Loving Imperfection

After an extremely long hiatus in which I (am still) redefining what it is to be Rachna, 

I am focusing my energy on blogging here, 

at Loving Imperfection.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

Upcoming Shows

On top of making it on the Montreal Slam Team (woohoo), which will take us to the nationals in Victoria, BC in November (!), I've been accepted to a whole bunch of shows and festivals in the next couple of months! Yay!

July 25, 2009, 3:30PM

• Masala! Mehndi! Masti!, The Exhibition Place, 200 Princes Blvd, Toronto, ON

August 29, 2009, TBD

• Beckoning for Change, TBD, New York City, NY

November 4, 2009, TBD

• Visual Arts Centre Poetry and Prose Reading, McClure Gallery, 350 Victoria, Montreal, QC

November 10-14, 2009

• Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, Victoria Event Centre, 1415 Broad St, Victoria, BC

December 26, 2009, TBD

• Hamara Mushaira, Holiday Inn, 400 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA

DesiLit Magazine

A new poem of mine, a different shade of brown, was recently published in DesiLit Magazine! Read it here!

Upcoming Shows

June 10, 2009, 6PM

• Noches de Poesia Mega Pow Wow, Le Dépanneur Café, 206 Bernard Ouest, Montreal, QC

June 11-14, 2009

• Kriti Festival, The Loop (430 S. Michigan Ave.) and West Loop (750 S. Morgan Street), Chicago, IL

June 14, 2009, 9PM

• Uptown Poetry Slam, Green Mill, 4802 N. Broadway Ave, Chicago, IL

June 19, 2009, 7PM

• Throw Collective's Slam Finals, Le Parc des Princes, 5293 Av du Parc, Montreal, QC

August 29, 2009, TBD

• Beckoning for Change, TBD, New York City, NY

Panoramic Poetry and Jammin' Asian

If you're in Philadelphia tonight, come out to Panoramic Poetry at October Gallery (710 Market St. 3rd floor). A whole slew of spoken word poets (including me!) will be performing at what promises to be an awesome show (as always)!!!

Also, if you're in NYC on Tuesday, April 14th, come out to the Laugh Lounge NYC (151 Essex St.) to see a bunch of Asians (including me) take to the stage with some spoken word, comedy and other great performances!

Voices for Indigenous Women

I am so excited to be performing in this show in Montreal on March 6th! It's for a great cause, and includes some amazing artists! Come out if you're around!

**************************************************************

"Justice for missing and murdered Indigenous Women" in collaboration with CKUT 90.3 FM present:

VOICES FOR INDIGENOUS WOMEN, Friday March 6th 2009!
at the Eastern Bloc,
located at 7240 Clark, corner Jean-Talon (métro de Castelnau)
10$ at the door

Come to a fundraising concert and silent auction featuring local woman artists.
This event is taking place in support of the "Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women" campaign.
All proceeds from the show at Eastern Bloc on March 6th will go towards funding a lecture (March 16) by Beverley Jacobs, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, as well as a panel presentation featuring Jacobs, Ellen Gabriel of Quebec Native Women, and 3 women from the Kitigan Zibi reserve who have lost mothers and daughters (March 17). These events will explore the root causes of violence towards indigenous women in Canada and pressure our government to investigate the disappearance of at least 510 native women since 1980.

"Voices for Indigenous Women"
will feature a wonderful array of performances by:

Auresia (reggae) www.auresia.com
Banana & the Flying Colors (jazz) www.myspace.com/bananaandtheflyingcolors
Annabelle Chvostek (folk) www.annabelle.org
Teen Sleuth & the Freed Cyborg Choir (an operaw!)
Molly Sweeney (folk) www.myspace.com/mollysweeney
Odaya (aboriginal women's drum group)
Melissa Mollen Dupuis (storyteller from the Mingan community)
Rachna Vohra (spoken word) www.rachnavohra.com/
Chandra Melting Tallow (performance art) www.chandrameltingtallow.blogspot.com/


The silent auction will feature visual artworks by great local artists:
Emily Rose Michaud
Caili Woodyard
Naledi Jackson
Ipapurw
Francis McKenzie
Chandra Melting Tallow
Bronwen Moen
Monique Mathieu

Doors open at 8pm for the silent auction, and music starts at 9pm.

A love poem for Vivienne Tam

For a poet and spoken word artist on tour
A Vivienne Tam would give my outfits allure
Whether performing at a bar, club, or cafe
This little Tam would be perfect on stage
I'd stop wasting paper, I'd stop wasting ink
I'd save the environment without having to think
Without a paper and pen, I wouldn't feel distraught
I'd read off the screen and type out my thoughts
I wouldn't be endlessly searching for notepads
In my hands, this Tam wouldn't just be the next fad
A spoken word artist with a digital clutch?
A poet and writer with a fashionable touch?
An IT maven with a tinge of class?
You must be kidding! Or kissing my...
Oh HP! Oh Vivienne Tam!
Come on! Put some glam in this poor poet's hand!
No more paper! No more pens! Hear this poet's call
HP, help this spoken word artist enthrall!
For the masses and audiences across the world
Would see poetry and HP, together, unfurled