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Writes of Spring poetry launch

• McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Ave.
• Sunday, 2 p.m.
• Free

A dozen Manitoba poets will convene at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location this weekend to share their words exploring both land and sea.

The annual Writes of Spring poetry reading, a joint venture between the Free Press, the Winnipeg Arts Council and Plume Winnipeg, takes place Sunday at 2 p.m.

The 11th annual event helps celebrate National Poetry month, with Manitoba poets submitting work with the hopes of being selected for the collection of poems (which appear in print in the 49.8 section of Saturday’s Free Press).

This year’s collection, whose theme was “land and sea,” was edited by Ariel Gordon and melanie brannagan frederiksen, who will host the event. This year’s selected poets, who will also be featured at the launch, are RYAN AD, Jody Baltessen, Janine Brown, Joanne Epp, David Jón Fuller, James Hargrove, Bertrand Nayet, Désirée Penner, proma tagore, Alexander Wiebe, Jess Woolford and Chey Wright (also known as IDIC Verse).

The event will also be streamed on McNally Robinson’s YouTube page.

— Ben Sigurdson

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BFA Honours Graduating Exhibition

• University of Manitoba School of Art ARTlab, 180 Dafoe Rd.
• Opening reception Friday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• On view until May 8, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily
• Free

Discover the next big thing in Manitoba’s art scene at the annual spring exhibition showcasing the diverse and dynamic work of graduating honours students from the School of Art.

This year’s exhibition features 27 emerging artists whose pieces — which span photography, sculpture, ceramics, installation, video and design — will take over all four floors of the ARTlab building.

Friday’s opening reception will feature a student print sale, live performances, music, refreshments and a short film/video screening program beginning at 7 p.m.

— Jen Zoratti

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Stink-O-Vision at the Cinematheque

• Dave Barber Cinematheque, 100 Arthur St.
• Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Tickets: $12-$15 at davebarbercinematheque.com

Ghost puke, grave-dirt rot and barbecue stank — these are just a few of the scents that will be released at tonight’s Stink-O-Vision screening of Dead Lover, Canadian director Grace Glowicki’s obscure romance of resurrection and the gnarly pursuit of partnership. Each attendee will receive a scratch-and-sniff style card of scents that sync up with key moments in the film, which follows a gravedigger (Glowicki) who goes to extreme lengths to recommune with the one she loves.

Tonight’s screening will be followed by a Q&A with two Manitoban members of the film’s crew, award-winning cinematographer Rhayne Vermette and camera assistant Ryan Steel, an emerging director and photographer who was one of Vermette’s cinematographers on her stunning feature Levers.

It’s been a strong month for Vermette at the Dave Barber Cinematheque, where audiences flocked to see both Levers and director Amalie Atkins’ documentary Agatha’s Almanac, shot by Vermette and called beautiful, utterly hypnotic and frequently funny by the Free Press’s Allison Gillmor in a rave review.

Make it a double-feature Thursday night by catching the southern Manitoba-set profile of 90-year-old Agatha Bock at 5 p.m., right before opening your nostrils to Dead Lover, an indie Canadian cult classic in the making.

— Ben Waldman

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Dill the Giant

• Public Domain, 633 Portage Ave
• Tomorrow, 10 p.m.
• Tickets: $10 at eventbrite.ca

Dill the Giant, who continues to tower in the Manitoba hip-hop scene, takes giant steps to Europe in May when he performs at the prestigious Focus Wales in Wrexham.

In the meantime, the jazz-inflected MC is headlining a fundraiser event at Public Domain, which also features more trap-inflected rappers such as LLEWE and Wönder.

While Public Domain is relatively young — emerging, almost two years ago out of the ashes of the Good Will venue — lately it’s been a key social club and experimental zone for the city’s hip hop, metal and electronic dance scenes, so it’s a fitting launch pad for Dill’s tour.

While we’re not sure that Dill the Giant is big in Japan (yet), the event’s poster is largely in Japanese, which we have on good authority translates roughly to, “Europe tour make it happen project, Big D.”

— Conrad Sweatman

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