Friendly Neighborhood Dusty Owl Presents Capital Slam, 16 July

[SteveThe Owl]

The Dusty Owl Reading Series Presents Capital Slam

Sunday 16 July

5pm

Swizzles Bar & Grill

246b Queen St., Ottawa

No Cover

Each summer the Capital Poetry Collective chooses four finalists and an alternate to represent Ottawa at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (this year, in Toronto) in the fall, and Dusty Owl is pleased to present the official Ottawa team's premiere performance again this year. These poets are the best the Capital Poetry Collective has to offer, and that means this is a show you won't want to miss. We're bouncingly happy to be bringing Jim Thomas, Kevin Matthews, Ritallin, DJ Morales and Festrell to the Dusty Owl mike to show just how talented, eclectic, and entertaining Ottawa's poets can be.

Jim Thomas recently arrived in Ottawa from the UK, where he was a founder of Oxford's Hammer and Tongue poetry slam along with Steve Larkin. Kevin Matthews has called Ottawa home since 2004, and was one of the volunteer organizers of the Canadian Spoken WordLympics, and a member of the 2005 Ottawa team. Ritallin, also a previous team member, co-founded the Capital Poetry Collective, acted as Slam Master for two years and recently released his first book, Cerebral Stimulation. DJ Morales has been burning up the slam scene for a couple of years as the youngest ever Capital Slam champion, and was most recently named Ottawa's champion at the CBC Poetry FaceOff. Festrell is a repeat monthly slam champion and a founder of Nekusis Zine Distro. For more about the poets, check out their sites or the Capital Slam website.

Partial proceeds from this reading will go toward helping the team get to Toronto for the Festival, and the poets will be bringing their CDs, EPs, chapbooks -- and possibly visual art -- to sell and sign. Come on out to hear some of the best spoken word artists in Canada, and to wish them luck in the competition -- because with a lineup like this if they don't bring home the gold we're going to have to test the other teams for performance-enhancing substances.

We'll also be having the usual and always entertaining open mike after the show (watch for Steve and his legendary Poetry Goggles), and encourage all comers to step up to the challenge for the Object of Desire.

Anyone who wants to bring their own books, zines, and CDs to sell is welcome to bring them along and set up a table.

It's all gonna be at 246B Queen Street (near Kent) -- down the stairs under the green awning. See you there!