folio : Barry McKinnon (1944-2023)
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In
the late seventies, Barry was a regular visitor to David Phillips’ house on
Tatlow Avenue in North Vancouver and since David and I were neighbours, I got
to spend time with Barry and Joy, sharing much laughter and learnt to
appreciate Barry’s wry humour, most often tinged with a sense of wariness.
Always decidedly aware that nothing is ever just what it appears to be.
Perhaps, the necessary balance to David’s easy openness. Barry’s presence was
vital to the moveable feast on Tatlow Avenue, so movingly captured by Pierre
Coupey’s commentary on the back cover of the anthology, The Body. RIP my
friend. No matter the circumstances, death
leaves a hole, as if a star has been kidnapped and hidden in deep space. My
heart and love go out to Joy and the family. Blessings--Hope Anderson
Hope Anderson is a writer and editor based in Victoria, Canada. He is the author of the poetry collection Slips From Grace (Coach House Press, 1987), and with David Phillips, a co-editor of the anthology of BC poets, The Body (Tatlow House, 1979). For twenty-one years, Anderson was the Director of Ancillary Services and co-editor of The Florida Memorial Academic Review at Florida Memorial University. Upon returning to Victoria in 2010, Anderson ran The Well – a community, art, and literary space on Fort Street. A selection of his poems can also be found in the collection Make It True: Poetry from Cascadia (Leaf Press, 2015).