The Board of the Stroll of Pullets announced today that their new season of poultry readings will begin on September 20, 7 p.m., at the Upper Crust Cafe (10909 86 Ave.) with a crowing cockup of Edmonton’s beakiest birdsmiths. The Board invites the entire Edmonton poultry community to peck out their best clucks, flap their beaks, strut and peck upon the stage as we feather our nest for the coming winter. The rules are simple. The board is inviting representatives from Edmonton’s various writing groups to start the evening off with three-minute performances: anything in poetic form or anti-form that plays fowl with words and sounds. All bird, feather, egg and nest related pieces are welcome, as are mondegreens, oronyms, homophones, malapropisms, chicken suits, and feather boas. For the second part of the evening the roost will be open for any and all who wish to cluck for up to 60 seconds under the same guidelines. So sharpen your quills and get scratching! Past President Gary Garrison suggests that this year’s Poultry Fest will be twice as good as the 30-second Blinks that used to kick off the Haven seasons in the past. He says, “Last year we started with a scramble. This year we’re clucking. We may have discovered the answer to the oldest philosophical conundrum: whether the chicken or the egg came first.” He adds, “The Board is still working on how the rooster fits into it all. We’ll have to leave that for the next Board, I think.” He notes that the signup deadline for the Haven reading series is fast approaching: September 11. Regular Haven readings start on Monday, September 27 and run through the end of March 2011.
