Tales Of Hoffmann: The Writer's Eternal Struggle

My Opera Program

A week ago last Sunday, my husband and I went to a first-rate production of Jacques Offenbach's Tales Of Hoffman, staged by the Canadian Opera Company. If you're not familiar with this opera, see this article on Wikipedia.

Coloratura soprano Adriana Chuchman, who played an automaton named Olympia, gave an outstanding performance. Her characterization was very funny and her voice was so perfect it brought tears to my eyes. 

Although "Tales" has closed, COC is finishing up runs for two other operas this month; so if you like opera at all, check out http://www.coc.ca/. It's worth a trip to Toronto. (Plus there's a Picasso exhibition on now at the AGO.)

Although I greatly enjoyed the beautiful voices and first class orchestra, that's not why I'm writing about Tales Of Hoffmann. At heart, this opera is an exploration of whether an artist - in this case, a poet - can be involved in a relationship or not.

Ron Stewart's Poetry Group At Landon Library

I have not attended Ron Stewart's poetry group for a long time, but I am subscribed to his updates and enjoy "staying in the loop."

Ron was unable to host this past Wednesday, December 14, 2011, however, he let us all know how it went. Here is his update:

Here is the insider report on Last Night at Landon. I have it on good authority that a lively poetry workshop took place with 9 or 10 poets.

As you now know the guest facilitator was the beautiful and talented Christine Thorpe and my thanks go out to her for stepping in at short notice and running a fine workshop.

Unfortunately I was not there to take notes on the poems studied last night, but here are some of the titles. I leave it to you and your vivid imaginations to fill in the blanks.

Here are some of the titles:

•     They wore pink - (perhaps something about breast cancer?)

•     Armageddon in the Food Fair (I can't imagine what was going on here,   but it sounds great)

•     Skating Party (A short poem with a twist I bet)

•     Dragon Summer (Knowing who wrote this poem, I'm sure it wasn't about martial arts)

•     She is (or was) no ordinary rose (not about gardening)

•     Untitled about tights and angels (I don't think this was about angels in tights)

•     Lover moon (I can see the canoe bobbing gently in the reservoir while two lovers...)

If any of the participants would like to send their poems along I would be more than pleased to read them. My curiosity is killing me.

Anyway, back to Last Night at Landon.

My insider reports that the poems were thoroughly discussed and the poets found the group comments eye opening if not helpful.

I hope to get back on track for the January workshop. See you on the 11th at 6:30 PM at Landon Library.

If you are a London, Ontario poet and you would like to share your work and get feedback,  Ron's monthly workshop is for you.

Put January 11th at 6:30 p.m. on your Calendar.   

P.S. Landon Library, if you are unfamiliar with it, is located at 167 Wortley Rd., London, Ontario, Canada N6C 3P6. Phone is 519-439-6240.

London's Passionfool Theatre Company Excels!

I've not really known what to do with this blog - still don't - since it's no longer connected or linked to the original London Writers' Society website.

Yet, there have been so many times I've wanted to blog about a book or a local play or write a recommendation. 

I keep thinking I'll start another blog or another site, but I'm really busy.

So, although sticking with "London Writers' Society" for the name of my blog doesn't really fit anymore, it is what it is - at least for the present.

Since I have this blog set up and I need not make any decisions about a new name or URL - I don't have to build or set up anything - and I can still just write, I'm going to do it, even though it's unlikely that this blog will come up in any search engines or be found.

Still - what the hey. So - to my real topic.

When Passionfool Theatre comes out with their new season subscription, get it!

I had one this year and it was great. The last play staged (in November 2011), Attempts On Her Life, was surprise after surprise and brilliantly done. The whole cast did a great job, yet Jason Rip's performance really struck me as outstanding. 

Since this is what I have come to expect from Passionfool, this last time - when I was waiting for the performance to begin  (and if you've been to the Arts Project venue you know this is a very small venue with few or no props) - I realized I felt as excited as I do when we go to Stratford!

It was, of course, for different reasons.

I feel enthused about going to a play at Stratford for - let's face it - the beauty of it.

It's an opportunity to visit that beautiful little town, step into the sumptuous venue, be enthralled by lavish sets and costumes, and thrill to some famous  thespian projecting his or her energy "in the flesh."

It isn't, however, a place to go if you are interested in thinking a new idea or having a bit of a paradigm shift about reality. 

For instance, I didn't think too much about Camelot after I saw it at Stratford.

Yes, it was fun. Yes, it made me laugh and, yes, it made me shed a tear for the pain of lost love.

But, bottom line, it was predictable - even though I had never seen a performance of Camelot before - and that's why I think people go to Stratford.

They've seen many of these plays before or, at least, heard the story lines.

The surprise is to see the new costumes, sets, small interpretative changes. In the case of Camelot, the big surprise - and one that got a gasp from the audience - was when a real falcon flew from Merlin's arm.


I have no doubt that Passionfool Theatre - had they the funds - could stage equally beautiful productions, yet that is not their forte.

The company does "edgy" really, really well. Brilliantly, in fact.

Passionfool stages plays you will never see at Stratford, plays that surprise you and - in the words of the TVO slogan - "make you think."

I think the thing I really like about the plays they put on is that they demonstrate how difficult it is, really, to stereotype people or to label them.

We are all much more than we think we are or project. And both the Shadow and the Angel are ever present and waiting for the right - or wrong - circumstances to invite them out to play.  


In any event, this is local theatre at its best.

So call The Arts Project at (519) 642-2767 and reserve your 2012 Passionfool season subscription.

For a whopping $50 you'll see 3 plays: House, Three In The Back Two In The Head, and The Crucible. (Brochure.)

If you enjoy provocative and brilliant local theatre,you will not be sorry.

Highly Recommended: Passionfool Play "Terrorism" Thru March 26 2011

Highly Recommended: Passionfool Theatre's production of the play "Terrorism" currently at The Arts Project.

I went to the matinee on Saturday - reluctantly - because I judged the title as depressing and was, frankly, afraid of the material. If my step kids hadn't given me a subscription to the Passionfool season, I wouldn't have gone. As it was, I dragged my heels going there, but - surprise! - I emerged energized.

A vibrant play that keeps moving and is never boring or preachy, but gives you plenty to think about, it's directed by Justin Quesnelle who has, once again, excelled in both staging and direction.

If I counted correctly, 19 actors fill this play, and they do a really good job of depicting a wide spectrum of viewpoints and behaviors and their consequences. I'm really glad I did not miss this one.

If you like performances that give you something to think about, go see "Terrorism." If you go with a friend, you'll probably find yourself wanting to go out for coffee to talk about it afterward.

Full of surprises, dark humor, ironies and good acting, this is a must-see if you're in London, Ontario. Plays through March 26th. Again, highly recommended. Do not let the title scare you away as it almost did me.

Need a ticket? Call 519-642-2767. Or here's the URL:

http://www.artsproject.ca/theatre/passionfool.shtm

Bruce Johnson Memorial On November 28 2010

The Arts Project has lost Bruce Johnson:

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/11/18/16210886.html

From the London Free Press:

The devoted father of four adult sons and “champion of culture,” who many credited Thursday for turning the Arts Project into a beautiful facility, died after suffering a heart attack Wednesday night (November 17th). He was 64.

As word travelled Thursday, friends quickly set up a tribute web page (http://brucejohnson.tumblr.com/) for others to post memories and pictures of the dad, buddy, business executive and more recently arts enthusiast.

I stopped in the Arts Project today and Sandra said that there will be a memorial for Bruce at the Arts Project on Sunday, November 28th at 7:30 p.m. 

I have to be there. I saw him so many times while buying tickets or when stopping in to see the art. Bruce was a force - a friendly one.

He will be missed by so many.

On a happier note, the oil paintings by Donna Andreychuk (that are up now until December 4th) are fabulous.

(Bruce hated that word, but it fits.)

A must see.

Call For Manuscripts From Penguin U.K.

LWS member Ruth Zavitz sent me this notice that she saw from Penguin U.K. In the notice the publisher says it will accept manuscripts directly from writers if they are sent electronically. The deadline for submissions is October 31, 2010.

Penguin normally will not even look at a manuscript unless it is brought in by an agent. They do not normally solicit manuscripts from the public, so this notice is unusual.

"People frequently ask us how to go about getting published.

Our company policy is to not accept unsolicited manuscripts or synopses and we cannot enter into correspondence about unpublished work. 

However, for a limited three-month period from the beginning of August until the end of October 2010, we will be inviting submissions to be sent in electronically to the following address: 

submissions(at)uk.penguingroup.com.

We ask that email submissions comprise a brief covering note and synopsis and not a full manuscripts.

Please do not send attachments, please write out your cover note and synopsis in the body of the email.

We remain unable to accept hard copy submissions and will not return or be responsible for the safety of any that we do receive, so please do not send any original or hard copy manuscripts to us.

We will not contact you with feedback on your submission and will only enter into email correspondence with you if an editor within Penguin is keen to progress your idea."

This is a great opportunity if you have a manuscript perfected and ready to go.

Blogger Aims To Publicize London Fiction

Ahmed Khan has launched a new blog called Fictionlondon at http://fictionlondon.wordpress.com to promote writing (fiction, specifically) that features London, Ontario as a locale.

Ahmed enjoys featuring London in his own stories, and would like to receive information about any works of fiction (both short stories and novels) that also are set in London. His stated intent is "to provide more exposure to writers as well as the city of London, Ontario itself."

If you have written a story set in London, Ontario visit Ahmed's blog and let him know.

Eleven stories set in London, Ontario were read at Fringe Words, and you can read about them in this blog post of mine.

Volunteer Webmaster Sought By London Writers' Society

I have advised Richard Nagel, the current president of the London Writers' Society, that I must divest myself of all responsibilities  I have been carrying out for the society - website maintenance and updates, newsletter creation and editing, and maintaining the email delivery system - effective September 1, 2010.

This is year four for me,  and I need to hand things over. It's time for others to get involved and lend a fresh perspective. 

Anyone interested in volunteering to update the website (built in css) or who is interested in working with Richard to create another newsletter, please contact him at:

president(at)londonwriterssociety.ca

If no one comes forward and the society is unable to pay for website maintenance, then it is possible that the site will simply have to come down as there is nothing worse in cyberspace than a stale website with inaccurate information. 

(Well, maybe it's clicking on a link on some innocent-looking site  in a search for legitimate information about a legitimate topic and facing some hideous bit of pornography, and yes, that happened to me once.)

I don't know if I will have time to add posts to this blog; time will tell.

If, however, the LWS site must be taken down, then the issue will probably be moot since this blog was meant to be a quick way to add supplemental information to the website. 

September 1st will mark the end of four years of  extensive volunteer work on behalf of the society, so that's a great date on which to end it. 

It's been an adventure, but all adventures eventually must end and give way to new ones, and a new one awaits my full attention. 

Sultry Summer Poetry Festival July 11 2010

Ron Stewart, who will resume hosting open poetry workshops at Landon Library in October, sends this reminder for this coming Sunday:

The Ontario Poetry Society

Invites You to Attend & Participate In

The Sultry Summer Poetry Festival

Sunday July 11, 201012 Noon at the Mykonos Restaurant,
572 Adelaide St., London, Ontario

Featuring:
The Incredible Heat Wave Raffle

Sponsored By:
Key Porter Books, McClelland & Stewart,
Guernica Editions, Insomniac Press,
Mosaic Press, The Mercury Press, HMS Press
In Our Words, Canada Cuba Literary Alliance,
Creative Vocalization Studio, Magni Frame,
Hidden Brook Press, Snowapple Press, Brick Books,
Descant Arts & Letters, Passion Among the Cacti Press,
The Azrieli Foundation & Innersurf International.
---
Many Exciting Prize Packages
of Brand New Books & CD's to win!
---Members Readings, Open Mic & Free Admission

Free Parking & Free Gift For Coming

Fringe Words 2010: A Hoot

This year the London Writers' Society paired up with the London Fringe Festival to bring Fringe Words back to the festival.

If you did not attend Fringe Words 2010, you missed a good time and some great stories, all of which were linked through associations (real or imagined) with London, Ontario.

Hosted by LWS president Richard Nagel, this was what you missed

London Author Runs Contest With $3000 In Prize Money And No Entry Fee

London Ontario author Peter Riley sent me this info on a contest he is running to promote his novel. The contest begins on July 4th. From his website:

"Enter this contest to have a chance to win a chunk of $3,000 in total prize money...the catch is you’ll have to read the novel in order to answer the questions.

You’re probably thinking: Free e-book, cash prizes . . . What gives?

What gives is that I’m 65 god-damned years old, this novel means more to me than anything in the world, and I’m desperate to get it published while I’m still alive." 

Who cannot relate, no matter what your age? 

Peter's idea is to get his book noticed and, possibly, picked up by a publisher.

An innovative approach, this looks like a good chance to interact with another London author, have a bit of fun and maybe win a bit of cash for your own publishing efforts.

And - who knows - his book, Universes, might make a great summer read. (I love the cover so I hope you don't mind, Peter, that I put it in this post so people could see it.)

His website is www.universes.ca and contest information is HERE.

One Way To Avoid Rejection Of Your Manuscript Or Why Publishers Hate "Smart Quotes"

Ruth Zavitz forwarded this email on using "smart quotes" which was sent to her by Bob Zumwalt. It turns out that publishers are so busy that, sometimes, they will reject a manuscript simply because it will be too much time and work to clean it up.

From Bob Zumwalt:

"Gayle Surrette, IWW's Fiction admin, wrote this a while back.

It offers another perspective on formatting submissions that goes beyond our concerns at Novels-L. Learning proper formatting for our list is good practice for approaching an agent or publisher. They may not send a 'formatting problems' reminder in response to a sloppy submission."

From Gayle Surrette:

I have to speak to the smart quotes plain text thing.

Writers' Police Academy Workshops Include Firearms Training Simulator

Mystery writer and LWS member Pat Brown sent me the link to the Writers' Police Academy, a workshop for mystery writers given by police officers.

The workshop will include Firearms Training Simulator (FATS) and offers writers the opportunity to:

* Train like the pros
* Bring your writing to life
* Real police academy instructors
* Something for all genres
* Train with real police, fire, and EMS equipment
* An on site working fire station and EMS equipment

Pat says she's going to it and expects it "to be great."

From the blog of Lee Lofland, author of Howdunit: Police Procedure & Investigation A Guide For Writers, and one of the officers who teaches the course:

"Show me your hands! Drop the gun! Drop the knife!

Get out of the car, now!"

Strange Angel Calls For Original 30-Minute Plays

Strange Angel Productions is now accepting submissions of original 30 minute one-act plays. 

Six plays will be chosen to be a part of a 4-day theatre-based charity event which will be held at the ARTS Project November 3 through November 6, 2010. 

The six plays will be grouped into two sets of three allowing for one group to perform on Wednesday/Friday and the other on Thursday/Saturday. All are evening performances.

Submission Guidelines:

Call To Artists, Musicians, Writers For Saturday, October 2, 2010

From the L.O.O.K. Organizing Committee!

Just received an email from Ron Stewart who hosts poetry workshops once a month at Landon. A member of his group asked him to forward notice from L.O.O.K. about this event in October and its call to artists, musicians, and writers to participate. The following info is from the email:

A Call to Artists for Saturday, October 2nd, 2010

To convene in Queens Park on Dundas East, Old East Village

Between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. in London, Ontario. NO FEES.

The Bicycle Powered Stage

Got a band? Love to perform on stage? This stage is going to be powered by the people. Literally!

Self-Editing For Fiction Writers

Ruth Zavitz, along with critique group attendees Paula Carr and John Hitchens have just recommend Self-editing For Fiction Writers.

I found self-editing to be a very slippery slope, since the eye and brain are wired to jump over mistakes and see what should be on the page instead of what is.

Had the text-to-speech software TextAloud2 been around back then, I would have used it to listen to my book for an audio proofread and catch those mistakes, but it wasn't.

I remember an email that circulated years ago. It was full of misspellings, but the joke was that no reader saw them until he or she got to the end and the misspellings were pointed out. I remember I found it shocking.

But the brain is very clever and an expert at making sense of misspelled words. All it needs is for the first and last letter of a word to be correct and  it will fill in the rest, especially if you're tired, bored, or have gone over a manuscript so many times you know it by heart.

According to researchers at the University of Toronto, as reported in an article in Science Daily:

June 9 - Locavore Author Sarah Elton At LPL

This sounds great. From LPL website:

Come and meet Sarah Elton on Wednesday, June 9 at 7 pm in the Stevenson & Hunt room in Central Library. Sarah is Canada's leading voice in the local food movement, the food columnist for CBC Radio's Here & Now, the author of the just published book:

Locavore: From Farmers'fields To Rooftop Gardens - How Canadians Are Changing the way we eat. 

Locavore describes how foodies,100-milers, urbanites, farmers, gardeners and chefs across Canada are creating a new local food order that is sustainable and can feed us all. In recounting the stories of its diverse cast of characters, Locavore lays out a blueprint for a local food revolution.

A book sale will follow.

Passion Test Profile

I'm definitely taking this test after I get the London Writers' Society June 2010 edition of the newsletter queued to go out.

Seeking Writing Festivals

LWS member Miguel Carbonell sent me the email below giving an update on how his book signing went and his desire to do more of them. He has one coming up this month on June 5th.

If anyone knows of a writer's festival other than the four he mentioned here -  Words Alive, GritLit, Eden Mills and Bookfest - please leave the info in a comment.

Hi Clyo,

I have a signing Saturday, June 5th from 1-3 p.m. at the Chapters in Ajax. My next signing in London will be at Chapters North (opposite Masonville Place) on Saturday, June 26th from 1-4 p.m.

    I thought the signing at Chapters London South went fine. I sold a few books and got to talk to a bunch of people.Also important, the salespeople at the store now know what the book is about.

    Often, people ask them for suggestions, so it's good to have them on your side. Because the children's section of the store was curtained off for remodelling, they placed me across the main aisle on the wrong side of the store. I had to explain to everybody that my book was a children's book.The store manager decided to keep my book and suggested another signing event some time in the Fall. That's good news.

    On another subject, I was going to ask you if you have a list of festivals in Ontario where writers can go and sell their books. I got some locations from Brian Henry, but maybe other members of the LWS know of promising opportunities. This might be useful information for the LWS website or your newsletter. This is the list from B. Henry:

    Words Alive, north of Toronto: www.wordsalive.ca/news/

    GritLit in Hamilton: www.gritlit.ca/

    Eden Mills festival: www.edenmillswritersfestival.ca/

    Bookfest in Windsor: www.bookfestwindsor.ca

I've looked into these four, and the one at Eden Mills in September appears to be the most promising. It costs $25 to rent a table and two chairs for the main day. I've asked them if they want me to present my book at one of the festival sessions, but I think I'll be running against some major writers for a spot.

    Cheers,
    Miguel

Sell Your Fiction With Videos

50% of what people look at on the Internet is video, so a video campaign is a great way to get traffic to your writing website.

Likewise, a good way to get viewers desperate to read your book is to record a bit of it (a very interesting bit) that leaves the viewer wanting to know the end of the story and, therefore, wanting to buy your book to find out.

You can hire a professional videographer to do this and/or go to a studio, or you can do it yourself with your home video recorder or camcorder.

Just be sure to include a URL at the end of your video that shows viewers (and readers) where to go to purchase your book.

Let's say that your book is called Agatha's Exile and you choose to read a harrowing account of Agatha stumbling into a group of zombies. (My tongue-in-cheek tip of the hat to Liz and her hilarious creation, Helga Bitter.)

So your call to action in that case could be something like: