direct link: Interview with Nik Beat on his Collage Art Shows

Nik Beat is a well-known Toronto poet, musician, and radio host; what most people don't know is that he is also a Collage artist. An "Inner View" with Nik Beat, who currently has two Collage Art Shows. One at Gallery Catalyst, 666 Queen St W, Toronto; and the other at the Grackle Coffee Company, 208 Main St, Schomberg, Ontario. An interesting interview on his show, "Famous for Falling" - on pop icons who hit bad times or opted out of life altogether. He talks about his Marilyn Monroe collage (one with JFK in it), Elvis Presley, Francis Farmer, even Jesus Christ. He does get a wee bit graphic at one point, so listen without children in earshot. He talks about the rigorous requirements of Gallery Catalyst in Toronto, surely a unique way of getting artists to produce, and their way of showing and selling art. And a little of his show in Shomberg, where his larger collage that took 2 years to finish, 'Sex for Sale' is on exhibit. I enjoyed interviewing the interviewer (he does a weekly show on poetry, spoken word and music at CIUT 89.5FM)! Hope you enjoy listening as much as I did!

(cover photo is also mine from when he did a collage at Nuit Blanche 2011)!

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Ink Ocean: http://youtu.be/w4Xs2dIt2m4

On Nov 25, 2012, I performed my prose poem 'Ink Ocean,' on the Gulf Oil Spill, as one of the featured poets at Nik Beat's HOWL@QSpace in Toronto. I had memorized the prose poem. The image of the ink drawing, from which the poem emerged, only appears in the still for the video (I've included an image at the end of this post for you). I'm actually quite happy with the performance itself - passionate, intense, and yet clear enunciation.

Ink Ocean is about the oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 when nearly 5 million barrels, or 210 million gallons, of crude oil were spilled into the sea due to an explosion of an off-shore drilling rig. It remains the largest marine spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

Over 5 months, hydro-carbon eating bacteria devoured 200,000 tons of oil and natural gas in the Gulf, and then stopped. Despite the massive cleaning efforts by the oil industry and governments, and the efforts of the bacteria, as of 2012, 40% of the spill remains in the waters.

This prose poem began as writing in an ink drawing. It took 6 - 8 months to finish, and was revised in preparation for this reading.  It is an experimental poem structually. A poem of utterance, of cross-currents and paradoxes. It is composed of many voices, and perspective shifts.

There are two parts. The first is on the oil spill, and the second is about love in a world bordering on oblivion, a world that's half spirit. We are in the 6th Mass Extinction on the earth. This is the backdrop.

The poem starts out in the Gulf and moves with the Gulf Stream to the Atlantic Ocean where it becomes a love poem. Can we love in a world inviting extinction? Yes, of course we can, and must.

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With thanks to Nik Beat, Q Space and Luciano Iacobelli. It was a great evening.




Ink Ocean, 2010, 13" x 16", India ink on archival paper. My prose poem on the Gulf Oil Spill, Ink Ocean, emerged from this drawing. The poem was revised in 2012.

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The poem that emerged from this drawing, Ink Ocean, is the one I will be performing Sunday night. Today, for the first time, slowly, halteringly, I recited it from end to end, so there's hope that I will be performing rather than reading it.

I attended Norman Cristofoli's chap book launch last weekend, The Fall from Eden, "a book about the transformation of humankind, the manifest destiny of our failure as a species to live in harmony with our environment, or even with ourselves." The Open Mic was called the “Apocalyptic Open Stage,” and he asked us to "bring a poem about the Apocalypse, the Mayan Calendar, The End of Days, Revelations, Nostradamus or any other end of this calamity of humanity."

On Open Mic, I performed the first section of Ink Ocean, on the Gulf oil spill, and reciting it from memory went over very well. So I was inspired to make the effort to memorize the whole poem, which will fill 8-10 minutes.

My son and niece, Tara, are coming, and I'll get him to babysit a video camera on a tripod, and Tara is a kick-ass photographer, so I've asked her to take photographs.

I'm one of four featured poets at HOWL at Q Space, 382 College Street, this Sunday evening, Nov 25th from 7-9pm. Q Space is a bookstore, cafe, and hosts literary readings and art shows. It's also the home of the publishers, Quattro Books and LyricalMyrical Press. Do come out, have a tea and a slice of cake, and enjoy some wonderful readings and songs by the features and on Open Mic.

 Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/oOl2a
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I will be one of four hot featured poets next Sun evening, from 7 - 9pm, at Q Space, 382 College Street, College and Borden, just east of Bathurst, along with Jennifer Hosein, Penelope J. Smith and Josh Smith at Nik Beat's Gaddist Poetry and Music event. There is also an Open Mic after our readings.

If you're in Toronto, or vicinity, do come out. We'd love to see you! Q Space is a cafe, bookstore, hosts literary events and also art shows - at the front end, behind are the publishers, Quattro Books and LyricalMyrical Press. A fabulous little treasure in the heart of Toronto.

I'm honoured to be reading there.

Here is a little charcoal sketch I did of Stedmond Pardy reading at the last Gaddist Poetry Event.




Last night I took a quick iPhone pic when I was down there. The whited-out sign says, 'Quattro Books.' It extends quite far back inside and can accommodate up to 50 people. (Take a look at blogTO's pics, way better!) Do come out for an evening of poetry and music, enjoy a tea or coffee and a slice of cake. We'd love to see you!!



Location on Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/oOl2a


View Larger Map

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I'll be on the radio tonight - Nik Beat's HOWL - for a short spot, a poem or so, a little yak (10 min), along with two other lovely ladies, Jennifer Hosein (who writes great stories and does wild paintings) and Penelope J. Smith (fluffy the cat's Mommy, also, as you'll hear, a Dali Lama approved lady) as we promote a poetry reading on Nov 25th in the Beaches in Toronto. It's going to be a bit of a rush for me - the 2nd last Keyhole session ever is tonight. That ends at 10pm, so a cab to CIUT 89.5 FM for Nik's show, which runs live from 10 - 11pm. Hope it all folds together seamlessly, that we have a great show, and that I do some interesting drawings too!

You can listen live on-line: http://www.ciut.fm/shows/spoken-word/howl/

I'll also set my computer on a timer to record our portion of the show; if it works, hopefully upload that tomorrow.

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Paris Black models at Epique Lounge on Nuit Blanche, 29 Sep 2012, 12" x 16", charcoal, acrylic, water-soluble oil pastels, triple-primed canvas sheet.


My Nuit Blanche Paris Black sketch. Worked on a little. I had sprayed the original sketch (that you see below) with a 'fine art' fixative and that seems to have created a finish that the water-soluble oil pastels do not adhere so well to. I added more colour anyway. It will rub off at this point, but I'll re-spray it with the fixative so that will stabilize it. What you see here is about as far as I can take the picture. I'm satisfied with it. A scan of a detail.




Paris Black, rock star, musician, artist, super model, artist's model on Nuit Blanche, 29 Sep 2012, unfinished sketch, 12" x 16", charcoal, water-soluble oil pastels, triple-primed canvas sheet.

First I did the figure on the right, but was drawing with my sketch pad flat on the table at the Epique Lounge in Yorkville, and so he was elongated. I had dutifully coloured it with vibrant blues, blacks and flesh colours, including his blonde hair, but wet a paper towel and wiped out the whole sketch, leaving a shadow of it. Then I drew his next pose on top of the original, but only in charcoal - with my sketch pad at 45 deg angle this time. Lol. There wasn't time to begin colouring it with washes. Hopefully this week I'll get to it.

A teacher from the Academy of Realist Art was there, as well as a number of other fantastic artists, like Kerry Kim, with superlative graphic arts skills, and my friend, Jennifer Hosein, whose work is strong and bold, so I tried for something spiritual, a zeitgeist perhaps. I do hope Paris likes my little attempt.

Nik Beat, fresh back from his trip to St. John's with Laura Rock, recited his poem, Unkill, and there's an interesting video of him reciting it in the old World War II bunkers in St. John. Brandon Pitts also recited some of his poetry - he is a consumate master of the poetry performance. And Paris asked me to read, so I read Dance/ ...indigo folio leaves, which there is also a dance videopoem of.

It was a warm, wonderful Nuit Blanche event. Drawing into the early hours in an extraordinary space, I felt we were in the best place in a busy city. It was our secret, this enclave.




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A reading of White Fire on CIUT FM in Toronto, 2000
on Nik Beat's show.

Courtney Park Library, Nov. 26th - GREAT POETRY EVENT!

From left to right, Nik Beat, Brenda Clews, Brandon Pitts, ParisK Black, Jennifer Hosein, Tallulah Doll, and Susan Munro... Brandon's book of poetry, Pressure to Sing, was launched, and the rest of us read or recited or sang in an interspersed open stage (between the three book launches)... it was a great afternoon!

And a daytime shot like this... rare.

direct link: Nik Beat at Free Times Cafe - live and uncut

An evening of Nik Beat and Friends at the Free Times Cafe in Toronto, Canada on September 16, 2011. An uncut set playing in real time, we see Nik at his disarmingly charming best between beautiful songs and poems. This is as close as it gets to being there. We adore you Nik! Enjoy the show!

Nik sings some of his new recorded songs and poetry from his book, "The Tyranny of Love." Joining him are Michael Ratt, Pat Kelly, Michael Marian, Joani Paige, and Willie Anicic .

From Seraphim Editions, the publisher of his book of poetry, "The Tyranny of Love": "Born in 1956, Nik Beat (née Michael Barry) toiled in the rock and roll field for a number of years until he quit and took the moniker Nik Beat. This native Torontonian has for the past 20 years been a writer/poet published in numerous anthologies. He has been profiled on Much Music and TVO's Imprint as well as in an upcoming CBC radio appearance. He currently hosts the HOWL spoken word radio show on CIUT 89.5 FM. He lives in the quiet doldrums of the famous Beaches area, where he not only commandeers a Words and Music show at the Renaissance Café but is also an accomplished collage artist."

The Free Times Cafe performance videoed and edited by me, Brenda Clews.

Nik Beat's voice, to my ear, is softer, richer, more modulated than ever. Perhaps mellowed is the word.  Like the heart beats in the vocal chords, irradiating songs with feelings, feelings that connect us all. In the clip, he's singing emotional textures -that move us the way birdsong in the trees moves us. My video is a set of his atand is uncut, only a filter of strong contrasts added....I love the sound track. He's in top form. Really fine set, so glad I taped it. It's open in another browser window as I listen for the 20th time to the track!

William Leighton wrote: "Very well done. Loved the simplicity of it and the refrain from constant motion. Nik definitely is a pilgrim on a journey and he invites people to hear from those travels. What we believe is paramount to who we become and where we end up and the heart is the compass of that journey. Truth does lie at the end of the journey for us all though. Travel safely and wisely."

Good Night Girl was awesome, as Willie Anicic said, and many of us mentioned how that song played in our minds for days afterwards. A beautiful paean to his beloved Linda Mercer, who passed away this year.

I wanted Nik to see the set uncut before I did anything (well, except the filter I added), but he liked it and said to go ahead and make it public, which I did. Watch like you're sitting at a table with a drink listening. It's dark and your friends are with you. Enjoy!

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ps I linked Nik to a Google search on his name since he's all over the place. :)