The heart, writes Margaret Christakos, is 'a public organ of private damage.' Winner of the 2003 ReLit Award, Excessive Love Prostheses takes the confessional lyric poem and runs it through Kathy Acker's Cuisinart. The poems confess, rather than deride, the complexities of contemporary desire, describing a subject that is both public and private, physical and virtual.

A crowd favorite, our annual book-length dinner reading creative catering inspired by Christakos’ text. Please keep checking back for the menu. Vegetarian options available.

Margaret Christakos is the award-winning author of seven acclaimed poetry collections and a novel, Charisma, shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award. She teaches creative writing and runs ‘Influency: A Toronto Poetry Salon’ at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies.

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 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.

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.