Vancouver’s Lifeguard Legend

“Ruby Smith Diaz (l.) examines the life of Joe Fortes, a Black lifeguard in Vancouver, during a time of rampant racism, exploring his legacy and identity through research, personal reflections and poetry.FULL STORY

 

Madness and redemption

January 13th, 2022

The former Poet Laureate of New Westminster (active from 2017 to 2020), Alan Hill has written his debut, full-length collection of poems, In the Blood (Caitlin $20) due out in February. Depicting a lifetime of mental illness, both his own and his brother’s, Hill writes in verse of being in and out of institutions and the family bonds that are broken and alternatively created through their shared experiences. His brother spends more of his life in institutions, which causes Hill to grapple with his own guilt, shame and loss. Moving from the past to the present and back again, In the Blood looks for meaning and comfort in the confusion of childhood and the long road into adulthood. 978-1-77386-078-7

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