Getting out beats being a hermit
Masked and distanced, Hamilton events are back on track and welcome
Sometimes I feel like I could totally be a hermit, or perhaps an anchorite like Julian of Norwich. Now those of you who know how truly and off-the-charts extraverted I am, may stop laughing any time at the idea of me spending the remainder of my days in silence, receiving communion and dispensing wisdom through a shuttered window or a “squint.”
My longtime friend and mentor, Father Bob Bulbrook, now lives as a hermit in Sligo, Ireland, dispensing both communion and wisdom to the seekers who come to Holy Hill Hermitage. Father Bob is a product of Hamilton from back in the day when this city’s product was primarily steel, but everyone knew, both then and now, the strength was people.
Although I have followed Fr. Bob before, most importantly from Hanover to The Hammer in 1993, the brief daydream of following in his footsteps to a hermitage went out the door when I recently had a taste of my first virtually post-pandemic, in-person event. (A further complication could be my happy marriage to Renée, and she may not support the idea of my new vocation.)
The Workers’ Arts and Heritage Centre (WAHC) provided the backdrop for this cultural outing. Since 1995, WAHC has been “bringing together and celebrating working people,” in Hamilton’s former Custom House on Stuart Street. It was the perfect venue for the launch of a book about this city called, “Shift Change: Scenes from a Post-Industrial Revolution,” by another Hamilton product, Stephen Dale.
Invited to be a panellist at the event, I was happy to reply in the affirmative when I saw how committed WAHC was to providing a safe experience for everyone. Of course, it wasn’t like the days prior to March 13, 2020, but I was delighted when I scored high in my newly created game show, “Who’s Under That Mask?”
I also enjoyed conversations while purchasing some other great books about Hamilton from Janet and Tim, who transplanted some titles from their Ottawa Street shop, The City and The City Books. That night I added “Reclaiming Hamilton,” edited by Paul Weinburg, and Craig Heron’s “Lunch-Bucket Lives, Remaking the Workers’ City,” to our bookshelves.
If you missed WAHC’s in-person event, you can catch Stephen speaking about “Shift Change,” at an online event during one of my favourite festivals in this city, gritLIT. Started by another of this city’s great authors, Krista Foss, gritLIT has been bringing Canadian writers to Hamilton since 2004.
One I won’t miss is with Ivan Coyote. I had the privilege of introducing Ivan at Mills Hardware a few years back for a Diocese of Niagara Youth event, just after the release of their “Tomboy Survival Guide.”
Identifying as non-binary and using pronouns “they” and “them,” Ivan wryly told CBC’s “The National” it’s one of the least interesting parts of who they are. Nonetheless, it is Ivan’s minority gender which allows them to relate so well to the letter writers who have poured out their souls to them over many years.
The pandemic gave Ivan time to reply to those letters and compile them in a newly released book, “Care Of — Letters, Connections, and Cures.” Coyote’s 13th offering, “Care of,” hits on their central themes of compassion and empathy, and trans and non-binary identities. It is described as “a giant love letter to the idea of human connection, and the power of truly listening to each other.”
Trans Awareness Week culminates Saturday with the Trans Day of Remembrance, honouring lives lost to anti-trans violence. With that in mind, what better time to plan to engage in this conversation. It’s exactly what the world needs now.