Art, art, art!

It's been a weekend (and month-end too) filled with art. Yesterday was an afternoon of experience at the Surrey Art Gallery -- from the current exhibit through a writing workshop to an opportunity to do some editing -- and yes, all at the same venue. 

The current show, the work of Victoria's Charles Campbell, is called "An Ocean to Livity." The exhibit is based in breath -- yep, the in-and-out of air that we spend our lives doing. It's complicated to explain, but the visuals were based on (I think) sonograms of breath. Wildly, they 'translated' into a variety of colours and patterns it would have been hard to just make up. 

And then, to the writing workshop which saw us responding to prompts from two wonderful poets, Kevin Spenst and Tolu Oloruntoba. Using their suggestions, we considered each of the lighted art works in the exhibit, and managed to find words spilling out of our brains. And then on to assembling a poem on the spot!

They also provided a series of 'editing' prompts, useful to anyone who thinks about trying to write. 

But the crowning touch was presentation of a how-to on making a mini-chapbook, a skill that Kevin has down to a fine art. Because I first learned how to make these little books from Kevin, I've always referred to them as Kev-bukis. 

But wait, there was yet another opportunity for editing -- this time a session on editing in Wikipedia. This was of special interest to me, not only because 'feminism' was in the workshop's title, but also because when I entered the room where the workshop was taking place, the first screen I saw contained an article about Torrie Groening. Not only did this pique my interest, as she's a Vancouver artist who's shown work in the Surrey Gallery, but I knew I'd be seeing her work on Sunday!

She and her partner Stephen run the Churchland Studio, a featured stop in this year's Capture Photography Festival -- and I'd already made plans to attend the exhibit there. 

Well worth the trek into the city, even with a few dribs of rain on the windscreen, as the photography collection there was simply amazing. And wouldn't you know, in amongst the many art treasures, what would I come across but an accordion book based on small cyanotypes. Wow. A little treasure. And a fitting close to comments on an art-filled weekend as well as the end of this year's National Poetry Month.  

Thinking about our planet on Earth Day

When founders established Earth Day back in 1970, I wonder whether they dreamed the observance would still be going in 2023. I also wonder whether they imagined that this far in the future (53 years later), we'd be no closer to protecting the health of our planet than then. 

Trees keep coming down -- here where I live, it seems faster than ever, with more of them than I can keep count of. And as we learned this week, the promise made by Justin Trudeau in 2021 to plant 2 billion trees by 2030, well, it seems to be just another of those unrealistic pronouncements he's turning out to be so good at making. 

The theme of this year's Earth Day suggests that we 'Invest in Our Planet' and sounds very good, until one stops to think who it is that currently IS investing in the planet, and who needs to START investing more in our Earth. 

I admit it, I'm still driving a gasoline-fueled car, and I've even taken a jet within the past year, so I can't claim to be innocent when it comes to contributing to climate change. I suppose all I can continue to do is bear witness to what I see and hope that those 'ethical investments' in my small investment portfolio are indeed going to some cause or start-up that might be helping to make a difference. 

Although wait -- one more suggestion that I've come across -- an idea that makes great sense and is even labour-saving: get rid of your lawn!

A Seven Year Emergency

Those look, I suppose, like two cases for glasses. Only they aren't. One contains items that may well save a life.

Today marks a grim anniversary here in BC -- one for which there's no celebrating. It's been seven years since the province declared poisonings from toxic drugs as a public health emergency.

I guess I've always thought that an 'emergency' was a situation that had to be dealt with promptly. But I don't find anything prompt about an 'emergency' that is allowed to go on for seven years. 

Once I believed that it took seven years for us to completely change our skin -- that the 'old' skin would slowly be replaced by a fresh new set of cells. I thought seven years seemed like a very long time, and to me at least, it still does. 

To date, over ten thousand people have died. Some accounts reckon the number to be 11,000 -- no one knows for sure, as not all such deaths have any official stated cause. 

Not long ago, a letter to the editor used an example of other mass deaths, plane crashes. Their position was that if over 100 people a month were dying in plane crashes -- and if this had carried on month after month for years -- that the government would have found a way to put a stop to that many 'accidents'. 

While here in BC we at least now have some easing of drug laws, we know that this is not yet enough. 

About our only hope to date has come in the form of Naloxone kits which are distributed free of charge by most pharmacies. If injected in time, this drug can save lives -- or at least buy some time until the paramedics arrive. If you get a kit, here's a video that will show you how to give the injection. 

If you're courageous enough to watch some informative news coverage, here's a link to a story that tells it like it is, and even cites the number of calls paramedics have dealt with at over 200,000. 

The only ones not minding this reality are the dirty dealers and backyard chemists who think it's okay to make and sell poison so they can line their pockets with money. 

All of us can only wish that this is an anniversary that won't need to be repeated, though at the rate change is happening, that's probably a very faint hope. 

The Joys of Celebrating National Poetry Month

The theme for this year's National Poetry Month is Joy, so it's fun to think of the many ways poetry brings joy to people. 

Last week, I was part of a group who spoke as a delegation to Surrey's City Council in celebration of National Poetry Month. The presentation is about twelve minutes long, but in case you'd like to see some or all of it, here's the link to our presentation. 

That stack of poetry books beside my springtime tulips represents some of my favourite recent reads. I'm especially joyous over the fact that Susan Musgrave's latest collection, Exculpatory Lilies is a finalist, on the longlist for this year's Griffin Prize. The shortlist won't be announced until next week, on the 19th, but I certainly have my fingers crossed, as I think it's an amazing book (and apparently, I'm not the only one -- here's a review from CBC Books).

Musgrave's husband Stephen Reid died in 2018. And then, in 2020, their daughter Sophie was gone. 

The poems are some of the bravest I've ever read, as many of them deal directly with the problems both Stephen and Sophie shared. Yet despite the sadness that prevails, Musgrave's wonderful sense of humour shines through like sunlight poking through the branches of a forest. So even in the midst of a book that in many ways is an extended elegy, joy comes our way. 

Find a book of poetry to poke your nose into, and while you're there, seek its joy -- and then, maybe think about finding a way to share it.