It’s a brave theatre company that stages a play reading on Thanksgiving when, by all rights, people should be basking on the couch in a turkey-induced coma, but the gamble paid off for DaPoPo.
The Monday night reading of Dance with Desire by Montreal actor/playwright David Sklar played to a packed house at the Living Room (And by all accounts, many of the events at DaPoPo’s month-long Live In have been attracting a lot of people.)
The play is a one-man-show that has the great Canadian poet Irving Layton looking back on his life and loves. Actor Garry Williams was outstanding as the geriatric Layton and the play itself—-though a work in progress—-offered a wonderful window into Layton’s brilliant, self-serving, misogynistic psyche.
While this reading was a one-night-only event, I wanted to write about it in order to draw attention to the many other readings and workshops that are being offered until October 30.
For more information visit http://dapopolivein2011.blogspot.com/
This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2011.
One more time folks, he was NOT a misogynist, or any more self-serving than any artist, writer, poet, singer, entertainer since Adam and Eve. Sigh. Sorry, being a female, I guess I don’t have the brains to state what I know to be fact. Only spent nearly 14 years at his side 24/7. Silly me.
That said, sounds like it was a great show. Wish I had been there.
Irving Layton was my poetry mentor at Banff many years ago. It was a real privilege to be under his tutelage. His method was what you might guess about the man: he just rewrote the poem I handed him. I learned a great deal from that stark exercise that took him thirty seconds. He didn’t mince words. He sent one poet packing with the words, “This isn’t poetry; this is drivel.” There’s a great live reading of his he did at our poetry and music cabaret. It’s in the Paul Fleck Library at The Banff Centre under “Advanced Poetry Seminar.”
I’ve been back to Banff twice since then and worked with two fine poets, Barbara Klar and Alison Pick in the Wired Writing Studio. The programs are a lot more organized now and the faculty is the best. But there will never be another Irving Layton and working with him was a unique experience. He did hit on one of the other female poets there. He was a great lover of women like his friend, Leonard Cohen. His book “The Gucci Bag” is a favourite.
I wish I had known about the play. I’ve been in Halifax almost two years but have yet to connect with the vibrant literary scene the Coast speaks about. Where is “The Living Room” and “DaPoPo” How can I participate?
Joanne Light
I have two poems in the current issue of Arc Magazine “Poet vs. Poet”