Iranian Canadian journalist, Maziar Bahari, says he was regularly beaten and threatened with execution while imprisoned in Iran for 118 days. He claims singing Leonard Cohen's song, The Sisters of Mercy, saved him from committing suicide, and gave him the strength to continue. see VIDEO CLIP http://...

hi Bonnie, As I mentionned to Chris Sorrenti - for those who may not know.... one of the Directors of Sasquatch Poetry Performance Series in Ottawa - I much liked your poem to Juan. I was in Sandy Hill today and went to Timothy's Coffee shop on Laurier to try to make communion with Juan. Well, what ...

Hi again, Luciano, Yes, I can certainly sympathize with you about no more coffee buddy in Sandy Hill. The haunts of Sandy Hill will feel curious and strange knowing that Juan is no longer around. He was , like me, a cafe person - happiest in a good cafe, good music, good relaxed atmosphere, good con...

Ciano, I heard it was a very moving memorial at St. Joseph's Church. I know, in that eternity, it meant a lot to Juan to be memorialized there. I hear that El Dorado will be holding a special event for Juan. Juan would be deeply moved to know how much you and his buddies at El Dorado needed to give ...

I've viewed the power point slide show many times and the photographs and the poetry really bring back Juan alive!

Hats off!

- Phil

Lizzy, It was jealousy but more than that. It was something of a culture clash ...of a power stuggle, and to my mind, after reading some of the reactions , quite recently, to Layton in some high-powered literary quarters, it still exists. You have to understand what Layton did. Layton put the Canadi...

Thanks Nightstalker and lizzy for your caring words....and for that "seer's "poem, Nightstalker. lizzy, the packing and gold dust scenes are inspired by the movie, "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", which I recommend to any person trying to find solace after a great loss. Ensenada d...

There is an explanation for your puzzlement, Red Poppy. Layton produced a very uneven body of work but there was so much of it that once the jewels and diamonds were collected, there was enough there to provoke the Nobel Prize Committe, to induce the Petrach Prize Committe to nominate and award our ...

The Magician of Sandy Hill by Phil Mader (in memory of my friend, Juan O'Neil - old friend of Leonard Cohen) Just below Cobourg Park Where ancient Indians are entombed We met at poet Rob Craig's place For the first time. When time was so bounteous and we fashioned it Into a long snaking safari of pa...

Dear Mr. Dymond: Firstly, I read obituaries relating to Canadian poet, Irving Layton's passing in major dailies around the world, as well as on major national broadcaster web sites worldwide. Not one omitted Irving Layton's nomination for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Are you telling me that the w...

In addition, Mr. O'Neill was a poet in his own right, appearing in many poetry magazines and journals and on radio and television broadcasts.

This is to announce the passing of Juan O'Neill, born John O'Neill in Santiago de Cuba. Mr. O'Neill worked as a reporter for the Havana Post (interviewing the likes of Ava Gardner, Irving Berlin and Nat King Cole, to name a few, who vacationed in Cuba in the 1950s). and later reported out of Mexico ...

re: Stephen Marche's novel, it may have got good reviews here in Canada, but the Village Voice literary critic dismissed it. http://www.villagevoice.com/vls/0520,vls2,64036,21.html Tabbouleh and Melancholy Stephen Marche's Raymond and Hannah by Rachel Aviv May 17th, 2005 12:53 PM Raymond and Hannah ...

thanks Tom for sharing your remembrances...and for the clarification re: the lines of poetry.

- Phil
p.s. sorry for my confusion in referring to you as Joe Way.

From the Canadian Jewish News, Jan. 11 Family friend and occasional visitor Rikee Madoff said that the day before he died, Layton “looked good, his face smooth and calm.” He sat beside the piano as she played old Yiddish songs for him. posted by Tara Gowland at 1/11/2006 09:01:00 PM 0 comments