lrogers's blog

I haven't posted for a while. This is a story I was going to tell at the Canada Cuba Literary Association meeting were it funded. Have fun disagreeing with me. What with Jake Pavelka turning into an apparent sociopath and the gulf pelicans taking on BP, it is an adversarial summer.

POETRY AND THE SOCIAL GOSPEL, the captivity and liberation of language.

I knew a child who lived on the wild side and painted pictures with no borders between his phenomenal and spirit worlds. His only rule was the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

POET LAUREATE, ONE YEAR ON

When the Victoria Times Colonist printed their Christmas poems last December, many of us wondered if PK Page was going to pack her bags and leave town. She did, the last of our great Golden Age poets.

I’m staying on until my job is done.

DROPPING THE PENNIES

He’s been saving forever. Every time

he bends over to rescue one, he looks up

expecting the stars to open their mouths

and sing. Tonight he can see his breath;

his pockets are full, and seagulls backlit

by fairy lights drop hopeful cargo from

the sky. The bright pearl at the entrance

to Chinatown freezes and stops in its

tracks, fixing its gaze on a woman wearing

the scent of gingerbread. She is following

a man carrying a tree that smells like

the ancient pine forests of Smyrna.

Everyone's following their noses to Jerusalem;

and no one on the street will go hungry tonight.

He gets the message, a flourish of warm

air passing through brass instruments.

He puts his hand in his pocket, touches

Last year, I gave you a run-down on My Christmas list. It hasn't changed much. The world hasn't changed much. Evin Prison is still open for business. People are still dying of AIDS. What should be a arable land in war zones is still creating a bonanza for prosthetic manufacturers.

I wish we didn't have to donate to organisations that provide prosthetics. I'd much rather give books.

Victoria's Poet Laureate, award-winning author, Open Book blogger and former Open Book writer in residence, Linda Rogers, has a new book of poems, Muscle Memory (Ekstasis Editions), which is now in stores. Keep reading for more information about Muscle Memory, which author Pauline Holdstock praises as "measured and steadfast.... In language that is itself muscular, [the poems] take us straight to the world's pain, where Rogers insists we look long enough, deeply enough, to understand what moves us, and what must be saved...."

From Ekstasis Editions:

Illustration by Kristi Bridgman

From Alan Twigg, the publisher of BC Bookworld:

The provincial government has suddenly rescinded ALL funding to BC BookWorld, the most-read publication about books in Canada. Notice of this pre-Olympics decision to break a 22-year-old relationship with the newspaper came from Andrea Henning, executive director of Arts & Culture, during a brisk phone call, without any explanation or paper trail, and with less than a month’s notice.

I am not a big fan of the police. "Just give them a wide berth" I advise the millions of young people influenced by my opinions.

A few years ago, I witnessed the tasering of a homeless person. He was lying on the pavement, hands behind his back, and three cops were kicking and beating him. Two more came and tasered him twice.

"Whoah!" I said in my pinkest, femmiest voice. "Do you think you might be over-doing it, boys."

Maybe they didn't like being called "Boys!" One of them lunged at me, screaming. "Get out of here, Bitch, or I 'll hit your head off."

Not having the martial arts skills of my sixteen year old granddaughter ( called capitaine, killer and ballbreaker at Capoiera)I backed off, but I did later file a complaint with the watch commander,

The Government of British Columbia, whose Premier can hardly wait to be photographed next to luminaries attending the Olympics, the steroidal folly that could bankrupt our province, has cut funding to arts organizations, in many cases to zero.

One of the victims of arts cuts at the provincial and federal level is the Pacific Rim Review of Books, one of the few places reviews of Canadian and International writers and critical discussion are still appearing in print. Read the following letter from its publisher and find out how you can help.

L.R.

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Associates,

As many of you know Ekstasis Editions has had its Canada Council funding
cut completely – not simply decreased, but cut completely! We received

If my introduction (following) to the Chapbook by Canadian poets supporting Doctiors Without Borders tweaks your interest, please contact ainbinder.collins@gmail.com and order a copy or ten at $10 each. I'm giving this book along with charitable donations as gifts this year.

MANNERLY IMPUDENCE

This courageous curiosity
opens the doorway to eternity

writes Holland’s Hans Plomp in “Psychonaut,” his contribution to this chapbook of poetry examining aspects of courage and honouring the work of Doctors Without Borders.