Just like with our first PanLit Games competition, discus throw, our second competition has been around for centuries. Boxing has traditions that go back as far as ancient Rome and Greece but it wasn’t until the 1700s that rules were first introduced (eeeekkk!). These rules ushered in the modern era of boxing, with protective gear like gloves, timed rounds, and weight classes. The strength, speed, and quick footwork required to excel in boxing really shines in the tournament style, single elimination bouts at the Games. We’re about to have a rapid-fire tournament of books ourselves to see which title has the best, most precise monologue that will knock out the competition.
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Just like with our first PanLit Games competition, discus throw, our second competition has been around for centuries. Boxing has traditions that go back as far as ancient Rome and Greece but it wasn’t until the 1700s that rules were first introduced (eeeekkk!). These rules ushered in the modern era of boxing, with protective gear like gloves, timed rounds, and weight classes. The strength, speed, and quick footwork required to excel in boxing really shines in the tournament style, single elimination bouts at the Games. We’re about to have a rapid-fire tournament of books ourselves to see which title has the best, most precise monologue that will knock out the competition.Round 1Dear Johnny Deere by Ken Cameron (NeWest Press) VSLive from the Afrikan Resistance! by EL Jones (Roseway Publishing)Dear Johnny Deere is a juke box musical about Johnny and his wife Caroline. Trying to keep their farm afloat in the face of new technologies, nature, and big business is no easy task nor is keeping their marriage alive. The big jab to the face is an old high school flame of Caroline’s who is now a successful land speculator, and still handsome to boot. With some fancy footwork, Dear Johnny Deere weaves the music of Fred Eaglesmith throughout the show, becoming a fan favourite for the win.However, new to the featherweight division, we have the debut spoken word collection from EL Jones. Both on the page and live, these poems are precise and uncompromising in their voice: speaking of community and struggle, they engage with themes of racism, environmental harm, poverty, and violence. Drawing on many different styles—hip-hop, dub, and calypso—Jones shows that this isn’t her first time in the ring. In fact, she goes for the knockout with her recent tenure as Halifax’s fifth Poetry Laureate, her title as two-time National Spoken Word Champion, and her seven years of performances that brought this book to sports fans, er readers, today.Round 2Live from the Afrikan Resistance! by EL Jones (Roseway Publishing) VSGiving Up by Mike Steeves (BookThug)Another newbie to the featherweight division is Mike Steeves’ novel, Giving Up. Not the traditional sort of competitor you would expect to see in a monologue tournament, Giving Up actually has a few tricks up its sleeves. The novel is told in three chapters, each from a different perspective and in one long monologue. With a mixture of humour and sorrow, it gives us an account of what’s happening in the marriage of James and Mary. We first meet James who is obsessed with completing his life’s work; then Mary, who is worried about their problems starting a family; and, finally, together they are brought together on this ordinary night in a non-descript city. The emotional hook of this story is strong and Miriam Toews says Steeves’ voice is “funny and fresh and fast!” It is this speed and endurance that tips the scales in Giving Up’s favour to take round two.Round 3Giving Up by Mike Steeves (BookThug) VSHooked by Carolyn Smart (Brick Books)Giving Up is a strong contender for a debut novel but it may have met its match in our next competitor: Hooked by Carolyn Smart. First published in 2009, this is a popular collection of dramatic monologues about seven famous, or infamous, women. Bringing the heat are Myra Hindley, Unity Mitford, Zelda Fitzgerald, Dora Carrington, Carson McCullers, Jane Bowles, and Elizabeth Smart. Like the title suggests, the stories of these women have all been hooked, and had their life changed by, an addiction or obsession. Smart tells these stories with “astonishing concision and acuity…” according to Anne Michaels. And for a final upper cut to the jaw, Hooked has also been turned into a play. Award-winning actress Nicky Guadagni most recently performed Hooked the Play in Toronto this past spring. Round 4Hooked by Carolyn Smart (Brick Books) VSMahmoud by Tara Grammy & Tom Arthur DavisHooked may have precision and some strong dramatic chops on its side, but Mahmoud by Tara Grammy and Tom Arthur Davis is no slouch. Winner of the 2012 Best of Toronto Fringe Award as well as the 2012 New York Fringe Encore Series, the Mahmoud script “weaves [the characters] lives together in surprising ways…” according to NOW Magazine. With the element of surprise on its side, Mahmoud moves around the ring with passion and exuberance in the guise of an Iranian engineer-cum-taxi driver, a fabulously gay perfume salesman who loves to talk about his boyfriend, and an awkward Iranian Canadian tween who just wants to be “normal”. The only thing left to say is that Time Out New York calls it like it is, “A knockout.” Check out Mahmoud‘s moves in this trailer: * * *If you’re a sucker for bad sports puns and good CanLit, be sure to follow the entire PanLit Games conveniently from our leader board.
