POETRY IN MOTION

This week's column isn't so much about music; that is, if your definition isn't as broad as Webster's "vocal, instrumental, or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody or harmony."

Scott Wicken's poetry, even when not accompanied by his guitar playing, easily meets this criteria, and it is what has made him a truly special figure in the local scene for many years.

However, despite coming to terms with the fact that the life of a poet remains a largely isolated one, Wicken has always had the advantage of winning new admirers through live performances. It was in this spirit that the eternally young and optimisic writer jumped at the chance to make a video based on one of his works.

One of the producers, Mario Madau, used to have a photography studio with my father and he'd been talking to me for a while about making a video,' Wicken says.

"I'd been thinking about it more and more too but most of the people I talked to were too busy or weren't interested. So when Mario called me up again we immediately put together a proposal over a weekend."

The proposal won a production grant from the Bravo! Channel and Wicken debuted what he adamantly calls his "short poetic film" a couple of weeks ago during a special gathering at Victoria Park's Boathouse Tearoom.

The poem is Where Do The Souls Of Children Go?. partly a reflection of his earliest years growing uyp on a farm, and consequently one of his most heartbreaking pieces.

"I chose that poem, first because it's one of my better poems, and also because it's one of my least aggressive," he says.

"The poem itself is a series of images about childhood and I thought it would translate well visually. It was interesting to me how my memories got translated on to film by several other people. It was an incredible learning experience."

"I usually only perform this poem for attentive audiences and a lot of tthe time people come up to me afterward and say that it put them in touch with their own childhood. So, if pieces do have magic and personality, then this piece has that for a lot of people," he continued.

Wicken says that he has received strong positive feedback from Bravo! about the finished product and expects it will get at least a few airings during the station's nightly Bravo!Video segment.

Beyond that, however, Wicken only hopes the exposure will allow him better access to other national outlets, such as CBC Radio.

"I'm starting to understand that my more urban stuff only appeals to campus stations, but poems like this are more CBC-friendly. I think it will have a good chance of getting played when I put it on CD," he says.

To Hear This Artist

He will take part in a spoken word/music jam on Sunday, although (as usual) he's deliberately approaching the performance without any preconceived ideas.

You can also catch Scott Wicken this Friday night in a solo performance at the Raintree Cafe, 220 King St. N., Waterloo.