Heart Beats: Warriors Against Violence

A few years ago, I wrote a song with the ridiculously talented Vancouver musician and community builder Russell Wallace. The song What Shall I Sell? is now available on the benefit CD Heart Beats:Warriors Against Violence. All the proceeds from the CD go to help fund the Warriors Against Violence Society, Family Healing, Violence Prevention, and Youth Services. Email warriors@wavbc.com to order your copy.

God of Missed Connections at the Advent Book Blog

Hey, Neat. God of Missed Connections has been recommended not once, but twice (twice!), on the Advent Book Blog.  

See it Recommended by Angela Rawlings.

See it Recommended by Megan Adam.

Better yet, head on up to my neighbourhood bookstore  People's Co-op Bookstore and buy the book. I spotted two copies there a couple of days ago. Thanks for keeping it in stock, PCB.

And thanks to Sean Cranbury and Julie Wilson for keeping the blog up and running. What a cool idea. I made a little recommendation myself. And one more for good measure!

Happy Holidays!

November/December Report

Okay, I'm checking in to report on my activities this fall. I've been pretty busy, so I haven't been keeping up with this blog as much as I'd like. So, here goes: My last big readings were at Calgary's WordFest and the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Calgary was a lot of fun. We stayed at the Paliser Hotel downtown and performed at the Vertigo theatre, which is attached to the hotel via a network of underground tunnels. I read with Billeh Nickerson, Alexis O'Hara, Chris Demeanor, Hal Niedzviecki, and Roland Pemberton, and a jazz ensemble directed by Mario Allende. It was a pretty fun reading. Hal gave a visual presentation on his book The Peep Diaries, Alexis O'Hara made a lot of great noise, Billeh read from his new book McPoems, Roland Pemberton read with the jazz trio, and Kris Demeanor surprised me with a great short story about a Ukrainian couple recently relocated to Calgary. His reading was a nice segue from my God of Missed Connections. I was also on a Sex-in-Your-Writing panel with Zoe Whittall, Thomas Trofimuk and Barry Callahan in which I spoke too much and too vehemently about, well, sex—and after the readings in Calgary, we were shuttled out to the Banff Centre for a Poetry Bash hosted by Lorna Crozier. It was the best poetry reading I'd seen in a long time. It was particularly delightful to see Karen Solie read—whom I'd never seen read before—and to meet Shani Mootoo who was my date for the evening, a wonderful writer and a truly delightful person to spend time with. Then I was off to read in Vancouver, the highlight of my year, I think. I read at the Poetry Bash at Performance Works on Granville Island with Robert Bringhurst, Xi Chuan, Carol Anne Duffy, Heather McHugh, and Greg Scofield. It was a real honour for me to read there since I've been going to that event for as long as I can remember and I've seen a lot of great poets on that stage. This night was no exception. The other readers were hilarious and strange and erudite and warm. It was thrilling to read with each of them, so much so I didn't quite know what to say, so I didn't say much. I was so nervous before the reading, I thought I'd pass out. I opened the night with a set from God of Missed Connections with the help of a group of Ukrainian folk singers from Vancouver's premier Ukrainian folk chorus, Zeellia. Special thanks to my singing teacher Beverly Dobrinsky for making that happen. Dearly wish someone had recorded us singing. If you did, please let me know. I'd love to post it. I was particularly thrilled to meet Carol Anne Duffy and Heather McHugh, two poets I admire very much and whom I may never meet again. Wow. OK, that's enough for now. Later.

God of Missed Connections & Curio at the Northern Poetry Review

Click here to read Alessandro Porco's double review of God of Missed Connections and the reprint of Curio: Grotesques and Satires from the Electronic Age at The Northern Poetry Review. It's kind of hard to excerpt, but who could help but pull out this nugget:

"At her best, Bachinsky displays a wild vocabulary and a cheeky wit that other poets of her generation can only hope to attain...But what I most admire is that Bachinsky...seems willing to do, say, or try anything at least once. That exploratory sensibility serves her well both in Curio as well as God of Missed Connections."

Right on. Which reminds me...I'm reading an anthology right now called American Hybrid. The introduction by Cole Swenson is particularly great. Check it out.

Liz Reads in Vancouver, Oct 24

57  The Poetry Bash Saturday, Oct 24, 8:00 pm Performance Works, Granville Island Elizabeth Bachinsky Robert Bringhurst Xi Chuan Carol Ann Duffy Heather McHugh Gregory Scofield Host: Clea Young

Always a Festival favourite event, The Poetry Bash brings to Vancouver’s stage this year six poets who are titans in this field. England’s poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy joins Pulitzer Prize nominee Heather McHugh, CanadianRobert Bringhurst, winner of the BC Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence, and China’s Xi Chuan, widely translated and recognized as one of the most dynamic poets living in China today. Rounding out the team is relative newcomer Elizabeth Bachinsky, herself nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry, and Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize winner, Gregory Scofield. This is a formidable line-up, sure to please the ear of word and image lovers everywhere.  $23  Buy tickets online at Vancouver Tix.

Liz Reads in Calgary, Oct 15 & 17

29 - Word of Mouth

Thursday, October 15, 9:30pm Vertigo Theatre Centre, Studio  Calgary Elizabeth Bachinsky, Kris Demeanor, Billeh Nickerson, Hal Niedzviecki, Alexis O'Hara and Roland Pemberton  An event not to be missed with a lineup that will leave you speechless. Wordsmiths play with music and, as a bit of a surprise, you may find yourself spilling some of your own secrets! Authors are joined by the WordFest house band under the musical direction of Mario Allende.This event is sponsored by CJSW 90.9 FM.  Tickets are $20.00, $10.00 for students and seniors – call WordFest at 403.237.9068 for more information. 52 - Afternoon Delight Saturday, October 17, 2:30pm Vertigo Theatre Centre, Studio Calgary Elizabeth Bachinsky, Barry Callaghan, Thomas Trofimuk and Zoe Whittall  These four authors have an honest, in-depth discussion about sex and sexuality and how it ends up in their work. Warning: this event may cause reddening of cheeks and/or hysterical laughter. This event is sponsored by SWERVE Magazine. Tickets are $15.00, $7.50 for students and seniors – call WordFest at 403.237.9068 for more information.

Sexy News Roundup of the Week

Here, the Calgary Herald prepares you for "Afternoon Delight: Writers Talking about Sex," one of the performances I'll be part of at Calgary's Wordfest this Saturday. Come out and listen to what Yours Truly, Barry Callaghan, Zoe Whitall, and Thomas Trofimuk have got to say about writing sex.

and Winnipeg's Uptown Magazine caught up with me to talk about God of Missed Connections at the Thin Air Festival last month. My favourite quote? "Ukrainians are deadly sexy..." 

The things girls say...