GBRS Report - 01 October 2011

GBRS presents... “Another damn poetry reading” @ NAC

Featuring Geof Huth, NF Huth, & Angela Szczepaniak + Laura Woermke's Sick Secret

With only one short week since the opening of the 2011-12 season, Grey Borders Reading Series was back at the Niagara Artists Centre for another splendid night of poetry featuring Angela Szczepaniak (Toronto, ON), NF Huth (Schenectady, NY) and Geof Huth (Schenectady, NY).

Generously sharing the space with GBRS, the night began with the opening reception of “Sick secrets” (Oct. 1-14), an exhibition featuring the captivating artwork of Laura Woermke (London, ON). The collection captures emotion during moments of trauma and struggle in hauntingly vivid colour, and a slightly abstract approach. With this brilliant backdrop thoroughly taken in by the roughly 30 who attended, people began to take their seats and poetry commenced.


Angela Szczepaniak, first to take the podium, began her presentation with a selection of works from her first book, Unisex Love Poems, whic endearingly explored humourous and unfortunate advice on dating. She concluded a few a poems from her upcoming book, The QWERTY Institute (annual report), which will be available from BookThug sometime this fall. These poems focused on the curious, sometimes bizarre fonts found within some the world’s most popular word-processing programs.


NF Huth, who introduced herself casually as Nancy, was next to present and began with selections from her first book, Radiator, which portrays everyday occasions with complex anxieties in a beautiful and intelligent flow of images. With the occasion also marking the launch of her most recent publication, 3 Words (published by serif of nottingham editions), she appropriately closed with selections from this collection.

After a brief beverage break, the night wrapped up with an stunning performance by Geof Huth, entitled “The Disappointments of Language” which included single-word poems and (un)intelligible and intricate sound poems that linked to visually projected words and photographs. This eclectic selection and Huth's keen improvisation collated into a confident, engaging and quirky performance.

Yet another dazzling final performance concluded Grey Borders Reading Series' second evening of the season. We capped off the night with casual conversation and many visits to the table donning publications of all performing artists. With two successful shows complete and another approaching (on Oct. 14 at Mahtay Café): the Grey Borders Reading Series 2011-12 season is on a roll!

(Photos and report courtesy of Amanda Ann Roth)