31 Comments
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Donna McArthur's avatar

I didn't know that Layton was Cohen's teacher, thanks for adding that.

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Maha's avatar

I also love knowing about the Leonard Cohen connection.

Hard-hitting and beautifully wrought. At 81 years old, though lucid and healthy, I am at this point profoundly aware of this certain death.

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Russell C. Smith's avatar

I discovered Irving Layton years ago, when I was visiting a friend in Toronto, while living in NYC. Another great Canadian poet is Al Purdy.

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David Deubelbeiss's avatar

If you enjoyed Purdy, you'd enjoy Milt Acorn's writing. Definitely, a leaf missed on the Canadian poetry tree.

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Sloan Bashinsky's avatar

Very nice.

I wonder what Layton, and even Cohen, may have thought or even said about a species that puts its beloved suffering, incurable pets (dogs, cats, etc.) to sleep, but requires their beloved suffering, incurable owners to live and suffer as long as possible, no matter what the cost?

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Mr. Raven's avatar

Stop promoting suicide death dealer! Young broke people are using maid of death now in Can a duh.

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Sloan Bashinsky's avatar

I'm promoting maid for horribly suffering old people. First I've heard of maid of death in can. Please tell me how it can be obtained, so I can spread the word to old farts. Thanks.

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man of aran's avatar

He’s referring to the expansion of the law that would include those of any age with mental health issues. It’s already been watered down a lot. It’s not an exaggeration to call it a nationwide cull of the ‘burdensome’ and suicidal. Canada is going down a very dark path.

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Sloan Bashinsky's avatar

Thanks for the clarification, it sure looked to me that he was going after me.

Have you ever had serious mental health issues and had to deal with that and psychiatrists and psychologist who think they know more about mental health than God, and the pills they prescribe, and those pills' rough side effects?

Perhaps people who have not had that gruesome experience should come back in their next lifetimes as distraught, tortured mentally ill Americans, who wish they knew a veterinarian who would put them down?

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David Deubelbeiss's avatar

Lazarovitch wrote a lot on the topic (as any great poet does in his / her own manner). The Bull Calf hits hard on this.

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Michael Cord's avatar

agree with the sentiment, not sure if you are aware so just fyi Canada has MAID, Medical Assistance In Dying through Federal legislation

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man of aran's avatar

Which is an abomination sliding down the slippery slope every sensible person feared as I write this.

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Mr. Raven's avatar

This is pure evil, how can we stop it?

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man of aran's avatar

It is pure evil. The opposition Conservatives are pushing against the slide with members bills. That’s something. But the message needs to reach the public in a big way. Take it out of politics, stop the euphemisms and faux compassion.

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Sloan Bashinsky's avatar

Where should it reside, if it's not in politics? The Canadian public doesn't already know about it? I wonder how Mother Nature feels about MAID being indiscriminate? I wonder if she feels she and the planet and humanity would be better off if MAID is freely available? In the American Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers paid high homage to Nature and Nature's God.

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man of aran's avatar

Getting the law changed is a political process, but understanding the implications of the issue as a life and death matter goes well beyond that, especially partisan rhetoric. I don’t think Canadians understand what is happening. It started as a ‘good’ and now it is turning rotten. As for Mother Nature, I will respect her views in accordance with the flourishing of human life. She’s here for that, not for a culture of death, which is what MAID has become.

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Sloan Bashinsky's avatar

Thanks. A few months ago, I heard about Canada's law. I'm an old fart, 81. living in Alabama, a l-o-n-g way from Canada. I don't like traveling long distances, in the first place, and in the second place, what I hear today about flying on commercial airlines and not knowing if your flight will be delayed, or scrubbed, does not cause me to want to fly to Canada some day, when I am by then too old and feeble and otherwise decrepidized and useless, to kindly be put to sleep by a benevolent Canadian doctor- assuming the Canadian law allows such kindness to foreign visitors :-).There are heaps of gun and knife stores in Alabama, and water hoses are easy to buy and attach to the end of a muffler and put the other end through a car window. Although I don't have any hemlock, which a naturopath told me years ago is a very rough way to die, I-m pretty sure what they made Socrates drink for corrupting the youth can be obtained online. I'm also pretty sure gobbling down a bottle of 200 mg Tylenol tablets will kill anyone, but first the liver dies horribly. So, I don't need to go to Canada to get around the American religious freaks and the American medical-industrial complex. I am trying to piss them off so much that they send a sniper my way :-). Meanwhile, the right to die peacefully, like a beloved pet, is part of my 2024 presidential race platform :-)

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patrick wey's avatar

I remember reading a long time ago somewhere. Before Leonard attempted music and lyrics, he once rushed into the poets gathering of Layton and others extremely excited about discovering this brand new folk singer poet that blew him away, forcing everyone to listen..... the young Bob Dylan .....history walked on.

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James Black's avatar

Love reading about such anecdotes. if you can find the reference please o share :)

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patrick wey's avatar

haha, wow..so long ago....possibly a google search?

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Dian Parker's avatar

Love those last lines!

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Peter's avatar

Go Canada, brilliant poet.

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Michael Cord's avatar

well you still have your sense of humour (gave me a chuckle thanks) so I hope you stick around as long as you still have that wry sense of the absurd!

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David Deubelbeiss's avatar

A friend and mentor of mine. We taught me a lot, read the forwards of any of his books. Lots of wisdom there. My favorite poem for me personally is For Musia's Grandchildren. Irving would be pulling out his hair at today's MFA fed, phony writing class, poetry puffs.

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Daniel Bratton's avatar

The inimitable Irving Layton, the finest modern poet produced by Canada!

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