Tag Archives: memory

Celebrating the Celebrant

Robert Priest poet. Robert Priest food lover. Robert Priest celebrant. And I picture this outflow of publications not only with images of beautifully designed books but with the concomitant imagery of beautiful celebratory meals, generously put on and attended by … Continue reading

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What Is Remembered: The Long View

Lorna Finlayson There is no sense in which my great-uncle, who died at the Somme along with hundreds of thousands of others, gave his life for my freedom. He was cannon fodder in a needless imperial war which created fertile … Continue reading

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Do You Believe in Magic?

Philip Pullman in The Guardian presents the case for a way of seeing connectedness. I’m relying on poetry to make this point because I think that poetry itself is a kind of enchantment. The effect that certain lines and images … Continue reading

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Time & Space: chronobiopolitics

Knowledge keeper, Kim Wheatley refers to these acknowledgements as “necessities” not “niceties”. The sign reads: The TDSB Outdoor Education Schools acknowledge the land that we are situated on is the traditional territories of the Aboriginal founding Peoples of the Great … Continue reading

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Sink, Swim, Sense

Northrop Frye in By Liberal Things [his address upon his installation as Principal of Victoria College, 1959] invites us to contemplate the ingrainedness of practice. It rehearses for me the triple notions of immersion, acculturation and perception. The kind of … Continue reading

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Greek Sleep

A charming passage on the effect of soporifics on the ability to quote Greek… one almost falls asleep trying to keep track of who is quoting who. I have always said — and have proved by experiment — that the … Continue reading

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On David and Florence

History turning to an account of reading for pathos. A statue becomes emblematic of the city. Those who are more astute, of course, brave the long lines outside the Accademia in order to see David in his authentic and inimitable … Continue reading

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Forgot Begot

reconstructions: gathering sparkling lines Julie Joosten Light Light A slip — an epithet binding — I debt unsung fragile and yet strong life ventures on a thread of song song cancelling out debt I didn’t know who I was or … Continue reading

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Wet Stones Whet Colour

Barry Lopez in “The Passing Wisdom of Birds” in Crossing Open Ground makes a fine distinction. [T]hough it is possible to write precisely about something, this does not automatically mean one is accurate. Which is a sentiment/observation that plays in … Continue reading

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Beans, Moms, Hockey

A tasty bit from a review with a long title about a book with a long title. But then I am reminded of my friend — the one whose nose fills with the smell of beans whenever she hears that … Continue reading

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