FISH GRIWKOWSKY REMEMBERING ONE OF OUR POETS LAUREATE
One of Edmonton’s creative giants passed away in Surrey on Nov. 15, former Edmonton Poet Laureate Edward Dickenson (E.D.) Blodgett.
In 1996, he won the Governor General’s Award for poetry for his collection Apostrophes: Woman at a Piano, and spent the majority of his professional life in Edmonton, co-founding the Writers Guild of Alberta, inhabiting the Writer in Residence position at MacEwan University in 2004, being named to our Culture Hall of Fame in 2011 and publishing 30 books of poetry. From 2007-2009, he was our second Poet Laureate, holding the position between Alice Major and Roland (Cadence Weapon) Pemberton.
After a six-year battle with cancer, he died at 83.
His son, Gunnar Blodgett, also a writer, recently reached out and shared that his “Dad was dedicated to poetry, teaching and the study of literature, literary history and literature as history.
“His work provided the libretto for a performance by the Richard Eaton Singers, with whom he sang.
“His students, at least the ones who have spoken to me, all remember him with a sense of respect and affection and say that he enriched their love of poetry and literature. I can attest that he guided me as a young writer, challenging me to unravel my adolescent prose into something clearer and simpler. His FivePart Invention is a critical analysis of how Canadian literary and cultural identity/nationality is composed of five parts: English, French, First Nations, Inuit and immigrant communities.
“That being said,” the younger Blodgett adds, “he was quite the Oilers fan in the early and mid1980s. I remember sitting with him and several other people during a Christmas party, uproariously celebrating Gretzky’s 50 goals in 50 games.”
Gunnar’s sister Astrid talks about his enjoyment of a good laugh. “The last time I saw him being jovial was in a pub in south Surrey, teasing the wait staff by insisting that our pizza had to be cooked on a Blodgett pizza oven — then laughing uproariously as they looked confused.”
E.D. Blodgett’s poetry can be found on steel bands adorning light posts in Louise McKinney Park, and from his collection dealing with grief, Songs for Dead Children (available through The University of Alberta Press), come these words as we remember his legacy in the city:
as bells that ring through the winter air the clear laughter of children sings in the trees almost like brooks bursting in spring the air stands up its joy unbound the breath of it the bright birth of stars
Sticking with the written word, Carol Snyder has released a new people’s history of the Highlands neighbourhood, Kick the Can.
She explains, “I had been Oral Historian for the Highlands Historical Society for 10 years from 2004 to 2014. During that time I interviewed and wrote articles about many residents, mostly elderly, who had lived in the Highlands for many years.
“Since their stories had been published, other photos and information had become available, and it was decided to put together a book and include all these new items. As well, there are copies of the original articles that had been published in the Highlands Historical Society newsletters.
She notes, “There are a lot of local families mentioned, as well as house histories: lots of photos of homes, people and their pets, children and families. Many of the people who have contributed have passed away so their stories would have been lost if this book of stories hadn’t been put together.
“My famous last words: ‘If I don’t record these stories, they will be lost.’” She adds, “This is my last kick at the can, so to speak, as I plan to really retire with the sale of this book.”
This is Snyder’s fifth book, including the fascinating After the Fur Trade: Living on the Land. While self-published, the book is available at Mandolin Books (6419 112 Ave.), Chapters on Whyte Avenue and St. Albert, and in the Royal Alberta Museum gift shop.
Just needed to mention the Bad Buddy concert at Have Mercy last Friday, a totally raucous and amazing show all around: psychedelic surf, punk, pop, you name it — though above all it felt like something NEW.
Lead singer Emily Bachynski provided an opening set with her curious and innovative personal songs, pulling her hair up and applying a strip of black Replicant makeup across her eyes to match the band’s total ringer Vissia sisters, Andrea and Alex, who flanked her for the main event.
Their song Hunters seriously captures the long-lost spirit of the Pixies with an amazing bass line and just this menacing, predatory evil grin in the dark going for it. Their cover of Leslie Gore’s You Don’t Own Me, meanwhile, was a beautiful kick to the chest in these revolutionary times challenging unfair male dominance.
Another tune — with “not for you” swirling around repeatedly in its chorus — was also beautifully dangerous — with Geoffrey O’Brien as the amazing drummer to complete the package.
Find them on Bandcamp; go see them live — easily one of the most exciting bands in the province right now.