Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

The American Beats and the Canadian West Coast Culture Wars by Ron Dart

It is 50 years this autumn (October 13, 1955) since the Bop and Beat poets of the East Coast (Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg) and the Ecological Beat poets of the West Coast (Kenneth Rexroth, Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen) met at Six Gallery in San Francisco. John Suiter, in his evocative book, Poets on the Peaks: Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen & Jack Kerouac in the North Cascades (20020 had this to say: “The Six Gallery reading has sometimes been called the first synthesis of the East and West Coast factions of the Beat Generation” (p.148) The American Beat poets were also connected to the Black Mountain tradition of poetry.

A Chilling Prophecy Unheeded by Brad Jersak

In Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov," we have Ivan's narrative about a Grand Inquisitor of the Church lecturing a silent Jesus who re-visits the Earth and is arrested during the 16th century inquisition. The speech seems to me a chilling prophecy being fulfilled these days in the North American Christian right where fundamentalism and dominion theology have risen phoenix-like in reaction to both 9-11 and postmodernism. As I read Dostoevsky's 125 year old warning, I confess that I shuddered. When will we begin to listen to the prophet's voice?

Phyllis Munday: A BC Mountain Legend by Ron Dart

“Phyl climbed close to one hundred mountains and made over thirty first ascents, many times being the first woman to reach the summit.”

—Phyllis Munday: Mountaineer (2002) p.135

When Phyllis Munday (1894-1990) left this fragile earth our island home, the first generation of BC mountaineering came to a fitting close. The tale of the life of Phyllis Munday is well told and recounted in Kathryn Bridge’s well-crafted missive, Phyllis Munday: Mountaineer (2002). The book is a gentle read and keeper for those with an interest in BC and Coastal Range mountain history.

Robert Service: People's Poet by Ron Dart

He (Robert Service) was a people’s poet. To the people, he was great. They understood him, and knew any verse carrying the by-line Robert W. Service would be a lilting thing, clear, clean and power packed, beating out a story with a dramatic intensity that made the nerves tingle.
—Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph

Robert Service is “the singer of the common man.”
—Stanley Walker

Marya Fiamengo: Nationalist Poet Extraordinaire by Ron Dart

Marya Fiamengo is a nationalist, and a moderate feminist. As a nationalist, she leans toward the Red Tory position.
--Patience After Compline

The day (October 25, 2005) promised to be a full and packed one. Robin Mathews, Glenn Woodsworth, Arnold Shives and I caught the early ferry from Horseshoe Bay (BC) to Gibsons. We had planned to visit Vivian Woodsworth, Dick Culbert, the Woodsworth home in Gibsons and Marya Fiamengo.