By Sharon Harris

This sounds good; if it isn’t, it will at least be fascinating and you can say you were there. Tonight at The Trane Studio, poets Rachel Zolf, Gerry Shikatani, a.rawlings, Jordan Scott, Jenny Sampirisi, Sonnet L’Abbe, and Margaret Christakos will move “onto the raft of music” with musician Tim Posgate and riff off each other’s poetries. They call it R))I))F))F))) R))A))F))T))).
You might question, “isn’t that the worst poetry cliché ever?” and imagine bereted poets with fake New York and/or Bristish accents posturing hep all over the stage. Not to worry. Organizer Margaret Christakos, who has a history of organizing events with interesting concepts, says it’s “all grand experiment—the one thing it won’t be is slick!!”
If you saw the recent Four Horsemen Project and enjoyed its poetry, you’re in for a treat: some of the poets carrying on The Horsemen’s avant-garde tradition in Canada will sound off tonight. Many favourable reviews of the play asked about the whereabouts of these poets; we’ll be showcasing a few of them on Torontoist soon.
Each poet will present one original three minute piece, and then three other poets will perform an extended improv-based interpretation onstage with musician Tim Posgate. The festivities begin tonight at 7 p.m. at The Trane (964 Bathurst Street, near the subway station).
Photo of Gerry Shikatani and Margaret Christakos with Four Horsemen member Paul Dutton by Poetography.ca.