Cover design by Charlie Roe. Photo by Teghan Mendes.
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.
Back in the early days of the current century, my friend Michael Finner and I had the idea of starting a small publishing house here in Calgary. Our plan was to publish poetry and plays and other books of interest to the literary community. We called it B House, for reasons too diverse and obscure to go into at this time.
One of our early projects was an anthology of poetry written by the denizens of Caffe Beano. Beano is a special place for many of us who live in the Beltline neighbourhood of Calgary (and beyond). It has a diverse clientele — zillionaires from up the mountain to the south and a real mixed bag of folks living more modestly in the immediate vicinity. You never know who you might be standing next to in line when you’re waiting to place your order.
At any given time, should you venture into the place, you might find a number of people working away in paper notebooks or on laptops. Others might be reading. It’s populated by patrons (as well as staff) from various artistic communities of Calgary — literary, visual arts, music, photography, etc. etc.
As I said in my introduction to our first anthology, “If you’ve ever wondered what those of us who like to write in a public place like Caffe Beano are actually writing — here’s your answer.”
We published the first Caffe Beano poetry anthology in 2008 and followed with a second a few years later. As we haven’t done all that much since then in the area of poetry, other than three beautiful books by the indefatigable Kirk Miles and another beauty by Tyler Perry. I’ve come to refer to B House as a “boutique publisher.” Make of that what you will.
On any account, a few months ago one of the current employees at Beano came across the original anthology. We were looking at it, and with the help of Emily, the manager, and the blessing of Keaton, the owner, we decided to do another — 18 years later! We’re being assisted by Stephanie who edited the original volume. And we have a great young graphic designer, Charlie, who will be creating the look of the book.
Some of the contributors to the original anthology will be back, some have disappeared, at least one has sadly passed away during the interval. We are curious as to how the poems (and in some cases, drawings) we receive from not only established writers but from a new generation of younger poets will differ from those we collected so long ago, and how they will remain the same.
Anyone with any kind of association with Beano over the years is welcome to submit a poem or two or a drawing for the book. The poems don’t have to be about coffee. In fact, they should probably be about something else.
If you’re interested, the information for submission is on the poster above. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I’ll be sure to get back to you.
In the words of Allen Ginsberg: “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.”
eugene stickland 