In/words Magazine, Carleton’s student run literary and poetry magazine held an event to launch the chapbook, The Rose Bush and the Myrtle , by Colin Mylrea. The event was held at Clocktower Brew Pub on Bank Street on Jan. 31. It was their first event of the year.
Live music was played by Clarissa Fortin, Mia Morgan was the first act, and Mylrea read from his chapbook, which he said he has worked on for “a little over a year.” He also said that he is inspired by little everyday moments.
The event was filled with joy and laughter as artist after artist performed.
Clarissa Fortin got the audience to sing along with her on the chorus of her second song, which was an adaptation of Robert Frost’s poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. She also sang two songs from her newly released EP, Nothing and Everything, which was on sale at the even.
Atticus Gordon, an Ottawa-based artist, showcased his painting that combines abstract with daily life, and includes technology.
Mia Morgan, former editor of the Ottawa Arts Review, read her poems before Colin took the stage to perform some poems from his book.
Colin Mylrea’s chapbook contains 10 poems–all of which are very descriptive and filled with imagery which is the books strongest feature. When reading the poems, the scenes truly come alive.
For example, one of the poems he read at the launch, The Astronomy of Motel Bedrooms explores the details in the room, such as the curtains “plastic venetians” and the floors “mica chips.”
Most of the poems are short, direct, striking, and detailed. They are like little observations that sometimes go unnoticed, but he captures them on the page. The book also contains illustrations that accompany some of the poems. Some of them are contradictory such as Desert Rose. Longer poems like Venus Redux tell a story. The book also contains many references to Greek mythology. One thing missing in the book is a unifying theme. The poems sort of move from a relationship between two people in Sade and Sacher Masoch, the first poem, to observations in nature and ends with a haiku, après Hadrian.
Photo by Marieta Osezua
