WRITE THE NATION: A STATE OF EMERGENCY

Edmonton – October 12, 2004

On October 12th, Mingus Tourette and a volatile band of poets and writers embark on the second leg of a four-week, cross-country revolutionary literary tour in a pink, fully functional 1986 Chevy C-30 One Ton Ambulance.

To date, the tour has played to wildly enthusiastic crowds in Edmonton, Vancouver, Kamloops and Lethbridge. After taking in the Lethbridge show, Blaine Greenwood, organizer of the MOST VOCAL Poets Society said , “it blew my mind ... we are definitely considering this poet for the South Country Fair in 2005 … even a main stage performance in front of 3000 people...”

The tour aims to change the public’s perception of the poet. As Raving Poet co-founder Mike Gravel says, “We’d like to do our part to re-invigorate the poet as social critic, dissident, and keeper of the beautiful.”

Adds Tourette, “Poetry is in a state of emergency in this country. Within popular culture, it’s almost invisible. There is some brilliant writing out there, but there aren’t three poets in the country who don’t have other jobs to support themselves. We want to do whatever it takes to change that, and if it means driving 15 000 km in an ambulance, then so be it.”

The second leg of the tour promises a number of high energy shows, as the ambulance will be packed with hedonist poets, runaways, independent literary editors, and provincial laureates. Ambulance riders include Tourette (nunt), Jordan Fry (editor, Grey Borders), Tanis Rideout (Velocity), Kate MacNeill (Runaway), Patrick Carroll (Anyplace Beyond Ourselves) and Mike Gravel (founder, Raving Poets). Featured poets include Rita Bouvier (papîyâhtak), Nico Rogers (Winnipeg Poetry House), Tara Solheim (WonderWalker) and Glen Sorestad (Saskatchewan’s Poet Laureate).

A full list of dates, times and locations are included below. The next leg of the tour begins in Saskatoon and finishes in Montreal, with stops in Regina, Brandon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, St. Catharines, Toronto, Kingston, and Ottawa.

To contact the tour as it rolls across the country, please call the ambulance’s cell directly at (780) 721-3037. If unavailable, please leave a message at (780) 439-7580 or email us at tour@writethenation.com.

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WRITE THE NATION TOUR - Show Dates, Times & Locations

SASKATOON, SK - Tuesday, October 12th, 2004– 8pm
Amigos Cantina - 632 10th St.E (Just off of Broadway Ave)
Thistledown Press Poets

REGINA, SK - Wednesday, October 13th - 8pm
Ghetto Lounge
1651 11th Ave.

WINNIPEG, MB – Thursday, October 14th - 8pm
Winnipeg Poetry House - Dreg's Cafe 167 Osborne Street

THUNDER BAY, ON - Friday, October 15th
Lakehead University - Spirit of the North Conference

ST. CATHARINES, ON - Sunday, October 17th - 7.30 pm
Fine Print Reading Series (kickoff to the series)
Sheehan's Irish Pub
101 St.Paul St.
Tel: 905-687-7329

TORONTO, ON - Monday, October 18th - 7.30 pm
The Gladstone Hotel - A Full FEATURE Evening of WTN Poets
1214 Queen Street West m

TORONTO, ON - Tuesday, October 19th - 8pm
Syntactic Sunday open mic w/ feature readers bill bissett and Ellen Jaffe
Free Times Cafe
320 College St.

KINGSTON, ON - Wednesday, October 20th - 8pm
Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre
21A Queen St.
tel: 613 548 4883

OTTAWA, ON - Thursday, October 21st, 2004 - 8pm
Café Nostalgica
603 Cumberland St.
613-562-5800 ext. 3014

MONTREAL, QC - Friday, October 22nd, 2004 - 7 pm
Cafe Esperanza w/ hosts YALLAzine (zine launch)
5490 St. Laurent @ St. Viateur

BRANDON, MB - Sunday October 24th, 2004
Second Troy
107-7th Street 2nd floor, end of the hall
204 724 5257

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Mingus Tourette is the author of the controversial new book, Nunt, a work currently polarizing Canadian reviewers. Tourette “may be the most exhilarating voice to emerge on the Canadian poetry scene in decades” (The Edmonton Journal) and has been called both “brilliant” (The Omega) and “a fascinating writer” (Imprint). Some reviewers have heralded Nunt as a “brutally powerful book” (University of Concordia’s The Link) and “part shock poetry and part insanity, but all genius” (The Manitoban). Others have attacked the book as “impossible to quote from …because of the sheer volume of profanity and the graphic sexual content (Winnipeg Free Press)", and its “knee-jerk offensiveness masquerading as a philosophical stance” (The Calgary Herald). Daniel Richler comments, “Tourette wrenches tormented, nihilistic and surreally brutal feelings out of the pornographic and into the poetic. Like drinking yourself sober, there’s virtue in the excess.”.

Zygote Publishing is a collective of highly motivated, like-minded, literature-loving, Western Canadian individuals who are dedicated to presenting literary works in a manner that captivates and entices new audiences.