On Oct. 24,
1993, Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer carried his 12-year-old
daughter to his pick-up truck, attached a hose from the exhaust
pipe into the cab and turned on the ignition. Then he sat in
the back of the truck and watched her die.
A lyricist
and poet who grew up on the streets of downtown Ottawa is breathing
new life into the city’s poetry scene with his monthly No
Rules Poetry Slams held in the Parliament Pub on Sparks Street.
Shapeless blobs
of colour, bright pink and electric blue, shift and float in
and out of the screen. The colours dance in time to the music,
a steady rhythm in the background . . .
On
the arts front, the 2005 budget incurred much less attention
than did last year’s. There were no lawn signs, buttons
or mass protests. The budget passed Feb. 7 with little protest
from the arts community.