Eyewear watched the new doc on Canadian poet John Stiles last night. Scouts Are Cancelled (pleasingly coincidental as today is the centenary of the founding of the Scouts) is one of the best filmed poetry books ever, in some ways reminiscent of Bob Holman's brilliant Emmy-winning The United States of Poetry - but here, covering many poems from one poet, and one collection. And, what a poet, what a collection. Stiles will not be to all tastes - which is exactly the point of the film, and the man. Stiles, seemingly without effort, or much say in the matter, has become a persona that marries the more admirable qualities of a Kerouac to those of an Abe Lincoln: he is a small-town fella right out of Depression-era Canada, genuine as all get out, and shucks, he means what he says, and means to say it. Stiles spent his youth in an Apple Orchard, in the Annapolis valley, in Nova Scotia, and this Edenic place becomes his metaphor for all that is lost, all that is lovely, in the world. Stiles, sometimes seen hung-over, or vaguely inadequate among family and nearly-empty readings, is presented as one of the most original contemporary poetry voices in North America, combining rural sounds, and home-made onomatopoeia to his half-baked, sorrowful musings on the dead-end lives of boys and girls from Nowheresville. I've rarely been as moved, or convinced, as during this film, as it renews my belief in the integrity of the poetic calling. This isn't because he aims for a naturalistic Al Purdy-style Canadiana, though, for Stiles exceeds naturalism (the brakes on his poetry car are broken) and gets somewhere far more genuinely innovative and unexpected: a reimagined, respoken region where poetry and place are rowdily themselves, stuttering ugly-beauty into being. Stiles may not be Canada's best new poet - but he may be one of Canada's truest. See this movie, buy this man's books.
Today's Hot Docs pick: Scouts Are Cancelled
by Glenn Sumi
You won't listen to a telemarketer in quite the same way after watching Scouts Are Cancelled, a fascinating doc about poet John Stiles.
Stiles, born in rural Nova Scotia, lived for about 8 years in Toronto, where he took on a series of tough jobs to support himself, including door-to-door salesman (where he was told to sell in poor neighbourhoods, because the people would be more likely to listen to him and buy) and telemarketer.
Whenever Stiles reads from his work in performance, or in a studio session filmed in cool jazzy black and white he comes alive. His body takes on a different character. His words stand up, stretch their limbs and do a little dance.
When he's not reading, he's not quite present. He blinks his eyes a lot, as if he's just woken up. His mouth settles into a frown.
One of the best sequences contrasts Stiles's own colourful readings with a series of monotone readings from students in a high school where Stiles teaches. Its brilliant.
The ending is also moving, when Stiles goes back to his home town, visits his mother, and goes in search of an old friend in an apple orchard.
This, I think, is the heart of the film. Where does artistic inspiration come from? The answer is still a big mystery, but Scouts Are Cancelled offers a partial response that's beautiful and poignant.
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Toronto Star, April 13th, 2007
Scouts Are Cancelled: Watching John Stiles performing his poetry which largely evokes his childhood growing up in Nova Scotia's rural Annapolis Valley is like watching someone lost in a trance. He squeezes his eyes shut, channels the voices of his speakers and loudly emits the sounds of growling dogs, wailing sirens and non-verbal whoops of joy and despair. An original artist with an unsurprisingly obtuse relationship with the world, he has become the subject of a film made by his close friend John Scott that is both true to the poet's art and understanding of the person's idiosyncrasies.--Geoff Pevere
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NB Scouts are Cancelled is a feature length documentary based on a book of poetry published by Insomniac Press. This is not a magazine piece, rather some of the recorded poems and might serve well in a piece about Canadian poetry or the poetry of rural Nova Scotia. The poems are mostly a minute long, some two minutes but they are sound rich and original.
Comments by John Stiles
Comment for "Apple Orchard Opera"
John Stiles
Posted on August 03, 2007 at 12:21 AM | Permalink
Review of Apple Orchard Opera
Eyewear watched the new doc on Canadian poet John Stiles last night. Scouts Are Cancelled (pleasingly coincidental as today is the centenary of the founding of the Scouts) is one of the best filmed poetry books ever, in some ways reminiscent of Bob Holman's brilliant Emmy-winning The United States of Poetry - but here, covering many poems from one poet, and one collection. And, what a poet, what a collection. Stiles will not be to all tastes - which is exactly the point of the film, and the man. Stiles, seemingly without effort, or much say in the matter, has become a persona that marries the more admirable qualities of a Kerouac to those of an Abe Lincoln: he is a small-town fella right out of Depression-era Canada, genuine as all get out, and shucks, he means what he says, and means to say it. Stiles spent his youth in an Apple Orchard, in the Annapolis valley, in Nova Scotia, and this Edenic place becomes his metaphor for all that is lost, all that is lovely, in the world. Stiles, sometimes seen hung-over, or vaguely inadequate among family and nearly-empty readings, is presented as one of the most original contemporary poetry voices in North America, combining rural sounds, and home-made onomatopoeia to his half-baked, sorrowful musings on the dead-end lives of boys and girls from Nowheresville. I've rarely been as moved, or convinced, as during this film, as it renews my belief in the integrity of the poetic calling. This isn't because he aims for a naturalistic Al Purdy-style Canadiana, though, for Stiles exceeds naturalism (the brakes on his poetry car are broken) and gets somewhere far more genuinely innovative and unexpected: a reimagined, respoken region where poetry and place are rowdily themselves, stuttering ugly-beauty into being. Stiles may not be Canada's best new poet - but he may be one of Canada's truest. See this movie, buy this man's books.
--Todd Swift (Montreal poet based in London)
Comment for "Scouts are Cancelled: Poems"
John Stiles
Posted on July 31, 2007 at 03:32 AM | Permalink
Review of Scouts are Cancelled: Poems
Today's Hot Docs pick: Scouts Are Cancelled
by Glenn Sumi
You won't listen to a telemarketer in quite the same way after watching Scouts Are Cancelled, a fascinating doc about poet John Stiles.
Stiles, born in rural Nova Scotia, lived for about 8 years in Toronto, where he took on a series of tough jobs to support himself, including door-to-door salesman (where he was told to sell in poor neighbourhoods, because the people would be more likely to listen to him and buy) and telemarketer.
Whenever Stiles reads from his work in performance, or in a studio session filmed in cool jazzy black and white he comes alive. His body takes on a different character. His words stand up, stretch their limbs and do a little dance.
When he's not reading, he's not quite present. He blinks his eyes a lot, as if he's just woken up. His mouth settles into a frown.
One of the best sequences contrasts Stiles's own colourful readings with a series of monotone readings from students in a high school where Stiles teaches. Its brilliant.
The ending is also moving, when Stiles goes back to his home town, visits his mother, and goes in search of an old friend in an apple orchard.
This, I think, is the heart of the film. Where does artistic inspiration come from? The answer is still a big mystery, but Scouts Are Cancelled offers a partial response that's beautiful and poignant.
************************************************************************
Toronto Star, April 13th, 2007
Scouts Are Cancelled: Watching John Stiles performing his poetry which largely evokes his childhood growing up in Nova Scotia's rural Annapolis Valley is like watching someone lost in a trance. He squeezes his eyes shut, channels the voices of his speakers and loudly emits the sounds of growling dogs, wailing sirens and non-verbal whoops of joy and despair. An original artist with an unsurprisingly obtuse relationship with the world, he has become the subject of a film made by his close friend John Scott that is both true to the poet's art and understanding of the person's idiosyncrasies.--Geoff Pevere
************************************************************************
NB Scouts are Cancelled is a feature length documentary based on a book of poetry published by Insomniac Press. This is not a magazine piece, rather some of the recorded poems and might serve well in a piece about Canadian poetry or the poetry of rural Nova Scotia. The poems are mostly a minute long, some two minutes but they are sound rich and original.