tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3977200171944655851.post2947099830988151424..comments2024-03-20T07:44:30.929-07:00Comments on Riffs & Ripples from ZenRiver Gardens: Marvin in Biblioheaven (poem)Chris Faiers/crickethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932656571471814725noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3977200171944655851.post-84605750303655582932015-10-04T15:11:17.167-07:002015-10-04T15:11:17.167-07:00Thank you Gaby for sharing that poem on Marvin wit...Thank you Gaby for sharing that poem on Marvin with me I am touched!Louisenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3977200171944655851.post-59852276890555264492015-07-07T20:24:33.843-07:002015-07-07T20:24:33.843-07:00Ariella! He certainly was appreciated and loved by...Ariella! He certainly was appreciated and loved by many. While I wish we could have come together again under any other circumstances, still, I am glad my words found their way to you. <br /><br />He absolutely left his mark on this world, and you are surely his (and Gaby's) greatest legacy. He lives on in you, and the memories of many. <br /><br />I've tried on occasion to make kasha and bows…never quite turns out like it did that night. If I recall correctly, you had been taking ballet classes and did a few sassy pirouettes. <br /><br />Life, as they say, is for the living. We do our best, and that's all anyone can ask. <br /><br />AnnaAnna Pottierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15346274267730410272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3977200171944655851.post-32403254163781372902015-07-07T20:24:09.439-07:002015-07-07T20:24:09.439-07:00Ariella! He certainly was appreciated and loved by...Ariella! He certainly was appreciated and loved by many. While I wish we could have come together again under any other circumstances, still, I am glad my words found their way to you. <br /><br />He absolutely left his mark on this world, and you are surely his (and Gaby's) greatest legacy. He lives on in you, and the memories of many. <br /><br />I've tried on occasion to make kasha and bows…never quite turns out like it did that night. If I recall correctly, you had been taking ballet classes and did a few sassy pirouettes. <br /><br />Life, as they say, is for the living. We do our best, and that's all anyone can ask. <br /><br />AnnaAnna Pottierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15346274267730410272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3977200171944655851.post-72161998236059843132015-07-06T18:43:08.327-07:002015-07-06T18:43:08.327-07:00Anna, thank you for your beautiful words about my ...Anna, thank you for your beautiful words about my father. I've always known that he was a very special person, but many of us feel that way about a parent - not a particularly objective opinion. To read so many others speak of their appreciation for his kindness, gentleness, and genuine interest in others has touched me deeply. Your words brought tears to my eyes as I sipped my coffee this morning; they were tears of happiness because I know that my father has left his mark here, in his own gentle way.<br /><br />Although I was too young to remember your visit to our home, my parents always spoke highly of that dinner. Thank you for your condolences - I'm so happy that Marvin touched your lives as he did ours.<br /><br />Ariella OrbachAriella Orbachnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3977200171944655851.post-66804754749271862882015-07-05T18:37:56.541-07:002015-07-05T18:37:56.541-07:00Only today - 5 July 2015 - did I learn of Marvin O...Only today - 5 July 2015 - did I learn of Marvin Orbach's passing. It does not get much more surreal that sitting here under a whirring ceiling fan in the heat of Salt Lake City morning, stumbling upon the Sue Garter piece in Quill & Quire, and being knocked sideways at the words, "…he was…" .<br /><br />Which prompted a frantic search, leading to his obituary in the Montreal Gazette. Marvin? Marvin of the undying enthusiasm and meticulous love of all things poetry? Marvin who came to our door on Monkland with a big bag of carrots from his garden, hoping to exchange them for a few signatures in volumes of Irving's books?<br /><br />No, you see, this wasn't an ordinary man. If I may mangle a famous Layton poem, Marvin's devotion to poetry was perfect. <br /><br />More than that, when Irving and I found ourselves embroiled in the disgusting but inevitable "Cameron Affair" (wherein only a few people dared join Irving in his battle against a shameful, error-fest of anti-Jewish shlock …..Marvin was stellar in simple but oh-so-important ways. I will never forget seeing Irving off towards the Vanier Library in all weather, clutching our newly minted samizdats. Irving, never good with machines, soon encountered photocopy trouble. His rescuing angel: Marvin Orbach. He made sure the paper tray was full; cleared up the maddening jams; and always made sure to have pockets full of change for Irving's paper money. <br /><br />The sheer contrast between the entire nation's silence (when it was not aligned with Cameron against Irving) and Marvin's seamless, selfless help - I can tell you now though it is hard to see the screen as I type for the tears - it truly gladdened Irving's heart. Not only did the actual help make Irving's life easier, but just getting to know Marvin for his pure, pure soul, his kindness, and perhaps above all, his love of poetry, quite simply helped restore balance in Irving's life and heart during that horrible episode. <br /><br />And the night we had dinner at Marvin and Gaby's, their beautiful little girl Ariella joining us for that perfectly cooked chicken (and my first taste of kasha and bows) also touched Irving. He and I recalled that night and Marvin quite a few times. Funny how a man can have friends who claim to have known him for 50 years, can have children, relatives, etc., but in a dark time, sometimes they all fall away, their absence made somewhat more acceptable by the appearance of an authentic, undivided, passionately kind and loving soul. <br /><br />Marvin, I was looking forward to putting a copy of my memoir in your hands this September. Can't believe I won't get that chance, but maybe up there in Biblioheaven, you've already read it. <br /><br />My deepest condolences to Gaby and Ariella, and to anyone in Canada for whom poetry is more than words on a page. <br />There will be no one else like him.<br /><br />Anna PottierAnna Pottierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15346274267730410272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3977200171944655851.post-64900840319418887482015-03-31T05:59:21.558-07:002015-03-31T05:59:21.558-07:00a very nice poetic tribute to Marvin, Chris. Thank...a very nice poetic tribute to Marvin, Chris. Thanks for posting!Andreas Gripphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10540541776821516889noreply@blogger.com