Well, last week was certainly a week of firsts for Problematic Press, including David Reynolds‘ first CBC Radio interview and first public reading of fiction! Sexy times, indeed!

Let’s begin this recap with CBC’s WAM. The amazing Angela Antle invited Reynolds to the Weekend Arts Magazine to discuss his adaptation of Robert Hayman’s Quodlibets. This collection of over 300 short poems was penned by Hayman as he served as governor of the English colony in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland from 1618 to 1628. When it was first published upon his return to England, the book was intended to encourage other Europeans to to take up the task of settling this newly found land. In a sense, Quodlibets can be seen as one of the first works to promote Newfoundland tourism.

So, in case you missed the original broadcast, let me include one of the random poems Reynolds read on the air from Hayman’s Quodlibets:

Book 1, Number 70. To a fair Whore.

When we do see a woman sweetly fair,
We say that God had done his part in her,
Thou passing fair, but passing wicked art,
In thee therefore Satan hath play’d his part.

Now, Reynolds said a lot of craziness in front of the mic for this interview, so who knows what, if any, will be included in the podcast of the show. Nevertheless, additional excerpts from Hayman’s Quodlibets can be found on past Problematic Press blog posts here and here.

Hanging out at the CBC was a lot of fun, but taking part in Myles Reichel’s fundraiser at The Ship for A Ninja Story was really exciting, too!

Reichel, who is also the bassist for Uneeda, has just begun the year-long launch of his comic book, A Ninja Story. The plan is to raise money for the comic book by releasing the first issue on t-shirts, with a new page/shirt becoming available biweekly over the next year. The first shirt features the cover art for the first issue of the comic, and it looks wicked! To score a shirt, head to Downtown Comics or a Uneeda show. Problematic Press has been privileged enough to gain a sneak peek at some of the later pages of the comic, and it promises to please!

And, to kick off the epic journey of A Ninja Story, the fundraiser was a load of fun! There was a lively array of music, comics, art, and words as Reichel’s friends came out to show their support for his comic venture. The show began with the soulful sounds of Laura Murray and Joanne Bennett, then Danielle Bailey kicked out the jams. The ladies sounded great from our seats at the merch table.

The merch table was almost like a second stage for this gig. This was Reichel’s base of operations for the event, where all the patrons’ questions about A Ninja Story could be answered. Reichel had also invited Problematic Press and artist Asuka Lilith to share in the festivities, so we showcased our works alongside his t-shirts. It was a great opportunity, and Problematic Press is certainly grateful!

The bar was set high when David Reynolds took the stage to read an excerpt from his short story “Showdown at the Cactus’s Prick.” Reading to a bar full of people juiced up on awesome music might seem like a daunting task, but the crowd was attentive and more than patient. Reynolds was quite pleased that he heard no audible heckling and he even heard a few laughs at the funny bits.

After the reading, Paul Brake played a great set, followed by Mike McDonald, who was hilarious. This built up to the epic finale …ToShredsYouSay?!? Indeed! And, they were tight. Problematic Press really appreciates ending the evening with a bit of thrash.

Problematic Press would like to thank all those who came out to The Ship for the show last Friday and all those who listened to CBC’s WAM at 7:30am the following Saturday. Tremendous thanks for all your support!

Cheers!