New Music Alert! Just before COVID I put my heart and soul into a new band. We played one thrilling gig and then the pandemic hit. We also recorded a few tracks that I intended to release as an EP. But it has been almost 2 years since then and I honestly don't know whether... Continue Reading →
“Don’t listen to me. Listen to her.” Listening to Aronofsky’s Mother!
Mother!, the film by Darren Aronofsky starring Javier Bardem and Jennifer Lawrence, is a visceral, bloody and utterly gutting condemnation of art as partriarchy and patriarchy as art. Unspooling as a haunting and complex allegory, the film depicts with rare insight and subtlety how female generosity is exploited, desecrated and destroyed again and again by... Continue Reading →
Fun with Instagram
For a few years now I have occasionally posted my photos to Instagram but it wasn't until I happened to trip across and follow the kickass account of Erin Hawkins, who endlessly marries cool photos with cool short fictional mini-stories that I realized much more fun could be had. So with thanks to her for... Continue Reading →
Born, my new children’s book is out!
Although COVID-19 has delayed the release of the print edition of my new children's book, Born, I am happy to report that my publisher, Groundwood Books, has gone ahead with the release of the ebook edition. Thanks to everyone at Groundwood for your support and hard work in bringing this book to life! It has... Continue Reading →
Battle at Kruger and Akira Kurosawa: Watching the Watchers and the Origins of Storytelling
Battle at Kruger is an 8 minute 24 second long YouTube video with 80,156,648 views. Perhaps one of those views is yours. About 6 or 7 of them are mine, having watched it repeatedly with various friends and family members over the years. Battle at Kruger is one of the most extraordinary nature videos you... Continue Reading →
Remembering Cecil Taylor – Musical Mystic
On April 5th, the great American musician and poet Cecil Taylor passed away at the age of 89. An appropriate lifespan, perhaps, for the legendary free jazz pianist, so willing to push the boundaries of his instrument's 88 keys. During his long and rich life spent trespassing on the outermost frontiers of coherence and... Continue Reading →
Sense8 – Brilliant Series Finale Leaves Uptight Critics in Dust
I have posted previously about the extraordinary Netflix action drama that is Sense8, the thrilling, sexy and profound show by Lana and Lily Wachoswski that wrapped recently with a 2 and a half hour series finale. I have in those posts also noted the timidity, prudishness and arrogance of critics who responded to this artful... Continue Reading →
No Surprise: SLĀV and FIJM Are a Perfect Fit
You wouldn't think it possible, really. That in this day and age the world's largest jazz festival would commission a white theatre director to create SLĀV, a major dramatic work based on African American slave songs starring a white singer and featuring a predominantly white cast. And yet, as anyone following the cultural news knows,... Continue Reading →
Remembering Sheila Barry
Last week I learned the awful news that my publisher and friend, Sheila Barry, recently passed away. Across Canada there are dozens if not hundreds of authors who share my sorrow at her passing, for she was a central figure in Canadian publishing, responsible for the publication of scores of extremely popular children's books, first... Continue Reading →
Reflections on the National Gallery of Canada Biennale
Last night Annie and I attended the opening of the Biennale. Its distinguishing conceit is that the work on display represents a selection of recent (2014-17) acquisitions by the National Gallery. So, not a truly contemporary biennale, but for all that a powerful one, featuring some exciting and intriguing artworks. The best work is –... Continue Reading →