eugene stickland  

I shared this quotation from David Byrne on my Facebook page the other day:

I wouldn’t be surprised if poetry — poetry in the broadest sense, in the sense of a world filled with metaphor, rhyme, and recurring patterns, shapes and designs — is how the world works. The world isn’t logical, it’s a song.

Apparently David had his 74th birthday recently to which I say “Happy birthday and thanks for all the music! And the poetry!”

Meanwhile, I am happy to announce that the Caffe Beano Anthology 3 has been sent to the printers.

The idea for the anthology came about when one of the staff at Beano (Danny, for the record),discovered the first anthology we created back in 2008. Long story short — everyone thought it would be a good idea to do another one, all these years later. Why not?

A poster was created. I sent a few emails. I wrote a post on here. And then word of mouth took over.

In just over a month we received submissions from more than 50 poets and artists. Charlie Roe, who is working at Beano and finishing up his degree at the Alberta University of the Arts (aka ACAD) created a beautiful design for the book. Another Beano employee, Teghan Mendes who recently completed a degree in photography at the same university, created this gorgeous image for the cover. Emily Pohorelic, Beano’s manager, kept everything running smoothly. Less than four month later, it’s at the printers.

We are planning a “gala launch” on Friday, June 26 at Beano from 5 till 7ish PM, where you can procure your very own copy of our very cool little book for a mere $25.00. (The book will be available at Beano after the launch, so if you can’t make it on the 26th, you can still pick up a copy sometime later.)

We are hoping some of our writers will show up and read their work. There will be music and of course, coffee. (It’s a coffee shop, after all!) We may well carry on into the evening somewhere along 17th Avenue, with significantly stronger beverages than coffee — but for now, that’s the time and place.

This is the third Beano Anthology I have had a hand in editing, perhaps even curating. As I mentioned, there was an 18 year gap between the first one and this one. It seems that a lot has happened in the world during that time that has not necessarily been pleasant for many of us. Well, I’m happy to report in a world gone mad in so many ways, there is still poetry, perhaps now more than ever. It was entirely gratifying to receive so many submissions from some our most venerable poets and some neophytes as well. The quality of the writing in Beano 3, in my mind at least, is higher than ever.

But don’t take my word for it. Come by and get a copy and see for yourself.

For the record, Caffe Beano is located at 1613 9 St. SW, just off 17th Avenue.

Thanks for reading!