SATURDAY JULY 24th, 12-5pm at ‘Of Swallows, Their Deeds, and the Winter Below’ or 283 College.

Artistic Director Bill Kennedy holds a lecture and discussion on David Antin’s what it means to be avant-garde in relation to this year’s Scream Literary Festival. Antin’s text, republished for the festival by The Emergency Response Unit, provides a unique and provocative take on the avant-garde, one which can be used not only as a guide to this year’s events but also as a measure for their merits. It will begin with a 45-minute introduction to the text, and will touch on notions of the poetry reading as a form of theatre. Discussion will inevitably turn to the broader issues raised in this year’s keynote panel, and it is hoped that grounding those discussions in Antin’s text will help structure the conversation in a productive way. The sympathetic and the skeptical are equally welcome. Foregone conclusions are not.

The $20 admission will include a copy of the T.E.R.U. edition, with the remaining proceeds going to The Toronto New School of Writing. Advanced knowledge of the text is crucial, so copies will be available to registrants at Of Swallows early this week.

Capacity: 12 Students

FEE: $20 donation (includes a copy of what it means to be avant-garde). You can pay online or when you arrive in class. If you are going to pay on the first day, please secure your position in the class by emailing. Visit the New School's website to pay.

Thanks again to all involved for making the 18th Annual Scream in High Park a ridiculous success. Despite the threat of rain, hundreds of people packed the hill and caught one of the more dynamic (and strange) sets The Scream has ever had. Thanks again to all the performers who put on such a tremendous show.

Thanks also, of course to all our volunteers, whose tireless work really made the festival happen. As well, thanks to our executive board who made the festival hum. And of course, to Bill Kennedy and Jenny Sampirisi for their tireless work shaping the Scream into the celebration it was.

We encourage people to continue the conversations started by this year's festival. The blogs are a buzz, bars are full of conversation and the people want to talk more.

Thanks again and see you all next year!

We're excited to be able to post the video to yesterday's Youthtube event in the next week. It really was a generous and beautiful collection of readers and poems. Keep coming back to the site catch it.

The same can be said of the Old School VS New School panel. The conversation that came out of it, especially in the audience Q and A section was wonderful. You'll also be able to see video of the event posted over the next week.

But enough small talk. It's time for the Scream in High Park Mainstage, starting 7 PM on the Dream stage in High Park. The Scream Literary Festival culminates in the event that started it all 18 years ago: one night of performances guaranteed to delight and confound. Featuring: Gil Adamson, Angela Carr, Brian Joseph Davis, Jeff Derksen, Linh Dinh, The Element Choir, Michael Lista, Kathleen Phillips, Damian Rogers, Ken Sparling and Sherwin Tjia. Hosted by Misha Glouberman. Books will be sold by TYPE Books. The event runs RAIN OR SHINE so come prepared with rain gear, snacks, blankets and your listening pants.

• Gil Adamson
• Tony Burgess
• Angela Carr
• Brian Joseph Davis
• Jeff Derksen
• Linh Dinh
• Element Choir
• Michael Lista
• Kathleen Philips
• Damian Rogers
• Ken Sparling
• Sherwin Tjia

Hot Tips for Tonight
Arrive Early: While the mainstage doesn't start until 7, get there early and enjoy a walk through beautiful High Park to set you in the proper poetry-apreciation mood.
No Dogs or Glass bottles: Sorry, but dogs and glass bottles are not allowed in the amphitheater.
Blankets: Bring something to sit and stretch out on.
Picnic Food: Pack yourself some snacks. The performance lasts until about 11 and you're bound to get hungry and thirsty.
Rain Gear: Even though current weather reports look great and clear, The Scream in High Park goes rain or shine . If it does start to sprinkle, you'll want to stay dry.
Extra Cash: All the performers' books will be for sale so bring a couple extra dollars so that you can scoop up your favorite reader right away.

YouthTube: User (Re)generated Content

Sunday, July 11, 2010 - 4:00pm
THE SUPERMARKET

YouTube is a vibrant media community for many young artists. It is also a place where provocation is likely to occur, whether it be in the form of expression, dissent, reinvention, or appropriation. This year, our youth event takes the form of a digital scream, as we record and present video of young writers performing and responding to original poems and cover poems by seminal avant garde writers. The recordings and text are projected onscreen and remixed in a looping feed. The audience is invited to interact by texting their responses to the poems and performances; these responses will be projected alongside the recordings. Join us as we exploit YouTube's culture of immediate digital call and response, and explore the potential of expression through riff, reorder, and disarray.

OLD SCHOOL VS. NEW SCHOOL

Sunday, July 11, 2010 - 5:30pm
THE SUPERMARKET

Our panel discusses the fate of “radical” literature, which seems increasingly traditionalist, academic and tame. The Scream pits Old versus New, as our panelists tackle the “avant-garde” and point to literature’s new frontiers. Featuring Jenny Sampirisi (The Toronto New School of Writing), Kate Eichhorn (The New School in New York) and Jeff Dersken (The Kootenay School of Writing). Moderated by Bill Kennedy.

THE SCREAM IN HIGH PARK MAINSTAGE

Monday, July 12, 2010 - 7:00pm
THE DREAM STAGE, HIGH PARK
Cost: PWYC, $10 SUGGESTED

The Scream Literary Festival culminates in the event that started it all 18 years ago: one night of performances guaranteed to delight and confound. Featuring: Gil Adamson, Angela Carr, Brian Joseph Davis, Jeff Derksen, Linh Dinh, The Element Choir, Michael Lista, Kathleen Phillips, Damian Rogers, Ken Sparling and Sherwin Tjia. Hosted by Misha Glouberman.

NOW Magazine has listed not only the wrong date, but the wrong performers. Looks like they used last year's information (?!).

The correct date for the Scream Mainstage is Monday, July 12th (this Monday!) and the lineup is as follows:

Gil Adamson, Tony Burgess, Angela Carr, Brian Joseph Davis, Jeff Derksen, Linh Dinh, The Element Choir, Michael Lista, Kathleen Phillips, Damian Rogers, Ken Sparling and Sherwin Tjia. The evening will be hosted by Misha Glouberman.

Please help us out and forward this widely to counter the misinformation. The show is going to be great.

As well, a.rawlings has two new posts about the Scream at her site over here. Read on!

Many thanks to everyone involved with the sprawling and extremely lovely (and at times deviant) booklength reading of Margaret Christakos. This is especially true of our gracious hosts the Women's Arts and Letters Club, whose home was fantastic and provided an awesome playground for the text and Christakos' constant kinetics. Kudos also to The Food Dudes, who made one of the most tremendous meals even conceived of, let alone actually executed. And of course, thank you to Margaret for such a generous evening, full of twists and turns.

But, alas, the Festival moves on. Tonight is The Scream Gala: Moustache Party, starting 7PM at Hugh's Room. Come party with the Scream in your best moustache or beard! Celebrate in style with raffles, music, and plenty of fabulous company. This year we’ve also added a few contests to the evening to encourage you to dress up that face! Categories include: Best Moustache, Best Beard, Scariest Facial Hair, Best Original Creation. Can't go homegrown? Make your own, or we'll have strap-ons on hand for you to mix'n'match, switch it up, and trade with your friends! Collect them all!

Opening up will be Henri Faberge and the Adorables (http://myspace.com/hfab) who will be followed by Maylee Todd (http://www.eyeweekly.com/music/article/95673), then DJ Green (http://myspace.com/greengomusic).

Then, Sunday we've got a double bill. First, YouthTube: User (Re)generated Content! Beginning at 4 at the Supermarket, our annual youth event promotes technology and the young. YouTube is a vibrant media community for many young artists. It is also a place where provocation is likely to occur, whether it be in the form of expression, dissent, reinvention, or appropriation. This year, our youth event takes the form of a digital scream, as we record and present video of young writers performing and responding to original poems and cover poems by seminal avant garde writers. The recordings and text are projected onscreen and remixed in a looping feed. The audience is invited to interact by texting their responses to the poems and performances; these responses will be projected alongside the recordings. Join us as we exploit YouTube's culture of immediate digital call and response, and explore the potential of expression through riff, reorder, and disarray.

This is then followed, at 5:30 at the Supermarket, by Old School VS New School. Our panel discusses the fate of “radical” literature, which seems increasingly traditionalist, academic and tame. The Scream pits Old versus New, as our panelists tackle the “avant-garde” and point to literature’s new frontiers. Featuring Jenny Sampirisi (The Toronto New School of Writing), Kate Eichhorn (The New School in New York) and Jeff Dersken (The Kootenay School of Writing). Moderated by Bill Kennedy.

Then don't forget about Monday night. Scream!In!High!Park!

Thanks to everyone who made last night's Biting The Hand such a rousing success. It was heartening to know that even if our government sponsors pull the plug on our funding, the Stoof Foundation has our back. And an especially big congrats to Spencer Gordon, winner of our Grant-Slam!

While tonight is the sold out Booklength dinner tommorow is our Beard Team Canada Sponsored Scream Moustache Gala. This year's party starts at 7PM at Hugh's Room. We’ve also added a few contests to the evening to encourage you to dress up that face! Categories include: Best Moustache, Best Beard, Scariest Facial Hair, Best Original Creation. Can't go homegrown? Make your own, or we'll have strap-ons on hand for you to mix'n'match, switch it up, and trade with your friends! Collect them all!

Opening up will be Henri Faberge and the Adorables (http://myspace.com/hfab) who will be followed by Maylee Todd (http://www.eyeweekly.com/music/article/95673), then DJ Green (http://myspace.com/greengomusic).

Looking forward, Sunday is full with YouthTube: User (Re)generated Content and Old School V.S. New School. Check out the links for more info!

And as always, we end the festival Monday, July 12th with our Scream in High Park mainstage. Check out our list of performers and show up with your blankets and snacks!

A truly glorious and rambunctious night last night. Packed into 6 different venues, all 18 readers delighted and entertained. The Centre for Sleep and Dreams was the perfect ending, a not-so-quiet sending to bed. Many thanks to the performers and to Lisa Foad and a.rawlings in particular for putting such a sprawling set of events together.

Yet, despite this awesomeness, the Scream pushes forward anew. Tonight, starting at 7PM at the Stealth Lounge, is The Hand That Feeds. Nothing says “radical” like a well-written grant application, so it’s about time that a literary festival celebrates the contributions of our great Canadian arts bureaucracy. The evening will be fair and orderly, ranging through a series of powerpoint presentations, performances and culminating in a Form Slam. Read up on your Roberts Rules of Order and join Karen Hines, Evan Munday, Darren O”Donnell, Angela Szczepaniak, RM Vaughan and Natalie Walschots in our arms-length tribute to Canadian arts policy. Sponsored by The Stoof Foundation. Proper business attire is encouraged. For those of you that have been buying poems from the Toronto Poetry Venders, tonight is your chance to read the grant application you've been given!

Then, once the party has worn down, come to bpNichol lane to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of Nichol's Zygal. The fun starts at 11 PM.

And although we're still a few days away, it's time to think about getting your party pants on for our annual Scream Gala, 7PM at Hugh's Room. This year is a moustache party! Come party with the Scream in your best moustache or beard! Celebrate in style with raffles, music, and plenty of fabulous company. This year we’ve also added a few contests to the evening to encourage you to dress up that face! Categories include: Best Moustache, Best Beard, Scariest Facial Hair, Best Original Creation. Can't go homegrown? Make your own, or we'll have strap-ons on hand for you to mix'n'match, switch it up, and trade with your friends! Collect them all! Opening up will be Henri Faberge and the Adorables (http://myspace.com/hfab) who will be followed by Maylee Todd (http://www.eyeweekly.com/music/article/95673), then DJ Green (http://myspace.com/greengomusic). Yeah!

Anyone who was lucky enough to be at Welcome to the Carnival last night was witness to two extraordinary performances. David Antin gave a stunning talk-poem, perfectly blending conversation and performance, dreams and narrative, politics and humour. We're hoping to post the audio file of the talk here soon so please keep coming back for more details.

This was followed by Steve McCaffery reading panel III from Carnival. Performing over a taped reading of himself, he amazingly blended Panel I and II from Carnival in a rolling, often funny show. Carol Fox, one of our esteemed bloggers, does a delightful job wrapping up the night over here so make sure to read that.

We're following up last night with tonight's Choose Your Own Poetic Adventure Pub Crawl. We begin at Camp 4 (1173 Dundas St. W) and Red Light (1185 Dundas St. W) and push down Ossington, each hour providing a new round of poets to choose from. Don't forget to grab one of the Choose Your Own Poetic Adventure books (for download now) we've whipped up - they've got excerpts and jokes galore!

We'll end the night at Levack Block (88 Ossington) with a.rawlings and The Centre For Sleep and Dreams. It's the perfect spot for a nightcap and winding down.

Today is also the last day to buy booklength tickets for Margaret Christakos' performance of Excessive Love Prostheses. Brandy Ryan has written a beautiful response to the work to get your mind working. Read it, then grab those tickets!

Lastly, check out two Screamers in the National Post.

Make sure you're at the Arts and Letters Club tonight at 7 PM for Welcome to the Carnival to see the incomparable David Antin give one of his legendary "talk-poems," followed by Steve McCaffery reading Carnival. And if that's not enough, the night is hosted by cool-guy extraordinaire Carl Wilson.

Then tomorrow, July 7th, we go wandering Ossington for The Scream Choose Your Own Adventure. 18 poets, 6 different venues - you choose the poets you want. This starts at 7 PM at both Camp 4 (1173 Dundas St.) and Red Light (1185 Dundas St. W). For the full line up of readers check out our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=103333043052655&index=1

Once you've had your fill, Levack Block is hosting The Centre for Sleep and Dreams. Come for a night-cap where you, the patient, may unwind, immersed in the live-mixed somniloquixotic soundscape of Dr. Richard Windeyer. The Centre will provide poetic self-prognosis of parasomnias and dream diagnosis in a safe experiment -- the ideal conclusion for a night's adventure. Sign up: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126569287381340&index=1

To all those who've not yet purchased book-length dinner tickets (July 9th at the Women's Art Association), the Scream has extended the early-bird price of $35 for one more day! So buy now. Tomorrow, tickets go up to the still-incredible price of $45. Your ticket includes an evening of food, visual art and poetry designed around Margaret Christakos' exciting text, Excessive Love Protheses. Books will be on sale at the event. Below you'll find the unique menu, designed by the Food Dudes Catering Company. Vegetarian options will be posted at www.thescream.ca in the coming days.

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE

MENU

Designed by the Food Dudes Catering Company (www.thefooddudes.com) and based on staples of the Victorian diet as prepared across classes.

Appetizer: The Cheese Course
A selection of cheeses, fruits and infused honeys served in the garden.

First Course: Broth & Bread
Chicken Consomme with herb infused egg noodles, braised leeks, poached chicken, crispy carrots served with a mini brioche bun with a roasted red pepper butter

Second Course: Meat Tea
Pork tenderloin stuffed with grilled peach and ginger compote, summer corn polenta and grilled asparagus with an apple pork demi glaze

Third Course: High Tea
An Assortment of Petit Fours – key lime tartlets, profiteroles, chocolate caramel pecan ovals, fresh berry tartlet, raspberry brownie
boats, chocolate truffle barquette