Honoured to have been nominated for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts 25 Influential artists award by my colleague Kit Dobson (and by another, anonymous, member of Calgary’s literary community) — and to have in turn nominated Marni Strome for the same award. Recipients will be announced this coming weekend as part of Alberta Culture Days…
Calgary’s metro takes an interest in The Calgary Renaissance (forthcoming from Chaudiere Books)
One year ago Helmets for Heroes partnered with the Canadian Luge Team to bring 7 projects to life. Athletes were paired with local Calgary artists and youth suffering traumatic brain injuries to create unique pieces of art that were worn during the 2015-16 World Cup season.
After protecting the heads of National Team athletes – while creating awareness for concussion prevention and helmet safety – it’s now time to auction of these incredible works of art.
100% of proceeds from the sale of the helmets will go to Creative Impact Health Foundation to support their initiatives and fund future Helmets for Heroes projects.
I’ve cast the first volume of my VEXATIONS project in to a short animated film. VEXATIONS decomposes the score of Erik Satie’s masterpiece through repeated photocopy degeneration. Each volume uses a different photocopier to degenerate Satie’s score
The first of a projected 10 volumes, VEXATIONS decomposes the score of Erik Satie’s masterpiece through repeated photocopy degeneration. Beaulieu’s VEXATIONS moves writing towards “furniture music.”
Each volume uses a different photocopier to degenerate Satie’s score – with startlingly unique results. Taken as a 10-book suite, the completed project will present 840 variations (84 variations per book over 10 books)
Purchase a copy here (limited edition of 26 copies; 176 pages $26 + shipping)
watch the short animated version on vimeo
Pour se jouer 840 fois de suite ce motif,
il sera bon de se préparer au préalable,
et dans le plus grand silence, par des immobilités sérieuses
—Erik Satie
(“In order to play the theme 840 times in succession,
it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand,
and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities”)
—Erik Satie
Calgarian designer Matthew Knapik (with whom I previously collaborated with on Calgary Read’s Little Free Library Passport, a PDF of which I’ve posted here) has just transformed a series of my concrete poems in to surface patterns, in response to a call by Uppercase Magazine:
The result of a collaboration between poet Derek Beaulieu and designer Matt Knapik, this collection explores concrete poetry as a departure point for pattern design. Letters are plucked from their everyday roles and given the opportunity to participate in compositions that give them new expressions of form and character. Transformed further into extensible motifs, the poems playfully threaten to infest their two-dimensional worlds.
I’m very proud to unveil the cover of THE CALGARY RENAISSANCE!
Edited by derek beaulieu and rob mclennan, and published by Ottawa’s Chaudiere Books, The Calgary Renaissance highlights some of the diverse and astonishing experimental poetry and fiction that has emerged out of the past two decades of Calgary writing. An essential portrait of some of the most engaged and radical of Canadian writing and writers from one of the country’s most important literary centres.
Contributors include: Hollie Adams, Jonathan Ball, Braydon Beaulieu, Christian Bök, Louis Cabri, Natalee Caple, Weyman Chan, Jason Christie, Chris Ewart, Aaron Giovannone, Helen Hajnoczky, Susan Holbrook, Ken Hunt, Jani Krulc, Larissa Lai, Naomi K. Lewis, Nicole Markotic, Suzette Mayr, kevin mcpherson eckhoff, Sandy Pool, Sharanpal Ruprai, Ian Sampson, Jordan Scott, Nikki Sheppy, Natalie Simpson, Emily Ursuliak, Natalie Zina Walschots, Andrew Wedderburn, Julia Williams, Rita Wong, Eric Zboya, and Paul Zits.
Introduction by derek beaulieu and rob mclennan. Cover by Natalie Lauchlan and Nathaniel Mah. Designed by Christine McNair and Cameron Anstee.
Order today from your local, independent bookstore!
The University of Calgary’s Alumni Association asked me to offer some advice to first year students, in the form of “Advice to my First Year Self” (YouTube)
one more teasing photo of a new project with Richard Harrison and Kit Dobson at Mount Royal University …
