If you scroll through the flock of sheep

...you'll find Rhona's Fanny Bay smoked oyster pate recipe at the end of this post. It's heavenly. One of the greatest pleasures of the last few weeks. And it takes under 10 minutes to make.

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I subscribed to Geist. They sent me this key chain.


Nice. I look forward to the magazine.

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We drive through Kamsack several times each year and when we do I often think of John Newlove. I picture his young self walking the streets. Today when I listened to Zach read Newlove's "No Pleasure," I immediately saw the houses and sidewalks on the two well treed streets that get us through town. That surprised me. The first line of the poem stuck with me all day. "There is no pleasure anywhere."

Scientists

...with science tattoos. My favourite is the neuron tattoo.

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Sincerity and its discontents in American poetry now.

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Books I brought home in my suitcase:

A Ghost in Waterloo Station by Bert Almon.
The Tiger Side of Night by Olga Costopoulos.
Nerve Language by Brian Henderson.
the insistence of green/blue transport, poems by Judith Krause; art, design and book production by Shelley Sopher.
CosmoSonnets, poems by Mari-Lou Rowley; design and artwork by Robert McNealy.

Well, I don't actually own the Henderson book. I borrowed it from Paula Jane and forgot to give it back. Oops.

The cover

...is up. Launch dates are set. I'm excited.

UPDATE:
The catalog is up. It's a pdf and offers a larger image of the cover.

Forget, the wonderful

...independent web magazine, turns 7 today. They're celebrating the occasion with the biggest update they've ever done. It's a dandy. 19 new works by 19 Canadian writers. I'm tickled to be among them.

The Grand Tipi

...in Cranberry Portage, Manitoba, is where the concert titled "Night on an Old Trade Route" will be held on May 24. The Grand Tipi is the largest canvas tipi in the world with 70 foot poles and a circumference that covers over 2700 square feet. This sacred place was first erected in 2007 for the 2nd Annual Cranberry Portage Art Festival and the 2007 National Assembly of the First Nations.

The concert, which is being produced by The Flin Flon Community Choir, a remarkable choir with a long list of accomplishments, will premiere the commissioned choral work of the same title, its lyrics from a poem by me and score by Jim Hiscott. Aboriginal and Metis music will be an integral part of this cross-cultural concert. More on all this as information becomes available.

Crystal Kolt also tells me that Mark Kolt is writing a beautiful score for my poem "Pictograph."

I've been invited to talk to the choir about my poem, which I will do when I return.

This is wonderful. I'm so excited!

For the next few weeks

...my posts will be briefer than usual. I'm working on a new book and it's starting to take shape. Touch wood.

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Last night I read and talked to Allan Safarik's creative writing class at St. Peter's College. It was fun. Thanks to Allan for inviting me.

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I'm well into Frontier Farewell: The 1870s and the End of the Old West by Garrett Wilson, an engaging book and a delight to read. I wish all history books were written that well.

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There's a new interview with Kimmy Beach online.

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Tonight is the medieval feast. I'm pretty excited. I hope I don't poke anyone's eye out with my hennin.