By Crystal Clavet
The worlds of music and literature collided Oct. 4 at the Ottawa International Writers Festival. Local musician Andrea Simms-Karp provided the opening entertainment for the John Newlove Poetry Award.
Standing alone on a stage, strumming a guitar for a room full of writers, Simms-Karp sang “I Believe What the Radio Tells Me,” part of her three-song set to warm-up the audience before the 2006 winner of the John Newlove Award, Roland Prevost, was announced.
“I’m a fan of half the writers in the room,” 24-year-old Simms-Karp says. The writers, an assortment of local poets and authors, included last year’s Newlove Award winner Melissa Upfold and Ottawa-based rob mclennan.
Upfold, winner of the 2005 John Newlove Award, launched her new chapbook, Welcome to Beautiful San Ria, at the event, which is being published with the help of Bywords.
The chapbook, a small collection of original poetry and photography, was inspired by Upfold’s feelings about her brother’s illness. The 23-year-old graduate of Carleton University hopes this publication will lead to a book deal.
“It’s amazing to get the chance to publish my work,” Upfold says. “I didn’t think I’d get the chance this early in my life.”
The Ottawa International Writers Festival is held in the fall and spring and celebrates literature from around the world in all genres. The fall edition of the festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Simms-Karp first became involved in the Writers Festival three years ago with her band The Vanity Press when the festival hired the band to play an event. She laughs when she explains that the only reason they were hired is their name:
“They thought the name was funny. A vanity press is an independent publisher,” she says.
Last year, she partnered with Bywords, an Ottawa-based poetry publishing group, for a few readings. When the festival and Bywords got together this year for the Newlove Award, Bywords asked Simms-Karp to provide the entertainment, bringing her back to the festival.
“I’m honoured to be a part of this festival,” she says. “It showcases famous authors on the same bill as local writers. As a musician I’m happy to contribute to that.”
Bywords managing editor Amanda Earl says the group’s call for submissions and event listings are an opportunity for artists of all mediums to get together and share their art. She says it is important for the artistic community to collaborate.
“I always try to have music at readings,” Earl says. “It draws people in, and relaxes the writers.”
Bywords created the John Newlove Poetry Award in 2004 to commemorate poet John Newlove, who died in 2003. It is given to a poet with an Ottawa connection who has published on the group’s web site.
Bywords publishes works from poets online and also produces a Quarterly journal, as long as the writers live, work or study in Ottawa.
Simms-Karp says playing events like the Ottawa International Writers Festival and Bywords events actually inspires her to be a better musician.
She says musicians obsess about metre and melody, but often forget they are also writers.
“You meet so many talented writers here,” she says. “You can go home and inject some of that inspiration into what you write.”
The added publicity for her music also helps. She says the authors can spread the word about her on their weblogs, expanding her audience. This is especially important now, because Simms-Karp plans to independently release an album this winter.
Two years ago, she began playing the banjo and fell in love with it – so in love, that she’s recording an album of banjo music. This solo project is quite a departure for Simms-Karp, who has played in different bands since high school.
“A solo album is a whole different beast,” she says. “You can do whatever you’re in the mood for that night when you record a solo album, because it’s a whole lot more difficult to manoeuvre four people than it is to manoeuvre yourself.”
She says her solo album also allows her to have a “weird” or unconventional sound, so she’s using a mandolin, a musical saw, hand clapping and her friends’ singing on some of the tracks.
At the end of the show, Simms-Karp sold the last of her four sample CDs to rob mclennan. This is why she loves festivals, she says.
“I’m proud of Ottawa’s festivals,” she says. “Especially this one. We’re a festival city.”