The Coffee Guest   Bonnie Nish Interviews ~ Johnny Frem The Fire Behind Bolts of Fiction     Johnny Frem is a hard man to track down. Somewhere in between practicing for his new-found literary back-up band “Liars of Orpheus”, organizing and hosting “Bolts of Fiction” twice a week and successfully running his own roofing business “The Leak Doctor”, he is able to find the time to work on a second draft of one of his novels. Oh did I forget to mention: he co-founded “House of Fiction”, a literary critiquing group now producing its own magazine, "Clips"? The man has unstoppable energy and it seems as though he has just gotten started. Being as involved as Frem, has allowed him to become-whether he knows it or not- an authority of sorts on the Vancouver Literary scene. He has seen the many changes, which have occurred over the years and he has been instrumental in directing many of those changes. “Bolts of Fiction” which began as the “Writers’ Round Table” at a coffee house in the 90’s has turned into a must-be-at must-see literary event for prose writers. Back at the beginning there were a few individuals who were frustrated with trying to read prose at open mikes. People didn’t pay attention long enough to get a whole story. Barry Coull, Gaik Cheng-Khoo, Duane Pye, Julia Steele and Johnny Frem took it upon themselves to change this.   “There were five of us in the beginning. We walked up and down Broadway and West 4th until we found a place,” remembers Frem. But this was a short lived stint and it wasn’t until January 2000 that “Bolts of Fiction” found its current home, “El Cocal”. It started out once a month and then went to two times a month and then evolved into three times a month. As the days were added Bolts was evolving in other ways as well.   The original six drifted off in other directions in their lives so only Frem is left, although Barry comes out when he can. But over the years Bolts has become more than just a reading place for prose. It has become a place for people to connect. Socializing is an extremely important part of what Bolts is about.   “We learnt not to let the open mike run as long as they wanted,” says Frem. “People wanted to socialize.” Russell Bateman friend and Bolts supporter, agrees that the connections are an essential part to why people come out. “You know you aren’t alone. There is a sharing of information.”   Frem believes that these connections are vital to the writing community but not just for the social aspect. “ When people meet others who are doing innovative things, they encourage it in each other. “ Frem feels that writers supporting each other gives validity to what they do, ultimately helping them to move along in their careers, gaining recognition and success.   “There’s nothing like it anywhere in the Country that I know of.” Frem says almost challenging me. I am sure he is right. And because of this Frem sees “Bolts” as becoming a third source of credibility for writers. A place besides the universities and newspapers that publishers can look and say to themselves, “this person came out of “Bolts”. I can take a chance on them.” Over the years “Bolts” has grown, changed, shifted and gained the kind of recognition Frem is talking about. “It is in its adulthood. It can’t grow any bigger,” Frem admits.   But “Bolts” has again grown and evolved just recently. Instead of hosting just the three Mondays of the month at El Cocal, Frem has added every Thursday into the mix at “Tigers” on Grandville. With this new expansion Frem says they are able to accommodate more out-of-town authors and he is excited at this prospect.   With all of this change Frem has also found new blood to work with. There of course have been those steadfast individuals who have helped out over the years such as Russell Bateman, Henry Dent, Gordon Mumford, Robert Waltz, Tony Friedson and micheal sean morris most of whom are still around. But now there are a whole slew of people including some of those just mentioned, helping to run the open mics, get readers, and just help push this machine forward. Sean McGarragle of Ten Dollar Words has come on board to help and is becoming instrumental in keeping this Vancouver institution moving and running smoothly.   While Frem maybe removing some of his immediate control, it allows for his dream to grow as he is expanding his connection to include more monthly events, hosts, writers and readers giving him more time to pursue other innovative ideas which are sure to rock the Vancouver literary scene. “Liars of Orpheus is just one”. And perhaps he will find the extra time he needs to write and get his two books out there. Either way it is far from the last that we have heard from this dynamic man. We’ve only just beginning.   For more information on Bolts of Fiction times and dates and for other event listings, please go to the events page. Previous Interviews: Liars of Orpheus ~ Re: The Intentions of Orpheus Estelle Bogoch ~ Re: Crosswords for Gardeners Byron Sheardown ~ Re: Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine Home