Benjamin Zephaniah @ Marmalade

KLILF '07 wasn't the lit festival I envisioned it to be, but all's good when you can sit back and listen to a performance poet like Benjamin Zephaniah. Priya and I met him at Marmalade, and we left very happy. Very inspired. And very happy.

We are itching to do a gig of some kind this month of April. Poets and musicians, take note!

A Poet Called Benjamin Zephaniah

Yes, he will be gracing our valley at last at the upcoming KL Lit Fest '07. We await with antsy anticipation.

BENJAMIN AT KLILF 2007
Visit Silverfishbooks for further details.

BENJAMIN AT CENTRAL MARKET ANNEXE
Benjamin will also perform for the public on 30 March 2007 alongside local acts such as Rahmat Haron (artist, writer and street poet) and music by Tenderfist. Details below:
Date Friday, 30 March 2007
Venue Central Market Annexe, Kuala Lumpur
Time 8.30p.m.
Admission RM10 at the door (reservations not necessary)



About Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah was born in the district of Handsworth in Birmingham. His poetry is strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and many reflect his thoughts on issues such as racism, animal rights, pollution and gender equality.

At the age of 22, Benjamin headed south to London where Page One Books published his first book Pen Rhythm. His mission was to take poetry everywhere and more than twenty five years later, Benjamin has travelled to many countries sharing his work and now comes to KL!

Hey kids, so here's the poster for Jacob Sam La Rose's events in our little peninsular, and the details yet again.

Wayang Kata III

The popular Wayang Kata series returns with more spoken word with Jacob Sam La Rose alongside local poets and writers!

Wednesday, 7th March 2007
9 pm
No Black Tie [17 Jalan Mesui off Jalan Nagasari, KL]
RM 5

Project OMG's Soul Food

Our part in all of this. Saturday afternoon poetry - instead of stoning around at home, why not join us and soak up some culture instead? With spoken word and crepes!

Saturday, 10th March 2007
4 - 6 pm
Food Foundry [BG-8, Happy Mansion, Jln 17/13, PJ]
Free Admission!

The British Council will also be organizing poetry workshops with Jacob on the 9th and 10th, at the Dram Projects (right next to Food Foundry). For more info on that, email arts@britishcouncil.com.my

For more info on any of the events above, click here.

For directions to Food Foundry, click here.

We made it into the pages of The R.age. And so did Nicholas.

p.s: The colour looks kinda wonky.

p.s.s: Jacob Sam La-Rose! Workshop still has places. Visit www.britishcouncil.org.my for more details.

March 2007

Jacob Sam-La Rose – animating literature through spoken word

Poetry is back on the menu as we welcome British poet and writer, Jacob Sam-La Rose, to perform and conduct workshops in Klang Valley from 7 to 11 March.

A former Poet-in-Residence at BBC London, he has taught creative writing internationally, and has facilitated and taught workshops and extended projects through institutions such as the National Theatre, the Arvon Foundation, Spread the Word, the Roundhouse, the Barbican, as well as a range of schools across England.

Jacob is also the Artistic Director of an annual teenage poetry SLAM project that works across London schools. Check out Jacob’s website and note the dates below to catch him performing alongside Malaysian poets!

WAYANG KATA III: AN EVENING OF SPOKEN WORD
Jacob and our own local poets take the stage.

Date: 7 March 2007
Venue: No Black Tie, 17 Jalan Mesui off Jalan Nagasari, KL
Time: 9:00 pm
Admission: RM5 at the door

SPOKEN WORD AT THE FOOD FOUNDRY
Come watch Jacob perform alongside participants of his workshops.

Date: 10 March 2007
Venue: Food Foundry, http://www.foodfoundry.us/
BG-8, Happy Mansion, Jalan 17/13, Petaling Jaya, Selangor (next door to Dram Projects)
Time: 4pm to 6pm
Admission: Free

PERFORMANCE POETRY WORKSHOP WITH JACOB SAM-LA ROSE

Date: 9 and 10 March 2007
Venue Dram Projects, BG-6, Happy Mansion, Jalan 17/13, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

For more information on any of the events above, email us at arts@britishcouncil.org.my

Say It On The Sidewalk

We have done spoken word, music and indie films. And now we are looking into how we can incorporate visual art into our projects and gigs. Yes, something new for the new year.

To start off we had two graphic artists to do some chalk drawings on the sidewalk outside the studio we call home. The theme was anti-valentine's and my favourite is the sawed-up bunny with its brains and guts exposed. The pictures do no justice to the stretch of concrete they made into a canvas.

If this kind of thing is your kind of swing, drop us a comment or an email! We would love to hear from you, your ideas, or how your art projects can complement our gigs. Best ideas win a bucket of jumbo-sized-chalk.

It Happened Last Sunday


Our emcee opening the night and the stage

Jay Ong reading his piece on broken toys

Patricia Low doing the quirky and random thing

Nicholas Wong on dedicating a poem to a nearly extinct bird, and snippets from his journal

Elza Irdalynna said, 'Valentine's can go stuff itself'

Sharanya's poems are rich and sensuous with allusions to myth and the Hindu gods

Reuben Kang with the opening set

Gary Ooi dramatised his poems

Nick Davis with songs about the other sex in mellow, jazzy tunes

Ian Theseira/Pass Caring closed the night with an intimate and melancholic selection


Thanks to everyone who came for our (anti) Valentine's gig! Hope you had fun, and see you at our next outing (check our blog for updates) :)

And as usual, thanks to The Dram Projects and the Food Foundry for generously sponsoring the event.
And to Rachel and Rebecca Chew for photography and the amazing sidewalk art.

*For more pictures click on our photos link