I have a bit of a confession to make, and its the reason this is my first post ever in three years under the category Books and Lit, which, I'm only slightly ashamed to say, is because I don't read. I don't read books. Now, I have crafted a very clever excuse, one that is only partially true; I have a photographic memory. I say its only partially true because I don't know what the word is, audiographic, Asperger's? I don't know. All I know is that throughout my life I've been able to regurgitate vast amounts of wildly entertaining bits of popular culture in rapid and random succession. I shit you not, if I've seen something on Youtube three times, or heard a song three times, or a Mitch Hedberg or Patton bit more than once, I know it by rote. So even now, when I read a book, I basically have to speak it to myself, making the process painstakingly slow compared to the torrential (see what I did there?) speed of the internet. For example right now I'm basically memorizing The World Without Us.

A full fledged member of Generation Y, we were taught by VCRs and new agey discussion groups. I aced every test and sacrificed the 10-15% homework mark, and basically sat at the back of the class acting like a complete jackass fully prepared to answer any question on the topic at hand; suffice to say my teachers haaaaated me. Anyways what am I rambling about? Well, Vancouver being the small-big city that it is, I had yet to meet East Van author and all around cool-guy Justin Lyukin, furthermore I had yet to read, and still haven't, his acclaimed book about an Eastside alley man called Henry Pepper. I couldn't find a link, other than for his talk back in May at the Robson Reading Series which by proxy I've also neglected to mention.

There are many well known Canadian authors that use their fame to create television shows or robot hand to autograph books around the world without leaving her house... But then there are authors that simply strive for originality without any regard for glory. Sheila Heti maybe best known for writing the celebrated novel Ticknor and the acclaimed story collection The Middle Stories. Her work has been published in The Believer, The New Yorker, Geist, Esquire, Brick and more. But I believe she should be best recognized for created the "Trampoline Lecture Series".

The Trampoline Lecture series is something that makes us D.I.Y kids proud. The series was created by Heti and hosted by Misha Glouberman. These shows feature three lecturers speaking on subjects they're not experts on, in addition to readings and other activities. The New Yorker praised the series for "celebrating eccentricity and do-it-yourself inventiveness." Lecture topics range from wacky things like "Female poisoners of 18th century France", "Gossip is worse than pork" to less wacky subjects like "Hasidic speed dating" and "Not being naked". Okay... well they're all kinda wacky. Heti and Glouberman started the series in 2001 in Toronto and have sold out every show since.

When I received an invitation for the "To the Dogs" book launch, I found it fitting that a local book publisher that allows dogs in their office will put out a book about these lovable canines. Also it was about time there was a book that documented humanity's historical relationship with dogs. They were with us side by side, in times of hard fought war and in our homes as companions. The book features 150 full page photographs from William Wegman, Larry Towell and Eadweard Muybridg, from dog shows, circuses, dogfights and a dog hotel. Written by Peter Culley, a poet from Nanimo, BC. He discusses the international citizenry of canines and their connections to humans. Culley has published four books of poetry, including, most recently, The Climax Forest (Leech Books). Poems have also appeared in Boo, Credentes, Hole, Ink, Jag, West Coast Line, and Writing. He has published reviews and art criticism in the magazines Vanguard and Parachute.

Somewhere between her graduation and her future, one of my favorite people is visiting Vancouver for a month. Tonight, she invited me to a poetry slam held at Cafe Deux Soleils on the Drive. I had never been to a poetry slam before, and although I had been meaning to check out some of the events Jon wrote about back in April, I never ended up doing so.

We got to the cafe early, and were able to get a table and dinner well before the 8:45 start. I don't want to make this a restaurant review, since the spoken word was far more spectacular than our burritos and chili. But I do want to mention that the food here is delicious and reasonably-priced, so I'll definitely be trying out more of it next time. During the course of dinner, more and more people began filing into the cafe, until finally the host announced that the house was full. He asked groups from the crowd to be judges for the competition, so the four of us agreed to take part. We weren't particularly qualified, and we called ourselves The Eastern Bloc. It was a good start.

The combination of Vancouver's new smoking bylaws and Amsterdam's recent crowning as literature capital of the world presents our citizens with an opportunity to create a new Vansterdam; one based on the on the strength of our of poetry, not our pot. I'm mostly joking, but regardless of whether or not you've contemplated visiting the Amsterdam Cafe, you should skip it tonight and head down to the Vancouver Public Library for some caffeine (pizza, sushi, whatever...) and some local versification.

The 'City Poets' series present an evening of readings with three hot local poets: Jordan Scott, Donato Mancini, and Stephen Collis. These are writers who are working right on the fringe of contemporary verse, and hearing their exciting work read live could be a great cap-off to National Poetry Month. Things begin at the central branch of the VPL at 7:30, free of charge. Some words on the work, some sample poems, and all the details after the jump...

Last week I introduced National Poetry Month by highlighting two well established Vancouver-based writers. As the world becomes increasingly prosaic (or multimedic), poetry of any kind has been relegated to a niche market. Regardless, part of our mission here at Beyond Robson has always been to highlight those artists who operate a bit farther from the mainstream... and if there was a monument to poetry in the heart of Robson street, it'd probably be dedicated to Mr. Birney.

One local writer who finds her subject and self situated about as far from Robson Street or the Birneyan world of UBC as possible (demographically, at least), is Sachiko Murakami. Her debut collection, The Invisibility Exhibit presents an inside-out view of Vancouver street-life; a brilliant meditation on the enigmatic attitude this city has towards the Downtown Eastside. I've spent the last few days absorbed in the volume, and it's essential reading for every denizen of the Lower Mainland. Some poems and details on readings after the jump...