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

3, 2, 1, Throw!

The new year is upon us, and so begins a new season of poetry and spoken word! To start off this blank slate, the Throw Collective is launching our live-recorded CD and starting off the spoken word SLAM season at Casa del Popolo (4873 boul. St-Laurent, Montreal, QC) this Sunday, January 18th at 7:30PM! Come on out for a great show and maybe pick up an awesome CD!

Pushcart Prize

I am SO excited to have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize for my poem, Mumma, published in The Pedestal Magazine! Thank you for the honour, Susan! I'm still speechless!

carte blanche magazine, AIDS, and the Yellow Door

How exciting! carte blanche magazine has published my poem, Nomad, in their fall '08 issue!

Also, if you're free this Thursday, try to come out to McGill's AIDS fundraiser at Gert's Bar, where I'll be performing a few spoken word pieces! Find out the details here!

And don't forget my reading at the Yellow Door on December 11th! Find out the details here!

Find out the details about all of my upcoming shows here!

Vallum Magazine's Cafe/Culture Reading Series

For some reason, I can't find the post where I talk about my performance at Vallum Magazine's Cafe/Culture Reading Series on Saturday, October 24th at 7PM. Well then, here it is! I hope all you Montrealers get a chance to come out and enjoy a nice evening of poetry! See you there!

it was Throw-mania!

Sunday night's show exceeded all hopes and dreams! Not only did I get to record an awesome CD with the Throw Collective, I got to share a stage with more than 15 unbelievable poets! A huge thank you to Chris Masson who invited me to be on the CD, and to the other poets for pouring their heart out to inspire the masses, including me! Can't wait for the next show!!!

another beautiful lawn chair soirée (without the lawn chairs)

I'm glad I didn't give in to my exhaustion and instead joined Jan at the lawn chair soirée yesterday! It was a great night of poetry (as usual) and the wonderful feedback I got from the poets and the audience was so encouraging...

Thank you again, Jan, for hosting such a pleasant monthly event!

3, 2, 1, Throw!

Come out on October 19th to Casa Del Popolo at 7PM to see me perform with the Throw Poetry Collective of Montreal! This is one show you definitely don't want to miss - it is going to be unbelievable!

Great Poetry Festival

The Montreal Public Poetry Festival was fantastic!!!

That Brown @$!@%&! and I rocked the stage together in what felt like such short sets! The other poets were amazing, and so warm and encouraging!

A huge thank you must go out to Jack Locke, who put his heart and soul into making this event the success it was!

I can't wait for the 2009 festival!

the lawn chair soirée

yesterday was spectacular. i had the opportunity to "headline" at the lawn chair soirée poetry evening at arts café and was touched and inspired by all of the beautiful poets who performed. when i got up to say my piece (well... pieceS), a sea of open hearts looked back at me from the audience. the poets and audience members were so welcoming and encouraging, i just wanted to hug each and every one of them! i was even asked to do a reprise and go up after the headliners and open mic-ers had had the chance to read - and i did!

we often don't realize how important it is to spend time amongst like-minded people. i consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to read alongside jan, vincenzo, collette, ellie, and to have met so many of the other poets who made up this beautiful evening, including jack and elise. many of the poets will be performing in the montreal public poetry festival sep 26-28, and it will be well worth the time to go see them...

thank you so much, jan, for putting together this monthly evening of words, and i look forward to the next soirée on october 15th!

Yellow Door Poetry and Prose

Woohoo, I have another performance!

On December 11, 2008 at 7:00 PM, I'll be reading at the Yellow Door Poetry and Prose evening!

Thank you, Ilona!

Upcoming Performances

I'm excited to be signing up for a lot of performances in the coming months! Here is the schedule so far, if anyone is in town and can make it - would love to see you there!

September 17, 2008, 7:30 PM

• the lawn chair soirée at Arts Café, 201 Fairmount West, Montreal, QC

September 26, 2008, 7:20 PM

• Montreal Public Poetry Festival at Cafe Culturel SABA, 5124-A Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC

September 27, 2008, 9:00 PM

• Montreal Public Poetry Festival at Cafe Culturel SABA, 5124-A Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC

September 28, 2008, 12:00 PM

• Montreal Public Poetry Festival at Cafe Culturel SABA, 5124-A Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC

October 3, 2008, 9:00 PM

• Indyish / POP Montreal at Les Saints, 30 St. Catherine, corner St. Laurent, Montreal, QC

Montreal Public Poetry Festival

I'm excited to be performing at the Montreal Public Poetry Festival from September 26th - 28th in Montreal. That Brown @$!@%&! and I will be enticing the audiences with three spoken word shows. Details to come!

Check it out!

Call for a Montreal musician and a dancer (two people)

Hello readers! I'm putting a call out to musicians and dancers:

I am looking for some world music and dance to accompany me in a show in Montreal where I will be performing spoken word... I would like to collaborate on a piece (as in build it together). I am looking to create something unique - bharat natyam or flamenco are just some ideas that come to mind - so if you're interested - contact me at nachna {at} gmail {dot} com soon! The show is October 3rd!