Looking back to 2014, it seems a kinder, gentler time. Dr. Cornett is a wise, genuine, passionate teacher who leads with spirit and vulnerability. Interesting to look back at his work, now that Dr. Jordan Peterson has risen to prominence; now that Me Too has had its moment, now that this kind of conversation feels…
Author: prairiepomes
Writer, gardener, hopeful curmudgeon, free-range Aboriginal, lover of life, Poet Laureate of Edmonton 2011-13, traveller, Fifth World Drummer.
On the Passing of Elizabeth the Great
She showed the world how to be a woman of worth, of dignity and of steady courage – to be clear, I place her beside and after my mom, my spirit mom and my aunties. They are the personal, she the societal image of what a woman needs to be – strong, grounded, gracious but relentlessly firm.
What a gift to live during her reign. May her soul pass through the Western Door and find its true reward for a life of service and leadership. God Rest Elizabeth the Great.
A view of the papal visit, Part 1: old ladies vs…
Behind the grill, a K9 officer, evidently as done with the pointless tension of the whole thing as we were, suddenly fired a volley of loud barks at us. In perfect tandem, we turned and roared back ‘Ah, shut up!’
Hey. Why you going to see the Pope, if you got such a chip on your shoulder, eh? Because this chip on my shoulder has a name. Because of the damned. Because of the rammed. The raped. The beaten. The killed. The blamed for their savage natures, they all had names. Because I remain. Because…
A Table, A Room, A Coffee, A Cat: How the Writing Half Lives
Originally posted on Prairiepomes:
We all know the two stereotypes of how writers live: starving in a Dickensian garret, or swanning about in a mansion, courted by the power elites. However, in Canada, in 2018, how do real writers really live? What’s ‘home’ for us? What follows is an extremely non-exhaustive exploration: I asked some…
The Wild Keeps Quiet
Ducks write lines in water beaver testify all along shores Lakes like fingertips pressed into the living world for memory beyond our grasp And we wonder what they talked about, our ancestors, if We share tales of them all through trails pockmarked by horses, deer, dogs humans at leisure on foot and bike On our…
Coming Soon!
Hi Prairiepomes readers. I’m currently writing a big project, so not on here much. But this I had to share: I mean, look at the company I’m in! Fantastic, and a dream come true: https://www.exultate.net/our-music Also thrilled to announce that Journey Song is now available for SATB from Cypress Choral.
Top Books!
April 29th, I was out with two very special women, who’ve been at my side and had my back since I was 10 years old. How fitting that they were the ones to take me to Chapters South Edmonton for a post-dinner rummage around the literary offerings there. Mark Messier’s memoir was prominently displayed in…
Choral Collaboration News
In just over 2 years of collaboration, Mari Alice Conrad has composed a number of remarkable settings for various of my poems. Beyond delighted to announce that Journey Song has arrived for purchase on Cypress Choral Music. Meanwhile, in Toronto, Exultate Choir will feature the Stephen Chatman Award winning At First Light on May 23rd…
Day 17: replete
One way or another, you get full. Mind and body pick up souvenirs some of your choosing, some say you have all the choice, but consider bystanders, and know we are moved by a larger hand. Still, it seems you can rank them when you wake one morning, replete and see the future, deer and…
April 14: Maundy Song
Mandatum novum do vobis said the Lord, the Romans say And Empire got so cosy as to make vernacular shorthand, Maundy, a nickname for the sacramental solemnity before the Sacrifice, the heart of its religion. What might the Mandatum Novum be today? Love one another still stands a statute all-healing when wielded but let us…
Prairiepomes 