The Whistler Museum, in partnership with The Vicious Circle, is excited to announce a bonus event to coincide with the upcoming Whistler Writer’s Festival. On October 14th, from 6-7pm (doors 5:30) come visit the Whistler Museum as four passionate, informed wordsmiths debate the statement “Whistler believes the internet is killing literature.”
Arrive with an opinion, an open mind, and a desire to engage with the contentious relationship between the World Wide Web and the written word. This will be the first in an ongoing series of events, inspired by the Doha Debates, simply titled Whistler Debates. More details on this and future Whistler Debates coming soon!
Let’s get Poetical
In order to commemorate our partnership with the Museum, museum staff have agreed to share some of their poetry on this blog. They have written many blog posts about historical characters and events from their archives, posted crazy photos, and told other Whistler stories. One thing they haven’t done is poetry. Until now. I’m sure you’ve been thinking the same thing. I can almost hear you thinking, “‘H – E – double hockey sticks’, when will Sarah, Jeff, Robyn, Allyn, and Myles write some goddamn poetry? A limerick maybe? A Haiku? Is that really too much to ask?”
Well, patient reader, the wait is over. Without further delay, here is a selection of poetry (mostly haiku) composed by the Museum staff (with a special guest appearance):
Two mountains, strung with
cable- rise above this town,
this valley of dreams.
- Robyn
Seppo Makinen:
The mighty man among us.
His spirit rests here.
- Robyn
Stillness on Alta -
Alex Philip falls in drunk,
Myrtle shakes her head.
- Sarah
We love history.
We love Whistler’s Whistory!
Whistler is awesome.
-Myles
Extreme sports paired with
endless good times, paradise
is Whistler-Blackcomb.
- Robyn
Silently gliding
Through deep, endless white powder –
Another Whistler day.
- Robyn
Truth Hurts
Rainbow Lodge, Seppo,
Crazy Canucks, HISTORY!
Kids just want lego.
- Jeff
On hot afternoons
Molly and McGee nap on
While Freckles watches.
-Allyn
Outside is too hot?
Museum has two words for you:
Air conditioning.
-Allyn
There once was a Texan named Millar
Whose life was something of a thriller.
He first was a cook,
But two lives he took,
So he fled here where life was much stiller.
-Allyn
There once was a pub called the Boot
Just next to the highway’s main route.
It had dancing girls
And drinkers who twirled
In a “ballet” of well known repute.
-Allyn
An Ode to the Archives
Last night I dreamt of a magical place,
Dreamers, doers and icons all shared one space.
Oh, to visit this land where our legends can thrive.
Why, it already exists, our almighty archives!
Our collections are vast, rich with ripe tales,
From diaries and drawings to bent, rusted nails.
All with the ineffable scent of the past,
A real-life time machine that’s built to last.
Archival documents in acid-free boxes,
Fight group amnesia from acid-induced memory losses.
Our fifty thousand pictures are worth fifty million words.
Fishing rods, ice axes, taxidermied birds!
We record more than elections, wheelings and dealings,
Our shelves carry facts, dates, but also a feeling.
Whistler’s free spirit – it’s impossible to fake it,
Live here long enough you’ll end up in here naked!
Cynics deride Whistler’s history as short,
But we prove that the truth is none of the sort,
Our peaks, trees, and tales are all very tall,
And we’ve done some big things for a town that’s so small.
Next time you’re curious of Whistler’s glorious past lives
Stop in (appointments only) at the Whistler Archives!
Thus concludes these haiku, limericks and jingles,
From the only folks in town still selling Boot Pub shingles!
-Jeff
Postscript:
All night long (all night)
All night (all night) All night long,
All night long (Ooh yeah)
- Lionel Ritchie
