Marion Quednau and I read today at Grouse Mountain. Our event was part of National Poetry Month celebrations, sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets.Marion read several sections from her prize-winning poem, "Paradise, Later Years". The piece was co-winner of the Malahat Review's Long Poem Contest in 2009.
The theme for this year's Poetry Month is 'Climate Changes' (which always reminds of the not-inappropriate 'Shit Happens'). If you visit the Poetry Month site, you'll find lists of events and even a blog of daily postings of poems.
Marion discovered that because mountains are such fragile ecosystems (and because everything in the atmosphere goes up), scientists have come up with a climate-change term for mountains, "islands of extinction."
Considering how little snow was on these mountains only two months ago (remember how they had to use trucks and helicopters to bring in snow for the Olympics?), it was amazing to see how much snow is now on Grouse. And with the snow (and sunshine, hurrah!) came the skiers and snowboarders. They were everywhere!
Still, we managed to attract a small, but attentive crowd. And maybe, just maybe, we'll go to the same location for next year's celebration. With luck, the grizzlies might even be visible in their enclosure.
5 comments:
I vote Marion Quednau for Premiere of BC and Heidi Greco for Solicitor General!
Even if there seems to be an opening for Solicitor General, I must defer. Thank you anyway.
Oh, but if only there were an opportunity for someone besides Gordo to be our Premier!
i will second that. I just finished sending letters to VSB and to ministers, and MLA and our conservative premier (he is no liberal), regarding the changes that will be made to the mini schools and schools under 200. What they propose will basically make them cease to exist as alternative programs. These programs are a bit of a respite from the already collapsing in on itself public education where I have watched both my kids suffer, and lose the enthusiasm they brought with them into the school to learn. The world is as interesting as it can possibly be, and the way we do schools is one long process of making it less so.
Oops, sorry, for the rant. Yikes. See what happens when you mention gordo.
What a great place to have a poetry reading. And what a gorgeous day to have it on.
You never need to apologize for posting a rant here. Especially when it's about something as important as access to free public education.
I can't help but think much of this erosion of funding to the public school system is a plot (uh-oh, was that my out-loud typing voice?!) to make the public schools so intolerable, people will take out third mortgages on their houses so they can send their children to private schools (which, incidentally, also get a big chunk of their funding from the rest of us).
But hey, if all this ranting is raising your blood pressure, it might make you feel better to go to the "Playing around with Easter" post. It includes a link to an anagram generator. Type in your name and see what delights come up!
Heidi, the thing you mention about the private schools is interesting. A student in the private system cost the government half of what a student in the public system costs them. With the push to privatize, I will not be surprised if there was a not-so-secret tendency (not to say plot) there:-)
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