anger poem.

A poem of anger by Laurence Tenenbaum. I must learn to control my anger, Control my anguish, Control my angst. Ranting and raving and complaining. Can all be counterproductive, I really should learn to be complacent

July Poetry: it’s like a rant in verse

Laurence offers us some more poetry because he doesn’t have a rant this week…or does he? You be the judge:

Perhaps this is coming a bit too soon,
Since I wrote all that poetry back in June
But I couldn’t quite
Come up with tonight’s
Topic on which to rant and write…

More June Poetry Before the Big Show: Whitewashed Fences, Mr Seek and Dr Hide and Electric Mayhem

The Montreal International Infringement Spoken Word Show is tomorrow! I’m hosting this year’s event at the infringement festival! Come and see it, as it is a show not to be missed! the show starts at 8:00 sharp, at the Concordia co-op bookstore. Now, to whet your appetite, here’s some poetry

More June Poetry: Blue Bonnets, Nothing Personal and Depression

This is the second in a series of poetry posts by FTB ranter Laurence Tenenbaum in anticipation of his spoken-word performance at the Montreal Infringement Festival next Tuesday, June 21st at the Concordia co-op bookstore. This week, three more offerings: Blue Bonnets, Nothing Personal and Depression. Will you get to hear them live, too? Well, there’s only one way to find out..

June is Here! Time for poetry: … And they’re off!, The Better Mousetrap and Things we lost in the fire.

June is here! Which means that the 8th annual Montreal international infringement festival is coming up fast. Last year I displayed paintings, which I will be doing again, at Xpression Gallery. I am also hosting the spoken word show at the Concordia co-op bookstore on June 21st. During the month of June, I will be posting poetry for the month, some of which I may perform in the festival…

“Horrible Criminal” Activity

I was accused of a number of unmentionable crimes for which I must be punished without trial. I am in fact guilty before the trial and until proven innocent at the trial, after which I will still have these accusations lingering over my head probably for the rest of my life.

Whether I’m guilty or not is therefore irrelevant; I’m guilty as charged without trial or representation. I’m denied any chance for “legal” defense. I have to say, in my own defense…

Remember the Box?

This week instead of a rant, Laurence offers us a poem…

Once upon a time there was an empty box.

Over time, the box became fuller and fuller, mostly with people’s mindsets.

People were either thinking inside of the box, or deliberately thinking outside the box.

The main trouble with either of those things was that it tended to polarize people’s thinking.

If I was a song, it would be me

If I was a song, it would be me

There are no letters. There are no emotions. There is no love.

Black is considered the darkest colour of all, my heart has become dark, dark like coal.
I’m not calling you a liar. I’m not calling you a thief. I’m not calling you a ghost.
But your ghost is haunting me, your stealing is killing me and these lies are releasing me.

Many of the moments shared are sweet memories.
Many of the beds shared are not spoken of.
Many of the words I should have uttered are eating me.

Warriors

Hugo Trottier presents his latest series, Warriors. Warriors is a tribute to Caroline Néron, a local actress and Québécoise singer from Montreal. Caroline Néron has been featured in various local, national and international films including: L’invitation (1998), Ice Cold (2002) and 3 Saison (2009). In 2004, Néron launched her own jewelery collection, Bijoux Caroline Néron, focused on creating modern warriors in urban princesses. Néron’s jewelery shows pull the audience into a world of unexpected sparkles and magic through her personal creations, comprised of various precious stones and luxurious diamonds.

Until We See

This week’s Carte Blanche by Hugo Trottier is a provocative, mesmerizing series entitled, Until We See. Until We See features the laced-lined burlesque artists who participated in the 2010 Montreal Burlesque Festival this past September. His adapted versions and visions of these fearless burlesque artists was inspired by the Hope for Haiti soundtrack and more specifically Beyoncé Knowles’s wonderfully deep and uplifting song, Halo. Throughout the series you will noticed the majority of the images are captured from a back view. We ask you to consider this idea: why are we always looking for beauty from the front? It seems we are always in search of beauty in face, we always question truth in the eyes, yet we never stop to appreciate what is in front of us until it is walking away.

Postcards from The Edge

In the middle of the night many of us shut our eyes, lose our thoughts and let go of the day. In the middle of the night when many of us are sleeping, dreaming and talking in our sleep, there are artists crafting pieces together that will ultimately change our perspectives, open our eyes and stimulate our senses. Forget The Box would like to introduce Hugo Trottier’s second series, Postcards from the Edge. The series is a visual representation of how there is still beauty amidst the destruction in our industrialized world. It is where beauty meets the beast. There is a common theme amongst the photos in this series. If you pay attention you will notice the supermodels,

What I’m Thankful For

I’m thankful that one day you are going to die. That one day your blood will be split and it shall be washed away like water flowing into a drain. I am thankful that one day, someone’s going to snap, grab a meat cleaver and tear your face apart. Rip your ears off. Your eyes. Your nose. Your lips. I am thankful that one day, I can smile as I stand above your grave and slam a knife deep into the toxic soil. And I will whisper softly, “this is why I’m thankful” as you burn below in hell’s infinite fires. People like you are a virus. A disease. Something that needs a cure. Something that needs to be eradicated. Tortured. And left for dead. You see, what you are, is an infection in my system. A glitch in my subconscious. You’re the epitome of everything I hate, and everything I want to destroy. You resemble icons of the past: liars, manipulators, sinners, murderers, rapists — the list goes on and on and on. And it doesn’t end. Why should it? How can it when you continue to breathe the same air I do as if it’s your God-given right? How can you walk the same roads I walk, see the same things I see, and hear the same things I hear? You’re not me. Quite the opposite. The exact opposite.

I know what you did last night

Hugo’s first series with FTB is the 35th anniversary show Cabaret Cléopâtre Grand Spectacle: 35 years of travesty and was held April 24, 2010. Hugo was invited by his friend Velma Candyass, he leader of the Montreal Burlesque Dance Troop, the Dead Dolls, to explore and photograph the event. The 35th anniversary show focused on creating awareness about the forced expropriation the Café may be facing due to the building of the new Hydro Québec offices. We’ve also been covering this story on FTB since June 2009.

Spending most of his night swinging from front to back stages, Hugo captured the intimate and controversial side of the performers. The burlesque artists performances centered on dramatic impersonations of blue collars workers in the City of Montreal.

BLEACHED

A sneak peek at our new FTB Fiction section, launching soon! She had been standing in the detergent isle for 20 minutes now, just staring at the bleach. For the last two months she had been meaning to bleach her white shirts, but never seemed to get around it until now. Or maybe she never really wanted to until now. “No Name…Tide…Bleach…” She repeated to herself. No decision ever seemed as complicated right now. “It shouldn’t take someone 20 minutes to choose bleach. It’s just bleach,” she reassured herself. At 25 Diana felt as if nothing was working out anymore. Every little piece of the puzzle of life seemed to not connect properly, not like she had anticipated anyway. Something inside her wasn’t there anymore; something inside her was furious, something inside her needed to get out.

Laurence Reads IV

Once again, Laurence takes off his ranting hat and puts on his spoken-word troubadour one to (virtually) perform us four pieces of his poetry: Hey, Mr. Conductor, CLICKETY CLACK (The Prison Train), Candy, Turn My Knob and Support Our Festival…enjoy!

Laurence Reads part 3

Once again, the best cure for complaining is poetry, so here’s four more original pieces to help you get through this Monday. The Electric Pickle: It started out, In a science class, Once upon a time, Used to explain, Sodium lamps, With its brine