The Raving Poets was a collective of poets and musicians who held a series of live, weekly
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
with
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
events in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It ran from 2000 to 2010.
Origins
The Raving Poets had several
open mic
An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether the ...
‘music and poetry’ precedents in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, but the actual first ‘music ''with'' poetry’ event happened in the summer of the year 2000.
That year, three of the ‘founding fathers’ were board members with th
Stroll of Poets Society an Edmonton poetry group that hosted two annual reading series. Mark Kozub was president, Thomas Trofimuk, Volunteer Coordinator and Gordon McRae, Treasurer. The Board was tasked with finding ways to expand and revitalize the Society, which faced declining membership.
During the May 4th, 2000 Stroll of Poets board meeting, in keeping with the expansion mandate, three new "Subsidiary Roles" were created, Media Liaison, Liaison with other Arts Groups and Open Stage Coordinator. Though both Mark and Thomas were optioned for sharing the role of Media Liaison, it is the Open Stage Coordinator role that gave Mark the impetus to start up something completely new – with Thomas sharing the hosting duties with him.
The new reading series, Poetry Tuesdays ran through February, March, and April 2000. The Backroom Vodka Bar was used as the venue of choice in two of those three months. The ad of the March series ran, “Beware the Odes of March, hosted by Phil, the Cowboy Poet with ''The Art to Choke Hearts'' band.” Though Mark and Thomas read during the March series, neither were part of the ‘band’.
The real beginning happened when this ad was posted in the May 2000 Stroll newsletter under the heading "More Chances To Be Involved"
''"The Alberta Beatnik (Mark Kozub) and Thomas Trofimuk are looking to host & coordinate a monthly ‘Open Stage’ event down Whyte Avenue, starting in June or July. (The goal is simple: get new members.) If anyone has a lead on a funky Whyte Avenue venue that might need the extra business (and might even pay the Stroll a small fee to boost it), call Mark Kozub at … ASAP"''
“The Raving Poets” began as the name of a reading series, but soon came to be thought of as the name of the band, and later, the collective of poets and musicians who performed together on weekday evenings.
On March 23, 2002, Mark, Thomas and Gordon left the Board and the Society for good during the Stroll’s Annual General Meeting. From then on, their energies were directed solely toward the Raving Poets.
Founding Fathers
Mark Kozub bass
Thomas Trofimuk keyboards
Randall Edwards guitar and synth
Gordon McRae drums and percussion
Michael Gravel MC
Notable Poets Michael Appleby
Ryan Baier
Jocko Benoit
Joe Blow (Todd Anstead)
Michelle BoudreauNatalya BrettleAnton Capri
Dawn Carter
John Chalmers (Revy Man)
Christine Comeau
Tim CusackAdriana Davies
Corine Demas
Trisia Eddy
Bonnie Enes
Tyler Enfield
Kevin Feeley
Kathy Fisher
Delvina Greig
Corey HamiltonMargaret Haugen
Jenn Heather
Cathy Hodgson
Alison Hurlburt
S.E. IngrahamPhilip JaggerWendy JoyChris KruegerTodd Kuziw
Jefferson Lavender, Shelley Lawson
Gary LeeRusti LehayJohn LeppardMandie LopatkaJ.P. LorenceLaurie MacFayden
Jan Mann
Aaron J. MarkoPaul McLaughlin (The Middle Poet)Kerry Mulholland
Nerissa
Ubaka OgboguNicole Pakan
Roy Picou
P.M. PilarskiMary PinkoskiDan Poitras
Justin Poulin, Daniel Poitras,Monika Ptak
Ray RasmussenShima Aisha RobinsonVictoria RohacKelly ShepherdAdam Snider
,Kevin solez
c.t. staplesSuzanne SteeleLara ThesenvitzMingus Tourette
Deborah Vos
Amy Willans
Rosemary Wilson, Sheri-D Wilson
Sheri-D Wilson, CM D. Litt, (aka "The Mama of Dada") is a Canadian poet, spoken word artist, educator, speaker, producer and activist.
From 2018-2020, Sheri-D Wilson was Poet Laureate of Calgary. In 2019 Sheri-D was appointed one of the country ...
The Concept
The Raving Poets was conceived as an open mic
An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether the ...
poetry event with improvised musical accompaniment. As the jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
poet scenes in the 1993 Mike Myers
Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollyw ...
movie, So I Married an Axe Murderer prove, it was not a new concept. What set the Raving Poets apart was the incredible variety of musical and poetic styles performed. From the wordsmiths, everything from Slam
Slam, SLAM or SLAMS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional elements
* S.L.A.M. (Strategic Long-Range Artillery Machine), a fictional weapon in the ''G.I. Joe'' universe
* SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield), a fictional anti-ball ...
and hip-hop to erotica
Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use a ...
and nature poetry, with generous doses of politics, confessionals and rants. The musicians matched these forms with equally eclectic styles, from folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
, rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
and jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, through ambient
Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to:
Music and sound
* Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds
* Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere
* ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby
* ...
, experimental
An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...
and other electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
.
Series
* Peace Talks, 2001
* The Beat Goes On, 2002
* Pig Poetry, 2003
* Fall of Love, September 23 to November 25, 2003
* Mumbo Jumbo, A Word Circus, April 6 to August ??, 2004
* Kill Phil, vol. 2, September 7 to December 7, 2004
* Rock the Kasbar, February 8 to April 26, 2006
* Rapture, February 1 to May 31, 2007
* Space Monkey, November 7 to December 12, 2007
* Heart Beat, March 5 to May 28, 2008
* Born to Write, October 15 to December 3, 2008
* Sofa King, April 1 to May 27, 2009
* 9½, October 7 to December 2, 2009
* Sotto Voce, April 12 to ??, 20??
Venues
* The Backroom Vodka Bar, 2003–2006
* The Kasbar Lounge, 2006–2010
Recordings
* Peace Talks, 8-CD set, 2001
* The Beat Goes On, 8-CD set, 2002
* Pig Poetry, 2-CD set, 2003
* Mumbo Jumbo, A Word Circus, CD, 2004
* The Raving Poets - Remixed, CD, 2007
Live at the Kasbar
podcast, 2006
The Roar
The Raving Poets created a festival, The Roar,
External links
Ravingpoets.com
Live at the Kasbar
Live at the Kasbar on iTunes
The Raving Poets on YouTube
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Raving Poets, The
Poetry organizations
Canadian writers' organizations