. The first kilometer of the trail is thru an avenue of cedars and white pine, which then opens to a mile-long straightaway across a swamp. About a quarter of the way across the swamp I surprised two white-tailed deer approaching to browse. This is to be expected, as many trails are lined with sumac and various other seed-bearing appetizers. Unfortunately, the deer caught my scent, and they skipped back through the swamp to a thickly wooded hummock. Bending bloodred clusters for a future feast I continued along the straightaway, stopping for several minutes to soak up much-needed vitamin D. Despite the brightness the day was bitterly cold, at least minus 15C. To keep warm I set a fast pace, and was just about bowled over by a brown and gray buzzbomb from the swamp! A great horned owl brushed within fifteen feet of me, unusual as they are night hunters. I intuited where he had landed in the thick brush on the other side of the trail. There he was, perched in the upper branches of a tree. Solstice smudging rewards: another new friend I had the feeling he was also watching me very carefully, and I gave a thin high whistle to mimic a small rodent. He swivelled his head further towards me like Linda Blair in "The Exorcist". We stared at each other for at least five minutes, and I felt so crazy I held out my arm hoping he'd land on it. Synchronicity again with the owl tribe. A few days earlier I'd placed a full-colour picture of Bubo virginiansis on my home altar. This was my third major visit from Bubo, and each visit was becoming longer and more intimate. Ancient monk/warrior readies for fresh battle: old ways returning Wanting to mark Bubo's location, I noticed a skeletal stump in the swamp. I paced back to it so I could memorize the spot, and then I noticed an ancient metal number "9", like an address marker on it. Very curious. Time to head back, and reluctantly I turned away from the sun. A haze of clouds was now hanging in the sky, and taking a last glance I saw something I'd never seen before - a huge rainbow was arcing from horizon to horizon forming a corona around the sun! After the deer and the owl I wasn't sure if this was a flashback, so I walked a few hundred yards without again looking towards the sun. Yes, it was a brilliant full rainbow, framing the sun! Sylvia told me that night these are called sundogs, or parhelions. Buddha so beautiful a veil is required Chris Faiers/cricket email from Dr. John, Oct. 19/14: http://www.marmorahistory.ca/chris-faiers-poet Great to hear the audio, in the flesh. Viva voce. In "Hanging with Bubo" you mention sundogs. Shamanic familiars et al. Brought me back to the cremation of Chogyam Trungpa in Barnet, Vermont in '87. The morning started cloudy. Then, as the ceremonies continued, things changed. The sky cleared to reveal a sundog, the classic manifestation at the cremation of a great master. Eagles flew over, all the signs. We, in the crowd, oohed and ahed. Is this CGI? (there was no CGI in those days). All the miracles were there. As in the new testament at the crucifixion. Not part of our scientific Western paradigm, but there it was. No LSD needed. Here's Alan Ginsberg's take: http://www.tricycle.com/special-section/cremation-chogyam-trungpa-vidyadhara

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Chris Faiers (home)   |   biography & bibliography   |   Eel Pie Dharma


This haibun is from my ZenRiver: Poems & Haibun
2008, Hidden Brook Press
isbn: 978-1-897475-25-6

a limited number of copies are available from me @$10 pp - signed if you wish - illuminated free  - also if you wish  (individually illustrated with coloured pen shaman drawings)
 

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