Beat St Sessions

Last Beat St Session for the year! 

Thurs 15 Dec @ Beat St Cafe,
cnr Barbadoes & Armagh Sts 

Doors open 6pm: sign up for the open mic, chat politics & poetics, scribble last-minute lyrics 

Live music by Mark Humpage 

Poetry from 7pm: open mic poetry plus guest poets Frankie McMillan & Phoebe Wright 

$5 if you can 

www.facebook.com/BeatStSessions

In Transit book launch media release

In Transit, Book Launch and Catalyst Open Mic Night
Tuesday December 6th, 8pm
entry is FREE
Pegasus Arms Restaurant & Bar
14 Oxford Tce
Christchurch

In Transit is a collection of 100 haiku translated into 11 different languages. The work is inspired by the travels of the internationally published poet Doc Drumheller and also features haiku based on the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan.

“I keep a notebook in my pocket everywhere I go and these are like sketches of the places I’ve been. My intentions for this book were to showcase these poems, but when I returned home from Europe in 2010 the earth shook and changed my worldview”, said Drumheller.

The author will donate all sales of the book to earthquake relief in Christchurch and Japan. Books will be available for sale for $15 at the venue and may be purchased online at:

http://www.cyberwit.net/authors/doc-drumheller

“I feel a kind of kinship between New Zealand and Japan after we have shared in these experiences and have decided to dedicate and donate all sales of this book to earthquake relief in both countries”, said Drumheller.

In Transit was published in India by Cyberwit.net and in August/September Doc performed in Allahabad at the Cyberwit offices and also at the Sahitya Akademi in Delhi. “It is a rare opportunity for a foreigner to get to perform poetry in India. It was a great honour for me and also a very humbling experience to see how the people live. When you see such widespread poverty it breaks your heart, but at the same time you are surrounded by so many smiling children approaching you constantly, that it lifts your spirits. This is why India is a land of extreme contrasts”, says Drumheller.

After his travels through India, Doc went on to represent New Zealand at the 2nd Tokyo Poetry Festival & the 6th World Haiku Association Conference 2011. The festival’s Theme was: “With or Without Mythology”

“In a country coping with such adversity, the reality of staging an international gathering of poets, must have been very difficult. However, the dedication to world literature demonstrated by Ban’ya Natsuishi and the World Haiku Association showed just how resilient and courageous the Japanese people are despite the many hardships they have had to endure”, says Drumheller.
“This has been a year of many challenges for the Japanese people, and the fact that the farewell party was held on the 23rd floor of Meiji University Liberty Tower, in a city that has felt a multitude of earthquakes, didn’t seem to matter as everyone clustered to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji in the distance before the sunset”, Drumheller said.

“These bonds of friendship and compassion shared in Tokyo with poets from all over the world have given me a renewed sense of hope and optimism for the future. Thank you very much to the World Haiku Association for this opportunity to reinvigorate my enthusiasm for poetry and the Asia New Zealand Foundation for sponsoring my trip”, says Drumheller.

To read Doc Drumheller’s report and view photos and videos of the festival, visit the festival website:

http://www.geocities.jp/tokyopoetry/

Catalyst presents... In Transit + Open Mic

Catalyst Open Mic + In Transit book launch
Tuesday 6th December, 8pm
Pegasus Arms upstairs
14 Oxford Terrace
+ live music by The Fontanelles

Catalyst is proud to support Doc Drumheller in the launch of his latest collection of poetry In Transit.

To mark the triumphant return of Catalyst to the live poetry scene we are excited to host the Christchurch launch of this exceptional work by our very own Doc. In Transit is a collection of 100 haiku inspired by the travels of our globe-trotting editor Doc Drumheller. Translated and presented in 11 languages the collection also features haiku responding to the earthquakes in Christchurch and Japan.

“I feel a kind of kinship between New Zealand and Japan after we have shared in these experiences and have decided to dedicate and donate all sales of this book to earthquake relief in both countries.” says Doc.

The night will feature the traditional open mic as well as live music from The Fontanelles.

In Transit will be for sale for $15 (all sales to earthquake relief in NZ & Japan)

We will post a full copy of the media release soon. In the meantime, In Transit is also available for sale online here:

Buy In Transit

Drum roll please... Catalyst Open Mic is back!

Behold, the new home of Catalyst!

Pegasus Arms (upstairs)

14 Oxford Tce (opposite Antigua Boat Sheds)

That's right, rub the sleep out of your eyes and dust off your notebooks 'cos the Catalyst crew are back and ready to rip it up at the Pegasus Arms in their fantastically atmospheric lounge bar upstairs.

We've paid our respects at the site of Al's Bar, our home for more than 3 years, now just a hole in the ground - our hearts go out to you Al. But now we're ready to recite, read, slam and generally bring the poetry back to the stage, front and centre.

We've got a brand new home, a brand new day and plenty of brand new poets out there raring to go.

Lately there's been a good amount of poetry in performance on show in our shaky city with Beat Street Sessions and the latest season of Canterbury Poets Collective evenings (themselves in a new home at CPIT Students Association) and we're glad to be back in the saddle too. There's nothing like mixing poetry and alcohol. Pegasus Arms does amazing food too, so why not come early, have some kai and hang out with the poets.

Our new details are:

Catalyst Poetry open mic

FIRST TUESDAY of the month

Pegasus Arms upstairs

14 Oxford Terrace

Stay tuned for a post shortly with the details of our very first night there in December which doubles as a book launch for Doc Drumheller's new collection of haiku - the multi-lingual In Transit.