Welcome

Thanks again to everyone who came out to our big show in High Park. The last reading of the Festival, our 17th Annual Scream in High Park went spectacularly. Great weather, outstanding readers, fantastic audience. A delightful way to end the festival.

Thanks must also go out to all the organizers and contributors for the Festival as a whole. It is a volunteer organization and so we do need to recognize those who gave oodles and oddles of their time to make things happen. Check out the exec page for a list of those who made it happen.

Now we'll all disappear for a few weeks. Thanks again!

After a long and spectacular stretch of literary events, The Scream is proud to present tonight, starting at 7PM, the 17th annual Scream in High Park. Throughout the festival we've seen a half-Dracula half-supercamp musical act, editors scrap it out for a paying audience, comic artists rush to the rescue of the book amoung countless other great memories. Tonight's Scream Mainstage promises to be no different. Canada’s largest outdoor reading returns with another stellar lineup of poets and fictioneers, including: leading Canadian poet Margaret Christakos, newcomer Jeramy Dodds (whose Crabwise to the Hounds was shortlisted for both the 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize and the Trillium Award for Poetry), noted novelist Andrew Pyper (The Killing Circle), Adam Sol (whose Crowd of Sounds won the 2004 Trillium Award for Poetry), and a surprise visit by Icelandic sensation Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl reading with Paul Dutton (of Four Horsemen fame). Our full list of readers:

• Oana Avasilichioaei
• Wakefield Brewster
• Margaret Christakos
• Peter Culley
• Jeramy Dodds
• Paul Dutton and Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl
• Lisa Foad
• Susan Holbrook
• Ryan Kamstra
• Shani Mootoo
• Andrew Pyper
• Adam Sol

Directions
On the Bloor/Danforth subway line, get off at the High Park stop. From the main entrance, go east to get to High Park Avenue and go south to the lights at Bloor Street and High Park Avenue. Continue through the lights, keeping on the sidewalk to the left. It's about a 20 minute walk from High Park Subway station (top centre of map) to the site, so be sure to factor the time for that lovely stroll into your schedule.

You can also get to the site from the College 506 streetcar, which enters the park at the junction of Howard Park Avenue and Parkside Drive (centre right of map); or from the Queen 505 streetcar which runs along the south end of the park (bottom centre of map).

Hot Tips for Tonight
Arrive Early: While the mainstage doesn't start until 7, get there early and enjoy a walk through beautiful High Park to set you in the proper poetry-apreciation mood.
No Dogs or Glass bottles: Sorry, but dogs and glass bottles are not allowed in the amphitheater.
Blankets: Bring something to sit and stretch out on.
Picnic Food: Pack yourself some snacks. The performance lasts until about 11 and you're bound to get hungry and thirsty.
Rain Gear: Even though current weather reports look great and clear, The Scream in High Park goes rain or shine . If it does start to sprinkle, you'll want to stay dry.
Extra Cash: All the performers' books will be for sale so bring a couple extra dollars so that you can scoop up your favorite reader right away.

As you can probably gather by the late-ish nature of this post, the Scream Gala was a very good time. Thanks so much to the Bidiniband for rocking us properly and to Hugh's Room for the usual awesome service.

If you've got children, make sure to bring them to today's Youth event. What’s old is new again — narrative hip hop music is a dynamic occurrence of a thriving oral literary tradition. Led by hip hop artist Paul Sackichand and professional storyteller Rico Rodriguez, this year’s youth event provides an opportunity to learn how to add suspense to your rhymes and rhythm to your stories. The event starts at 1PM at Wychwood barns.

Later in the afternoon, This Ain't the Rosedale Library is hosting Musique Concrète: The Hymn of the Typesetters. This Ain’t The Rosedale Library is the setting for an extended meditation on the relationship between music and print. Join a series of surprise guests as they comb through the world of librettos and lyric sheets, ballads and concrete poems in a search for the musica universalis in the pages of a book. Long may it live. Be there at 4PM to catch all the goodness.

Tomorrow is, of course the BIG day. It's the Scream in High Park! To kick things off Bill Kennedy will be on the CBC very very early in the morning (hopefully well have a streamed version later). Then, bring a blanket and some picnic food to the Dream stage at High Park for 7PM for a fantastic night of poetry under the stars. Readers are:

Oana Avasilichioaei
Wakefield Brewster
Margaret Christakos
Peter Culley
Jeramy Dodds
Paul Dutton and Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl
Lisa Foad
Susan Holbrook
Ryan Kamstra
Shani Mootoo
Andrew Pyper
Adam Sol

A tremendous lineup! Tickets are PWYC, $10 suggested. Hope to see you there!

And at the end, we all stood up and clapped, thanking Dennis Lee for an amazing performance. Last night's Booklength Dinner was astounding - his reading of Civil Elegies was full of anger and disappointment, yet tinged with redemption in its finale. The text provided a brilliant contrast to Un and yes/no, works who were equally powerful, focused more on the strange juxtapositions of words and sounds that would light up the brain with the same anger that rang through Civil Elegies. Special thanks to Juniper catering and all the Scream volunteers - the food was delicious and perfect for the event. Thanks also to Jacob McArthur Mooney who was a delightful and gracious host for the night as well to Mark Zador for running the lights and mic.

After the high of last night, we all need to take that energy and let loose a bit. Tonight's the annual Scream Gala at Hugh's Room! Show up and you're promised an evening of raucous music and cathartic dancing with the BidiniBand, the latest project of musician, author, raconteur, agent provocateur, hoser and former Rheostatic Dave Bidini. Come for the songs about “dead hockey players, cannibalism and lesbian school teachers” and stay for the awesome prizes and a chance to meet your favourite authors in an evening of celebration in the name of the book. Check out the video evidence from Youtube:

The fun starts at 8PM; tickets at the door are $12.

For those with little Screamers, make sure to come to our Scream Youth event on Sunday. What’s old is new again — narrative hip hop music is a dynamic occurrence of a thriving oral literary tradition. Led by hip hop artist Paul Sackichand and professional storyteller Rico Rodriguez, this year’s youth event provides an opportunity to learn how to add suspense to your rhymes and rhythm to your stories. The event starts at 1PM at the shiny new Wychwood Barns.

Two more nights until Scream in High Park!

Last night's Comics to the Rescue was a hilarious show, juggled brilliantly by host Elvira Kurt. Mariko Tamaki broke down the adjective villainous; Evan Munday explained how his illustrations saved Stripmalling from further embarrassment (one of the funniest readings we've seen in a LONG time); Angela Szczepaniak led us on a hunt for the 500 pt monotype font; and finally Clare Nobbs did a brilliant reading of Where the Wild Things Are (with art from Cory Godbey's site Terrible Yellow Eyes). Thanks to Elvira, all the readers and the multitude of artists who contributed work.

For anyone looking to buy Dennis Lee Booklength Dinner Tickets, alas it's too late. We've sold out tonight's event. If you're interested in just attending the reading, there is space for you; just show up at the event and pay your $15 at the door. Remember: because of the city strike, the event has been moved from the Toronto Archives to The Walmer Center. The Walmer Center is at 188 Lowther Ave.

Looking ahead, the Scream Gala is on Saturday. Party! With Bidiniband!

And not to get all Nostradamus on you, but our Festival prediction is coming eerily true - read the latest article in NOW about Pages Books.