Monthly Archives: August 2020

’72: I did a duo with the guidance counsellor (who worked with me at Grand Centre High) which played the only lounge in town. We sang and played through my Fender Super Reverb. I was subsequently cased out and invited … Continue reading →

Veteran black journalist Isabel Wilkerson has done an admirable job of exploring the history and recent manifestations of racism and caste in America. She opens with a fine metaphorical introduction about racism and caste being deeply embedded in the ‘old … Continue reading →

that influenced my early teaching in 1972-75. (this 1963 book I studied in my first u year, 1967-68, had a significant influence on me with its beautiful photos by Rollie McKenna and several poems by each of the major poets … Continue reading →

1440 AM Wetaskawin. Covers ’50s-’70s well. And plays at least 1/3 olde Canadian you can hear nowhere else. Heard Edward Bear’s “Masquerade” and The Bells’ “Fly Little White Dove Fly” this morning, for instance.

My Kosovo poet-friend Kadrush Radogoshi has written often about the war, violence, and injustices in his home region that he left to start a new life in Edmonton. This is one of his eloquent poems in translation from 2014’s A … Continue reading →

Dumb stuff, often around the house. Or in winter. Not to be taken lightly. Often leading to a long time off from work or the usual. Time in hospital and convalescence. And, too often, the very thing that takes out … Continue reading →

early ’90s–an unexpected guest at the dinner table

early ’90s with my son

Actor Ben Cross(on right) from Chariots of Fire, still a fine, charming, inspiring, little, nostalgic, Academy-Award winning film from the U.K. Ian Charleson, the Christian runner 451, saluted here earlier passed earlier. As did Ian Holm, Cross’s coach.

violence, and unnecessary war going on around us every day, it is important not to become inured or case-hardened by all of it. Sensitivity to these things and pity are basics and touchstones. Pity for the suffering of one’s fellow … Continue reading →