The return of the pink protrusions: Poetry in the Raw III
Photo by Naomi Kavka.
Public nudity is a taboo in our culture for many archaic, obnoxious, and, perhaps, practical reasons. This is particularly true in Victoria, where puritanical views eclipse the culture that sweeps the city.
But with a presentation of Poetry in the Raw III later this month, Lotus Land will be getting a lot leggier and a lot lovelier.
Missie Peters, architect of this unveiled event, is enthusiastic about this year’s faddish fundraiser. Peters and her co-ed poets say it wasn’t always so easy to get naked and spout iambic pentameter.
“At a party one night my friend got naked and read [Allen Ginsberg’s] Howl. It was amazing. His neck clenched, his toes curled—it was beautiful. And I thought, ‘I have to try this—right away,’” says Peters, sounding tickled.
Peters is quick to point out that “this isn’t a voyeuristic show, at all. It is an empowering and intimate evening that evokes an atmosphere of reverence.”
The host for the proceedings, David Morris, is the kind of MC who wouldn’t ask his audience to do anything he himself wouldn’t feel comfortable doing. So he invites them to disrobe along with him, but peeling it all off isn’t a prerequisite for the event.
“I don’t want anyone to be afraid or uneasy, so I start off by removing my socks and most people follow suit,” says Morris.
It isn’t too long before he is skyclad, and most of the audience is, too.
“It goes from frightening to freeing as people are like, ‘Fuck, I can do this!’ Nudity is seen as it should be, as something honest and beautiful,” he says.
And why shouldn’t it be?
Tongues of Fire, the spoken-word collective responsible for the event, have been, since 2004, as visible in Victoria as the emperor’s new clothes.
All funds raised from this year’s event will go towards the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, happening in November.
The Festival is an exciting event for Victoria to host. It’s the premier spoken word gala, a five-day affair—held in a different Canadian city each year—promising ripe repartee but, unlike Poetry in the Raw, sadly, no pink protrusions.
And this year’s lineup couldn’t be better. The SNAFU Dance Company will be opening the show and members of the Victoria Slam Team, the aforementioned Morris and Peters, Skawt Chonnz, Jane Bee, and a grab-bag of local spoken word artists, DJs, and musicians are sure to make this an au natural bacchanal.
“It’s about making the body poetry as opposed to just ‘Girls! Girls! Girls!’” says Peters, evoking Marlene Dietrich’s cabaret crooner. “You will regret not coming to this. You only live once and this is such a unique experience—like skydiving!”
Poetry in the Raw III Sept. 28, 8 pm, $15 Victoria Events Centre tonguesoffire.ca
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