Frankson: "We're talking about some of the very best [spoken-word performers] you will find anywhere - not just in Canada, but in the world" photo: Ben Welland

At first glance, adding a beat or a melody via an instrument seems to strip away the definition of spoken word, or turns it into a brand new beast altogether. But according to local spoken-word enthusiast Greg Frankson, mixing music and spoken word together has been around as long - if not longer - as classics like Gil Scott-Heron's The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. Recently, the mixing of the two art forms, which Frankson refers to as multi-art performance, has become a bigger trend in spoken word communities.

"People are starting to use it more and more. It's starting to gain more exposure in the mainstream consciousness," he says.

Frankson is part of the growing trend. His own work as a slam poet, under the name Ritallin, has included collaborations with musicians, including an initiative he helped to create called Instant Release.

Believing that it was time to shine a spotlight on the potential of multi-art performance, Frankson decided to create a showcase event. Dubbed Scribology, the inaugural event features three distinct and highly talented groups that use both music and spoken word.

The first is the Young Griot Collective, a local group of slam poetry superstars that includes Free Will, the 2007 Capital Slam Champion. The Kalmunity Vibe Collective from Montreal will perform spontaneously improvised music that also incorporates the poetry of their collective members. Their music crosses genres but is consistently "organic," says Frankson. Last but not least, the critically acclaimed Vancouver-based group The Fugitives will perform their folk-inspired multi-art.

According to Frankson, for slam poetry newbies, Scribology is the perfect introduction to spoken word performance, thanks to the high quality of its performers. The Fugitives' Brendan McLeod, for example, has placed second in international slam poetry competitions.

"We're talking about some of the very best [spoken-word performers] you will find anywhere - not just in Canada, but in the world," says Frankson.

If multi-art performance is as innovative as Frankson describes, it could be a breath of fresh air for lyrical music. While vocals will always have its place, the art form can barely be considered inventive when scores of mediocre performers crowd karaoke bars, embarrass themselves on Idol shows and annoy neighbours with Rock Band song renditions. Spoken word, on the other hand, takes a certain amount of guts to pull off, never mind imitate. Who knows, perhaps multi-art, in addition to evolving spoken word, will also save lyrical music?

Scribology
@ Library and Archives Canada
Feb. 27, 7 p.m.
$25 advance
 
 

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Not a Lot of Scratch     It seems Robert Kehl that you haven't done much scratching yourself -- that is, of a surface analysis of an event that was perhaps one of the best poetry-related events that ever took place in Ottawa. A group from Vancouver who have been nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award because of the excellence of their genre-bending CD can hardly be termed aspiring. Nor is it possible for a group like Kalmunity to come down from Montreal with musicians, poets, singers, reggae MCs and poets, ten people strong, to be fairly compared to a "poetry reading" done by slam poets. The fact that there were two dozen professional artists who performed that night must have escaped your attention, or the fact that we flew the Fugitives in from out of town, and that Kalmunity also had to travel to get here. You may also have missed the tremendous amount of planning and effort that went into putting this event on, an event without parallel in the larger family of spoken word events in Central Canada for its blending of music and poetry. This was not a poetry reading, it was not a slam, it wasn't some locally aspiring poets hanging out in a venue and spitting some poems. It was a large-scale one-day music and poetry festival celebrating Canada's diverse poetry and music expression with artists from different regions of the country. It was as much a music concert as it was a poetry event. It was an inaugural edition of what will become (god willing) a large-scale multi-day spoken word and music festival. What people need to understand is having something of that level of quality and complexity will cost more than the $5 a head you can pay to go to the local 1-2-3 slam, or the $7 to go to a monthly show at the East African Restaurant or to Capital Slam. I hope when Scribology 2010 happens next March 5, you will have had the time to see that it is not just some small open mic or poetry slam event, but the large, professionally managed annual spoken word and music festival t
Greg Frankson		March 6th, 2009
Comparing Ottawa with Montreal     Here we go again, making the assumption that Ottawa simply pales in comparison to Montreal, just because we haven't done the research. Fine, fine: I'll do it for you. Capital Poetry Collective www.capitalslam.com This group hosts slam poetry competitions once or twice a month at the Mercury Lounge. $7 cover, and the shows have been selling out minutes after the doors open. Bill Brown's 1-2-3 Slam 12 poets slam it out in 3 rounds of 1 minute, 2 minute and 3 minute poems. Third Thursday of every month at the Umi Cafe. $5 Cover. Dusty Owl Reading Series http://dustyowl.com/ Every other Sunday at Swizzles Bar: features celebrity poets and writers, as well as provides a stage for open mic. Free event, with donations lovingly accepted. Also look up: AB Series, New Stalgica, Tree Reading Series, Bywords, Ottawa International Writers Festival... or, you know, just look up Ottawa poetry or something. You'll find plenty.
Jessica Ruano		March 5th, 2009
Aspiring?     Did you not see the line-up? These are hardly 'aspiring' poets. This was an incredible line-up and well worth the price.
Rusty Priske		March 5th, 2009
Is it just me, or does the price seem a bit steep to go see, essentially some local aspiring poets? i see events like these, and think, maybe I'll check that out, then see the price and cross it off my list. I suppose there are a lot of folk in Ottawa to whom 25 bucks in not a lot of scratch I just remember living in Montreal, and there were poetry readings pretty much every night around the city, some by local poets, and what later would come to be termed 'slam' poets, and some by long established poets from near and far. these gigs were generally between 0-10$. The upper range for well known poets who had travelled to do the reading. Maybe I'm just getting old and dont keep up with microeconomics anymore
Robert Kehl		February 26th, 2009
Erin!     I love Erin!
Jade Bergeron		March 18th, 2009

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