The Conspiracy of 3
My city of North Bay is home to one of the longest surviving literary readings series in Canada. It is called The Conspiracy of 3, because of its format of three approximately 20-minute sets. Usually the first two sets are devoted to two different writers, and the third set is an open mike set where anyone can show up with a short piece to test on the audience. To be one of the two featured readers, a serious writer need only make a request and is then scheduled in whenever possible.
The conspiring has been occurring for over three decades on the second Tuesday evening of every month—virtually without a single cancellation. Naturally the audience continually and gradually changes and the readings have been held in a variety of venues—usually licensed to serve drinks.
Sometimes the first two sets are reserved for an invited guest writer. The last reading was about a week ago, and the guest was Bruce Meyer, a renowned Canadian writer who came up from Barrie to read. He was a great presenter of his own work—which, alas, isn’t always the case with writers. He even punctuated his poetry with entertaining anecdotes.
He read from his most recent book, Testing the Elements published by Exile Press. Here is a video of Bruce reading from that work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jXsmTOMUlU
So for those in North Bay at 7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of any month, the conspiring is currently being hosted by White Water Gallery at 122 Main St. W. And to be put on the group’s monthly mailing list of upcoming readings, email Doyali Islam.
