Montreal 'sibling' People's Poetry Festival (Katharine Beeman)

Hi Chris,

Here the fotos from the PF-CCLA Mini Festalito-Quebec - 14 participants, 5 languages - English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Pharsi. If you count the construction workers sonorously rivaling with us next door - 17 participants....I read them my following poem:

Montreal Summer Deconstructing Construction
    to the (de)construction crews of avenue de L’Esplanade et rue Hutchinson, 2013 (with apologies to all the left out after 5 do-it-yourselfers)


Takka-takka-takka-takka-takka
geeeta-geeeta-geeta-geeeta

the pile driver drives you down
til your spine has no discs left

zzzz-zzz-zeet-zzzz-zzz-zeet

the circular saw slices heart and throat

thudda-thudda-whomp-thudda-whomp-thudda
thudda-thudda-whomp-thudda-whomp-thudda

the mallet socks it to ya
molars and bones shatter, fly about the room
til your very marrow shatters

From seven til three

screechy-screechy-clang-screecy-clang-screechy-clang-screechy

into the dumpster it goes
a half-an-hour more

yaar, yaar, yaar, rumble, rumble, rumble
‘soir, ‘morrow, ciao

=======================
=======================

An azure hole in the universe swallows them all
through the transparent expanding dusk

Limp as drowned earwigs we lie plastered
in our nightly beds
to rise again

takka-takka-takka….
geeeta-geeeta-geeeta….

We do not long for summer’s end
Oh no, but its endless perfect continual eternity
when all rests forever built
still among flowers and leaves
soft air and breeze.
Dustless.

Katharine Beeman, 2013

 


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thanks for the great poem, Katharine! love it - so many poetry readings are conducted over, above, around & through competing sounds & elements - pleased to see that you & your gathering were able to overcome this  :  )

Congrats as well on the attendance & the international flavouring. Great to know that the PurdyFest vibe & People's Poetry tribal gathering spirit has expanded to yet another new home!
I've posted your poem & a pic on my blog.

peace & poetry power!
Chris & Chase Wrffffffffffffffffffff!  (miss those Montreal-style bellyrubs!)


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Marvelous poem, Katharine!  I love the sounds – and the wish at the end.

Vroom, thwack, bzzzz
from Hamilton,
Ellen
 
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Bodhisattva dream vision

when I awoke I knew the world had changed
doves cooed through a loon's crazed wake-up
I felt different - twenty years old again?
scratched my head, & felt hair down to my waist

strange, the Buddha I'd been hiding in my closet
had come to life
In this half awake state I slid off the bed
stumbled to the front windows
threw open the curtains:
the recycle man had flipped the blue bin
was sitting atop in full lotus posture

a cop car floated down the street
two cops kissing
reading Daniel Jones' chapbook
"Two Cops Kissing"

Jones himself floated regally above the cop car
joyously shouting he had found his fourth eye
rigorously rubbing his bum
perhaps looking for that cork he lost
at James' Deahl's house
the first time we met
three decades ago

Jim Christy was standing at my back door
hugging Virginia & a wine bottle
no, a blue gin bottle he'd retrieved for his stupa
they were sharing sniffs of a blue vapour

the sky was radiant purple - everything
shimmered iridescent - one shade before too bright
I slapped my sunglasses on - took them off

the stereo turned itself on
the Beatles "All You Need Is Love" began playing
mentally I changed the channel and
"Tomorrow Never Knows" droned perennial wisdom

Bemused, my little dog Chase asked me what the fuck is going on, Dad?
Buddha Dog, I telepathically replied
it's the awakening of planet earth

the secret Buddhas have tired of hiding
and come out to play

I packed two beers in the cooler
dog treats in the shaman bag
ready for another day in paradise
we headed off to ZenRiver Gardens


Chris Faiers/cricket 


inspired by all the beautiful & joyous beings at PurdyFest #7

PurdyFest article: "Central Hastings News" by Judy Backus

article in Central Hastings News
Thursday, August 8, 2013
page 13
by Judy Backus

Purdyfest continues to attract poets

Aug 08, 2013

A two-daylong celebration of poetry took place in Marmora with the seventh annual and increasingly well attended Purdyfest. The weekend began with a Friday evening potluck held at Zen River, the home of local poet Chris Faiers.

A Saturday afternoon symposium, held at the William Shannon Room, provided insight on the work of Canadian poet Dorothy Livesay from a variety of perspectives. Presenters included visiting poets, Marsha Barber, Paulos Ioannou, Anna Yim and Terry Barker.

The traditional Saturday afternoon open reading by the dam site resulted in many of the more than 25 who arrived from as far away as Hamilton and Ottawa, gathering in the shaded area, one by one standing to read from their works. Prior to that, local musician and poet Morley Ellis provided a musical interlude, accompanying himself on his guitar, while the crowd enjoyed the tunes, with some singing along while they rested on the grassy knoll.

With the music playing in the background, Faiers, commented that the people's poetry movement seemed to be growing in Canada, mentioning that he had spent time
over the past two weeks in Ameliasburgh, initially helping to prepare the Al Purdy A frame which is going to become a writer in residence location. Of the project, he said, "This will be the first time in Ontario that we will have a [famous writer's] residence that has a writer in residence associated with it."

With regard to Purdyfest, he said, "There's a back and forth between us and the A frame and we support the fund raising ... It's just good that people's poetry, and poetry in general are getting more acceptance, and growing and becoming more recognized by the public."

 

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Aug. 17/13

Hi Chris, each and all,
It was good to meet with you again. What a wonderful feel there is around the dam and Zen river. thanks for making this happen.

It was fascinating to learn about Livesay. That poem Marsha was fab! I'll look for your book.

Thanks for the summary and haiku Chris and the copy of the copy of your write-up on Livesay, Paulo.

We already read aloud your book to each other, Ann B; it was wonderful! Simon and Melanie, what was the name of the puppet theatre? (I think I wrote it down but it's probably one of those illegible squiggles.)

I too took a few photos. I seem to have paid more attention to the dogfolk than I realized at the time. There's an album on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pearlpirie/sets/72157635064055432/

Brian hasn't gone thru his photos yet.

just back from the trip after,
Pearl

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Article on A-frame picnic by Richard Turtle

Purdy's words echo outside iconic A-Frame

Posted Aug 1, 2013 By Richard Turtle

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Click to Enlarge

David Sweet (c) reads Al Purdy's poem At the Quinte Hotel on the back deck of the A-Frame on Roblin Lake.

Click to Enlarge

Station Road's (from left) Eric Pilgrim, Conrad Beaubien, Michelle Simmonds and David Simmonds perform during the First Annual Al Purdy Picnic outside Ameliasburgh last Saturday.

EMC News - The work of Al Purdy continues to inspire and impress. And it continues to resonate.

Whether it be a poem penned half a century ago or the small home he built with his wife on the edge of a tiny lake, it has a remarkable and humble durability.

Dozens of people gathered last weekend at the Al Purdy A Frame on Roblin Lake to remember the late great Canadian poet and continue to support and promote plans to create a writer in residence program there.

Purdy, who penned more than 40 books during his career, built the small home along with his wife Eurithe spending much of their time there in the ensuing decades before he passed away in 2000. Eurithe Purdy, who now lives in Belleville, was among those in attendance at the First Annual Al Purdy Picnic, joining the crowd to hear recitations and reflections presented in the open air from the deck overlooking the water.

Organizer Michele Lintern-Mole welcomed the visitors and introduced about a dozen readers who offered a glimpse into the breadth of Purdy's work and his impact on other writers, educators and readers across the country for more than 50 years. Music was provided by quartet Station Road, who played a pair of acoustic sets of familiar country and folk tunes.

Picnic lunches were available for purchase at the Town Hall with regular shuttle service running to and from the A-Frame, where parking was prohibited. Several visitors opted to walk the approximately 1.5-kilometre distance in what turned out to be ideal weather for a backyard reading.

Once onsite, visitors were free to casually walk the grounds and take in the sights and sounds around them. Lintern-Mole also urged those in attendance to take part in a walking tour of "Al's Ameliasburgh" with Conrad Beaubien. Points of interest for many visitors included the "Wilderness Gothic" church, the Purdy Library and the Grove Cemetery. She also thanked readers for sharing their "cultural, literary and social memories."

Work on the A-Frame is ongoing and the Al Purdy A-Frame Association was one of many event partners and supporters.

"This is great," says poet Chris Faiers who travelled from Marmora to attend the picnic. "It's just such an amazing place." Familiar with the locale, the A-Frame and the nearby Grove Cemetery, Faiers, a longtime admirer of Purdy's work, will be hosting PurdyFest for the seventh year this weekend, which will include Another Dam Poetry Reading in Marmora on Saturday.
Purdy's work is also heavily featured in the play Al Purdy At the Quinte Hotel, which will be performed as an A-Frame fund raiser at the converted United Church in Rednersville (116 Barley Road) on September 28.

Dorothy Livesay: A Feminist Lyric Socialist (Paulos Ioannou)

 
 
Dorothy Livesay:  A Feminist  Lyric Socialist

Introduction

I came across Dorothy’s name a few years back while I was doing some research on the state of Canadian literature. At that time the only thing I knew about her was that she was a poet, a critic and a reviewer  and that in fact she was a  Winner of Governor General's Awards for her collection  Day and Night (1944) and Poems for People (1947).

I was intrigued of course by the fact that she was twice awarded the Governor General's Award but at the time my interests were mostly focused on the literary magazine scene.

It was a few years later when I fortuitously obtained her collection “The Woman I am” given to me by a friend, who discovered it in a second hand bookstore along with a copy of “The Self-Completing Tree”. Subsequently, I also came across a number of her other poems along with some of the many interviews she provided that it became evident to me how important she was and how powerful her poetry, remaining  so relevant to to-day.

Dorothy: Life and Work

Dorothy was born in 1909, in Winnipeg and died December 29, 1996 in Victoria, British Columbia. She started writing at a very early age, for as she put it. as a personal expression. When she was around fourteen her mother sent one of her poems, without her knowledge, to the Vancouver Province. It was published and she was paid $2.00.


As far as I can ascertain Dorothy published more than 26 books of poetry and prose. She is considered a social realist, in more simplistic terms, but no less accurate, a socialist.

She studied at the University of Toronto  receiving a B.A  in modern languages with follow up studies at Sorbonne in Paris, France, receiving  a Diplôme d’études supérieures.

While in Paris she got very interested in Marxism philosophy, social justice and fairness which were later reinforced on her during the depression years.

Upon returning to Canada, to study at the School of Social Work at the University of Toronto, she joined the Communist Party.

She worked as a caseworker in Montreal, Vancouver and other locations outside Canada and taught in Zambia between 1959 to 1963.  At the same time, she was active in leftist artist organizations such as the Progressive Arts Club and was regional editor of the socialist New Frontier in Vancouver in 1936-37. In her interview with Doug Beardsley and Rosemary Sullivan, however, she admitted that she got disenchanted in the fifties with communism but she remained a dedicated socialist because in her words “I don’t believe in the capitalist system”

In addition to her Governor General’s Literary Award she was also awarded the Royal Society of Canada’s Lorne Pierce Medal in 1947 for distinguished contribution to Canadian literature and the Queen’s Canada Medal in 1977.

Despite her awards Dorothy remains almost unknown outside academic circles and to a growing but select group of serious poets. But this is the same fate of so many other Canadian greats, even though, in her case, some of her books are still being reprinted and individual poems are presented and analysed in several blogs.

Canada has produced many great poets, both imagists and modernists, and the poetic tradition is very strong and flourishes in the many poetry groups in and around the country.

It is to the credit of Terry Barker and Mosaic Press that James Deahl, with their support, has put together a remarkable selection of Acorn’s work. To my knowledge no such publication exists for Dorothy unless we consider as such “The Self-Completing Tree”, which is a compilation of what she considered her best work.
Dorothy follows a long line of early women pioneers in modernist   Canadian poetry. Her poetic work is permeated with lyrical sensitivity and a revolutionary fervour for social justice, antiauthoritarianism, the predicament of women both socially and sexually and the conservation of nature. Dorothy is not as polemic in her ideology as Milton Acorn but that may be a result of her being more refined and reflective  in comparison to Acorn as well of course in living and experiencing different historical periods.

In several interviews she indicated that initially she was mainly influenced by American poets such as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and others stating that it was the whole imagist movement that started her off. Imagism as a poetic movement began in early 20th century and it is characterised by free verse, clear and sharp language thus avoiding excess verbiage which opened the road and formed the impetus to modernism.

Her first collection of poetry, Green Pitcher, was published in 1929 when she was only nineteen. But it was her collection “Day and Night” which won the Governor General's Awards in1944 that  launched her as a major talent. In 1987 she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Philip Hewrett , minister emeritus of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver,  in his paper on Dorothy, dismisses her early poetry for being “passionately ideological” and considers them as not of high quality. While the quality of these poems may not be as high as her later work in the 60s and 70s what Hewrett does not acknowledge is that these poems cement Dorothy’s entire career  as themes that permeate her poetry throughout, the thematic in fact remains the same except now is done by a mature poet who is on top of her creativity.


Of particular note are her collections “The Unquiet Bed” “Ice Age”, "Call My People Home", “The Woman I Am” and the “Self-Completing Tree”. Certainly different researchers and readers may compile a different set.

“The Woman I Am” deals mainly with poems of love and female sexuality.
Dr. Perm Varma believes that “The Unquiet Bed” is most central to the undererstanding of Dorothy's  love poetry as  "the protest of a woman who refuses to be subortinated  simply because she has a submissive role in sex".
Dorothy tells us that prior to writing “The Unquiet Bed” she fell deeply  in love and the poems spang out of her loins". The book  includes her Zambian poetry for which Antje M. Rauwerda  in her contextual  analysis writes that the "Zambia" cycle  raises questions about a white Canadian’s apprehension of Zambia and it elucidates Dorothy's use of nature/culture, man/woman, sun/moon, light/dark and black/ white oppositions as a whole, and especially in "Zambia." Antje proceeds further to suggest that " These binaries evoke racial and gender stereotypes, but, by considering Livesay’s use of them as part of the development of her ideas about binaries themselves rather than about colonial or gender politics, one can assert that they are not as reductive as they may first appear".

The  "Call My People Home"  collection published in 1950 is a long documentary dealing with  the mistreatment of Japanese Canadians during World War II.
In the Ice Age the theme is mostly dark the idea of life, death, loneliness, enviromentalism.
"The Self-Completing Tree” was first published in 1986. It encapsulates the essence of Dorothy’s poetic creations and remains to my opinion the best of what she had to offer without devaluing any of her poems that were left out.

Tanya Butler  on her paper  about  "The Self-Completing Tree" suggests that Dorothy uses the metaphor implied by the title — a tree, half verdant, half in flames — to symbolize the androgynous self". Furthermore, that " this is the theme of much of Livesay's work and a central metaphor for the most definitive collection of her poetry. The result is a spiritual autobiography charting the fascinating domains of her own life and the universal struggles we all share".


 British Columbia’s major poetry prize is named in Dorothy's honour.




Dorothy's Saying

I had high hopes for the grass roots poets in Canada like Milton Acorn, Al Purdy and Pat Lane. And Pat Lowther was certainly very much a committed poet before her murder. And Tom Wayman. It would seem to me that these poets and those that follow with them are speaking out, but there isn't anything like the commitment of the writers in the thirties. We were so stirred up by what was happening in Spain. The takeovers by Mussolini and Hitler created an anti-Franco situation in Canada which was very strong.

  

References:


An Interview with Dorothy Livesay, conducted by Doug Beardsley and Rosemary Sullivan
Politics, Gender, and New Provinces: Dorothy Livesay and F.R. Scott by Peggy Kelly
Interview/ DOROTHY LIVESAY #2 by Twigg, Alan , 1978,  Athabasca University English-Canadian Writers Dorothy Livesay.
Dorothy Livesay: CANADIAN CREATOR OF LITERARY CULTURE Phillip Hewett, Emeritus Minister, Unitarian Church of Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Ken Moffatt: Poetics of Social Work by University of Toronto Press, 2001.

The Love poetry Of Dorothy Livesay  by  Dr. Perm Varma

The task of  poetic mediation: Dorothy Livesay's early poetry by Diana M. A. Relke
Upsetting an Already Unquiet Bed: Contextualizing Dorothy Livesay’s "Zambia." by Antje M. Rauwerda
Dorothy Livesay’s Poetic Re/vision: Reading Binaries, Lesbian Love, and Androgyny in The Self-Completing Tree by Tanya Butler
The Self-Completing Tree: Livesay's African Poetry by Fiona Sparrow
University of Manitoba Libraries
The Writing Livesays, Connecting Generations of Canadian Modernism by Ann Martin in Wider Boundaries of Daring, The Modernist Impulse in Canadian Women's Poetry, edited by Di Brandt and Barbara Godard

A New Genealogy of Canadian Modernism by Di Brandt in Wider Boundaries of Daring, The Modernist Impulse in Canadian Women's Poetry, edited by Di Brandt and Barbara Godard





           Paulos Ioannou

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On Wed, Aug 7, 2013 at 12:28 AM, Chris Faiers <zenriver@sympatico.ca> wrote:
Hi Paulos,
Thanks again for doing all the research on Livesay & then presenting it in both this paper & at the symposium.

I'm forwarding this to Anna Yin, as Anna knows how to embody attachments within an email. This is the only way my system will allow me to cut & paste so I can post it on my blog. 

peace & poetry power!
Chris ... & Chase Wrffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff!

"LivesayFest" notes and haiku

Hi Everyone,

 Dorothy Livesay Symposium

LivesayFest, Purdyest #7, is in full swing. I'm stealing a few minutes Sunday morning from sleep and today's readingst at ZenRiver Gardens to give a quick overview of this year's activities so far,

Yesterday's Symposium on Dorothy Livesay was attended by around 25 people. Participants cumulatively drove thousands of miles to attend. Paulos Iannou led off with a well-researched and thorough paper on Livesay's life & poetic career. This was followed by Anna Yin's excellent poem on Livesay.

Terry Barker then gave a relaxed oral presentation of his paper, "The Self-Completing Tree: Dorothy Livesay and the Theosopihical Muse". Terry's paper gave us a sense of the many dramatic changes Livesay personally went through, and how these quite different personalities were refelcted in her poetry & politics.

Marsha Barber completed the presentations with another oral remembering of her youthful apprenticeship with Livesay. Marsha was hired as a general factotum for an aging Livesay, doing everything from transcriptions & correspondence to chopping wood. This gave Marsha deep insight into the this incredibly strong-minded and creative woman.

David Day was also personally acqulanited with Dorothy Livesay, & his comments rounded out the diverse personality we had been shown by the presenters.

cameras
recording cameras
recording cameras


Another Dam Poetry Reading

Singer and guitarist Morley Ellis led off the dam reading with an extended performance of songs geared to the audience. I began the round robin portion of the poetrly readings with the poem I wrote after the first PurdyFest in 2007, "Picnic with Al". I mentioned that the restoration of the Purdy A-frame in Ameliasburgh is coming along well, and that plans are underway for the writer-in-residence program to begin in 2014.

There were around 40 people enjoying the perfect summer day, & we went around the large gathering enjoying various styles and voices of poets: Patrick Connors, Anna Yin, Anna Plesums, Terry Barker, Pearl Pirie, John Hamley, David Day, Gail Taylor, Henry Martinuk, Marsha Barber, Hans Jongman & many others, including the young  nude sunbathing travelers we met the day before at Callahan's Rapids. Stew & Mila showed up with several more couples and added to the ambience of the day. A highlight was Ann BeCoy's song about getting turned back by American immigration, an experience shared by several other audience members after 911.

introvert poets
extroverts
for a day

beautiful nudists
bathe on hot rocks
in the rapids 

Siimon and Melanie gave a sample of the street puppetry performance art they do in large center like Hamilton and Toronto. The joked that some performances were so unsettling to the powers-that-be that large puppets were arrested! They asked for volunteers from the crowd, and had them read the flip sheet lyrics in Dutch, French and Chinese to display the universality of the dangers posed to all humanity.

Canadian poets
many tongues
many voices  

The dam readings eventually drew to a close, & a lot of our companions headed back to Toronto and centers across Ontario. Most remained, however, & headed back to ZenRiver Gardens for dinner. Anna Yin and her friends cooked delicious Chinese noodles, served with jellyfish & sauteed fish & chicken. We trekked back on the old quarry properties, enjoying the wild surroundings. Comment was made that it was hard to believe such wilderness existed barely a 2-hours drive from Toronto.

pats and food spills
not poetry
important to dogs


A blazing fire was built while Ann BeCoy played some of her beautiful original songs. Impromptu readings, discussions, & personal revelations followed late into the evening, accompanied by a beer or 2 and giant marshmallows which must have weighed half a pound each (courtesy of Dan the fireman).

into the night
drunken poet
competes with frogs 

It's time for me to wake up Chase & head back to ZenRiver Gardens for the afternoon group readings, which should begin very soon. Many of our campers will head home later today, but the hardcore ones will probably drive to Ameliasburgh tomorrow for a pilgrimage to Purdy's grave & the A-frame.

peace & poetry power!
Chris ... & Chase Wrffffffffffffffff!  11:45 am Sunday morning

short story
goes on tooo long
yaaawwwwwwnn




Monday morning (coming down?)

Chase & I made to out to ZenRiver by about 12:30 yesterday (Sunday). Tai & Kim Grove of Hidden Brook Press & the Canada-Cuba Literary Alliance had already set up shade tents, but the campers had all driven off to Callahan's Rapids for wading, & perhaps to check if the sunbathers were back on their rock. Roger and Veronica Langen arrived while we waited for the crowds to appear. The throng from last year's Sunday readings never materialized, & instead a gathering of a dozen poets enjoyed a very relaxed afternoon as person by person & couple by couple wandered into the reading circle.

Rain clouds
drift amiably above
our sun awnings

The unexpected arrival of James and Norma Deahl was a special treat, as James is a founder of PurdyFest, and many fest activities are his original ideas. They would have arrived earlier, but their  search for nonexistent cabins on highway #62 had delayed their arrival by half a day.

young goddess
wraps live snake charm
around her arm


A highlight for all was Ann BeCoy's reading from her Memoirs of a Hippie Girl in India. Ann has a radio quality professional voice, & her accounting of her youthful attempted seduction by a horny & manipulative guru was simultaneously frightening and funny.

Thank Yous 

To the speakers at the symposium for the dozens of hours of preparation which went into your presentations:  Paulos Ioannou, Anna Yin, Terry Barker & Marsha Barber. For everyone who read at and listened to the many fest activities this year, including Allan & Holly Briesmaster - thanks for driving David & Marsha, for Henry Martinuk for bringing Ann, for Anna Plesums for sharing her new book and homemade bread at the potluck, to David Day for his personal memories of Livesay, for Morley Ellis for again anchoring the dam reading & establishing the positive vibe, for Simon & Melanie for being such helpful Kamp Kommandants at ZenRiver & for being such enthusiastic performers, for Patrick for entertaining us and the frogs at ZenRiver. for the water snakes who entertained Mel, for Anna's friends who prepared the stir fry, for Henry for continuing to professionally video record PurdyFests for posterity, to Gail Taylor for billeting Marsha,for John for sharing his first attempt at chicken rice, for Tai & Kim & their Hidden Brook Press for publishing so many of us (James, Norma, me, Ann BeCoy, Roger, Veronica, etc.). To Pearl & Brian Pirie for being such sweet people and driving all the way from Ottawa. For the great weather for yet another year. To Jim Larwill, our Raven King, who couldn't make it this year, & best wishes to Joyce Wayne and Honey Novick, both of whom had personal tragedies to deal with & still sent their best wishes & regards. Ditto to Kent Bowman, Katherine Beeman, Karl Jirgens & Katherine Gordon for their best wishes & long distance support.

Next year's PurdyFest will feature the life and legacy of Pauline Johnson.
See you there ...
peace & poetry power!
Chris, Chase, Morley, and the frogs & snakes of ZenRiver

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Hi Chris and all,

Thanks for hosting the wonderful events.  Here are my haiku for this year's event and photos will be posted later. Then I will send a link for  all of that.   Cheers.


Anna Yin


Zenriver Haiku

--

storms again

my son regrets our cancelled camp plan

sleeping on his room’s floor

--

clear sky

music and poetry flow

under the shady elm tree

--

an old-time song

Henry lets that cute dog

find her voice first

--

Dee in Marsha’s narrative

alive again

in our sizzling dialog

--

decades passed…

who goes first? You! You!

we laugh at David’s story

--

across the creek,

Dan lifts up his fish

inhaling Ann’s music

--

a winding trail

before the haunted house

calls from unknown birds '


--

apples picked from deep woods

gift for Terry, sweet or sour

a witch's wish?

---

not haiku, but stories

Hans read wisdom from

his five-year old grandson


 
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Somewhere down the Zen River With a Literary Allusion to Leonard Cohen
 
by Pat Connors

Current runs smoothly
all stands still for a moment
the eternal now

On Simcoe day weekend
friends come together
between Marmora and Madoc

the beauty of sharing meals
poetry and music
this blessed moment

If only I could get my mind
to not plan the next move
worrying about when I have to leave

in spite of this I learn something
about Dorothy Livesay, Chris Faiers,
and even myself

about wonderful friends
existing and newly made
their love and generosity

to relax and be myself
in whatever time
the good Lord grants me

for Jesus is my Saviour
in this world and the next
and I want to travel blind

and I know that I can trust Him
because I have seen Zen River
and I know I will see it again

The weekend goes on without me
back in Don Mills trying to type
record and categorize

But I am changed forever
because I know I will see Zen River again

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Conrad DiDiodato has left a new comment on your post ""LivesayFest" notes and haiku":

Chris,
congrats on yr awesome "LivesayFest". As I read this post "Cream" suddenly comes to mind.
Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A41ZcFu0Ly4
Posted by Conrad DiDiodato to Riffs &amp; Ripples from ZenRiver Gardens at 5 August 2013 09:56

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AnnaYin has left a new comment on your post ""LivesayFest" notes and haiku":

Thank you Chris,

Here are poems, haiku and essay, photos for the event.

http://www.annapoetry.com/?p=6425

Anna

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Hi Chris and Tai - and Chase,

Here's what I'm doing since I'm not with you right now! Hugs and belly
rubs, Katharine

Hi all,

Imagine a river, the Marmora, at the toes of the Canadian Shield.
Imagine a small dog who likes his belly rubbed running through it.
Imagine smoke from the campfire chasing away the mosquitos.

But the good friends, food and poetry will be real!

Tuesday, 6 August, 18h30, Katharine's patio. Bring what you like to eat,
drink, read.
4872 Esplanade, entre St Joseph y Villeneuve (straight as the crow flies
east from Louise's).

SIMON - please bring your guitar, if you'd like.

CELIA - please bring your black cat poem - I'd love to hear it again and
one of my friends adores black cats.

ciaou,
Katharine
 
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