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Articles by Irwin Block
Leonard Cohen’s final years - triumph over adversity | Book review
Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories: That’s How the Light Gets In, Volume 3, by Michael Posner, Simon & Schuster, 496 pages. To those who have followed Leonard Cohen since his emergence in Montreal as a promising poet, novelist, and eventually world renowned and admired singer-songwriter, there was always something magical about his life, where the sacred and the profane co-exist. Cohen died in November 2016, and unraveling his life has been the abiding mission of Toronto writer Michael Posner.
Book review: Shadows of the Holocaust loom over literary thriller Don’t Ask
Don’t Ask by Gina Roitman, 275 pages, MiroLand/Guernica Hannah Baran lived a comfortable life growing up in Montreal in the 1950s and 1960s among other immigrants in Outremont and Côte des Neiges, but something set her family apart – her father, Barak, and mother Rokhl were World War II and Holocaust survivors.
Book review: Searching for answers about a disappeared Argentinian relative
Looking for Alicia: The Unfinished Life of an Argentinian Rebel, by Marc Raboy, 310 pages, Ananasi Visitors to central Buenos Aires who pass the Plaza de Mayo every Thursday cannot but be struck by the sight of dozens of grandmothers wearing white kerchiefs parading solemnly around the square.
Volume 2 of Leonard Cohen’s biography chronicles his stormy love life, career takeoff
Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories: From This Broke Hill, Volume 2, by Michael Posner, Simon & Schuster, 475 pages. The magic of Leonard Cohen – his words, his music, and that unrelenting quest for what he called a state of grace – continues to fascinate, which is why Toronto writer Michael Posner’s examination of his life in the 1970s and 1980s is essential reading for Cohen’s fans. Cohen died in 2016 in Los Angeles at 82, but interest in his life remains strong.
CD reviews: Kleztory, Spaces
Courtesy of stock.xchng Posted By: Irwin Block April 13, 2014 Kleztory Arrival AMERIX This Quebec-based Klezmer group has been around for more than a decade, but it has never sounded better. A sextet with a mix of Quebec-trained and European musicians, the collective is rooted in the traditional Romanian/Gypsy/Turkish party music that is so easy to love, yet broadened by arrangements that give some of the 12 cuts on the CD a contemporary and more creative flavour.
Composer Karen Young hears mother’s song in bell-like canon
Karen Young is busier than ever—composing, organizing gigs in a myriad of styles, and gearing up for a five-concert series starting in February. For our interview, Young was seated in a Verdun café, sipping her latte and reading a Nancy Huston novel. She had that glow we have come to associate with her, ever since we first heard her with the Bug Alley Band in the late 1970s.
Quebec’s first music festival since COVID-19 opened in Victoriaville
This three-day series of concerts, all indoors in three venues, is the first music festival to resume operations as the province begins to loosen up, noted festival manager and artistic director Michel Levasseur. The city of about 48,000 is 170 kilometres (106 miles) east of Montreal.
COVID-safe Musique Actuelle Festival kicks off in Victoriaville May 21
Many of the 70 musicians who will be performing in 12 concerts over three days were slated to appear last May when organizers had to cancel the event, which has been an annual and anticipated feature of the music scene here since 1983. In previous years the festival offered some 20 concerts over four days.
Book review: Memoir reveals David Homel as ‘a casualty of my way against the war’
Lunging into the Underbrush – A Life Lived Backward, by David Homel, (Linda Leith Publishing), 247 pages. Opposition to the U.S. War in Vietnam and the conscription of young men to sustain it rattled the foundations of American life in the late 1960s and early 1970s and ledthousands of them, including Chicago-born David Homel, to settle in Canada.
Book review: Legendary Canadian guitarist Sonny Greenwich followed his muse
This revealing and wide-ranging biography of one of the great Canadians in the modern jazz saga is more than just the story of guitarist Sonny Greenwich. Among its highlights is a meticulous analysis of the music he played over a 50-year career, some of which biographer Mark Miller heard live, and in the 16 LPs and CDs in which he was leader or co-leader.
Quebec seniors residences are adapting to pandemic realities
The pandemic has compelled smaller private senior residences to make significant changes as they comply with government regulations to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks while continuing to provide services in a comfortable and caring environment.
Book review: Must-read for Leonard Cohen lovers explores his early years
Posted By: Irwin Block October 16, 2020 Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories: The Early Years, by Michael Posner, Simon & Schuster, 482 pages Anyone seriously interested in the life of Leonard Cohen, and his emergence as a world renowned, much loved poet-novelist and singer-songwriter should read this book. As someone who has followed Cohen’s work for more than 60 years, I devoured, in less than three days, Michael Posner’s fascinating look at Cohen’s first 36 years.
New biography of Leonard Cohen reveals complexity of his relationships
By the time Leonard Cohen had died in November, 2016, journalist and author Michael Posner had a profound belief that in spite of countless articles about the poet and singer-song writer, and two solid books, “there is more here.” “As a journalist, you always have an instinct that there’s more. What am I missing? This was a complicated guy, active in various domains – poetry and literature, music, and Judaism, and romance,” Posner said from his home in Toronto.
‘I will be with them on screen,’ 95-year-old teacher says of fall art courses
Posted By: Irwin Block October 13, 2020 At first artist Rita Briansky resisted but finally agreed to “accept the challenge” and in September began teaching her art course for intermediate and advanced students at the Cummings Centre using Zoom on her computer. The challenge went beyond learning how to connect via Zoom and adjust to the virtual world, it was also about no longer being in direct contact, the connection that is one of the reasons her course has been so popular over the years.
Cummings Centre offers 100 programs via Zoom
Posted By: The Senior Times October 12, 2020 Membership includes access to the Cummings Centre’s virtual library and its 260 videos. Irwin Block When COVID-19 hit back in March, the Cummings Centre adapted by offering all of its programs and its virtual learning library on the Zoom platform and it turned out to be a boon in terms of participation. “Our numbers are a lot bigger,” said Cummings Centre programming and communications director Brenda Yuen.
Guitarist Vito Francesco Cataldo uplifts the senses
Posted By: Irwin Block July 7, 2020 Francesco Cataldo Giulia Alfa Music In these difficult times, it’s been an uplifting experience to listen to and savour this lovely suite by the Italian guitarist/composer Vito Francesco Cataldo.
Online Jewish publications seek to fill void left by Canadian Jewish News
Posted By: Irwin Block June 23, 2020 Less than two months after The Canadian Jewish News (CJN) folded, two websites have been launched that promise to focus on news and opinion of particular concern to members of the Canadian Jewish community of 390,000. Founded in January 1960, the tabloid CJN produced its last print and online editions April 9. It had been struggling financially for some time.
Cancer is the leading illness among those approved for assisted dying
Posted By: Irwin Block June 18, 2020 In Quebec, as in the rest of Canada, the vast majority of patients approved for medical assistance in dying have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer. A report on the first 1,632 Quebec residents approved for the procedure in the first 15 months ending March 2018 indicted that 78 per cent had cancers, 10% had neuro-degenerative diseases, 10% pulmonary and cardio vascular issues, and 3% kidney, liver, digestive, inflammatory, and auto-immune disorders.
Medical assistance in dying: Who and when?
How far should our governments go in expanding medical assistance in dying (MAID) to Canadians who suffer from a grievous and irremediable medical condition? Although because of the pandemic there is no firm date, Members of Parliament are to debate amendments to the four-year-old assisted dying law, removing the requirement that the person’s natural death be “reasonably foreseeable” before a medical professional can help them die.
From home, Montreal Gazette health reporter Aaron Derfel exposes pandemic realities
When Aaron Derfel began covering health issues for The Montreal Gazette 21 years ago, he never expected to be singled out for criticism by a Quebec premier for allegedly contributing to anglo angst. Since starting his career in journalism in 1989, Derfel, 53, has carved out a reputation among his peers as a relentless digger who will not parrot the official line or take “no comment” for an answer.
How much dignity are we ready to offer CHSLD residents and staff, a union leader asks
Chronic lack of staff willing to work as personal support workers has plagued Quebec’s long-term care facilities, or CHSLDs, for years, but it only reached crisis level when the COVID-19 virus spread to residents and began infecting and threatening staff.
Canadian scientist, UCLA professor addresses pandemic concerns
The “enemy” ravaging the world and taking its heaviest toll among seniors is a tiny organism called a virus. To help understand the nature of the threat, we spoke to William I. Newman, a multi-dimensional Canadian-born scientist, and professor of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, and Mathematics at UCLA. His published research includes mathematical modeling and statistical analysis that is applicable to epidemiology.
Legault’s decision to ban private caregivers cost lives: housing consultant
Bonnie Sandler, who for more than 10 years has been a consultant for seniors seeking suitable care facilities, was stunned by how our Quebec government handled the COVID-19 pandemic. “The government should be prepared for all kinds of emergencies, and we’re now finding out how ill prepared we were,” Sandler said in a phone interview. Everyone familiar with long-term care facilities knew they were understaffed, and that was why many families hired private caregivers.
Leonard Cohen’s long-time friend recalls the bard
In the heady days of the early 1960s, then teenaged student Erica Pomerance was a shining light at McGill when she encountered Leonard Cohen. Cohen had graduated in 1956, but was struck by the emerging youth culture, bathed happily in its creative impulses, and frequently visited the campus.
Because of the coronavirus crisis, Ruth’s 102nd birthday party was postponed, but not cancelled
The invitations had gone out, the menu set, and the party decorations purchased. But then it happened, and Ruth Block’s 102nd birthday party could not take place. Ruth, my dear mother, was born March 12, 1918, in the small town of Zlochew, in the province of Lodz, Poland. For more than two years now, she has been living at the Westhill Residence on Sherbrooke W. She’s in good shape, with no chronic illnesses, and as we like to say, she has all her marbles.
What you should do if you have coronavirus symptoms
Posted By: Irwin Block March 17, 2020 If you have missed any features in this series, please tap this link. By now, we should all be aware that the most common COVID-19 symptoms are fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. If you have any of these, you are asked to call the toll free number 1-877-644-4545 or 811 before going to a hospital emergency room. It may take a few hours to get through, but patience is essential.
From Pierrefonds to Ecuador - living the dream and building the future
Fed up with the Canadian winter and yearning for a liveable climate year-round, Donald Bosch and his wife Monique settled on Ecuador. Though he’s only 58, the former West Island resident’s idea was to retire and live a simpler life. Little did he realize that his skills and experience renovating houses and his desire to transmit his knowledge to Ecuadorian workers would soon get the better of him. Not that he’s complaining, far from it.
Irwin Block on coronavirus: In isolation, we are getting back to the basics
Posted By: Irwin Block March 16, 2020 If you have missed any features in this series, please tap this link. What some of us were doing last week to stay healthy and active now has been overtaken by the need to self-isolate. I was feeling good about myself last week because I was able to take part in two activities that helped me be healthy and active. Going to the YMCA on Hampton Ave. in N.D.G. has been good for my mental and physical health.
David Suzuki: Caring for our bodies & minds is the key to aging well
When Canadians think of the environment and nature, one name is most associated with efforts to appreciate, protect, and enhance our most precious resources, that of academic, writer/broadcaster, author, and climate-change activist David Suzuki. Best-known as the host for the past 40 years of CBC Television’s The Nature of Things, Suzuki himself, now 83, was the focus of a recent show, Aging Well Suzuki Style, which aired Feb. 28 and may be viewed on CBC Gem Streaming Service.
Tel-Aide seeks committed retirees
Posted By: Irwin Block March 6, 2020 In her new job as director general of Tel-Aide, broadcaster-journalist Anne Lagacé Dowson is eager to get the word out – the free, non-judgmental listening service is there for you, and volunteers are needed to help it continue its essential role. Among her immediate challenges is to publicize the fact that Tel-Aide is the oldest crisis line in Montreal, and the only one that functions 24 hours a day in English and French.
Listening and active learning at Festival de la Voix
With its signature combination of workshops and varied choral music performances, the seventh edition of the Festival de la Voix kicks off Saturday March 21 and is on until April 5 with shows that will appeal to music lovers of all ages. Continuing its focus on “the beauty of the human voice in the West Island,” the program, presented by Vox Aeterna, is designed to interest the public as well as students at elementary and secondary schools in Pointe-Claire, Dorval, Lachine and Châteauguay.
Songs of our times come to life at Segal
W. Joseph Matheson and Louise Pitre. Photo: Joanna Akyol Posted By: Irwin Block March 5, 2020 In many ways, the songs of the 1960s are the stories of our lives, our hopes, our challenges, realizations, and disappointments. These remain central themes, as meaningful today as they were then, when peace and love and the (seemingly) never-ending springtime of our lives was expressed in song.
Abandoned by her party, determined N.D.G.-C.D.N. Mayor Montgomery seeks justice
Something rotten is going down in the administrative offices of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame de-Grâce – Montreal’s biggest borough – and the conflict, between Mayor Sue Montgomery and a top civil servant, is preventing communication and delaying long-overdue projects.
Israelis aren’t talking peace now like they did then, says correspondent
Robert Fisk, the veteran British Middle East correspondent for The Independent, began a cross-Canada tour last month with a talk in Montreal, sponsored by the pro-Palestinian Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. More than 250 turned out at St. George’s Anglican Church, where poor acoustics muffled some of his words. He did make the point during a question and answer session that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was dead.
Filmmaker Garry Beitel views Canada through a lens of peace
With the Cold War ever present, the distinguished CBC correspondent James M. Minifie posed a fundamental question in 1960 for Canadian foreign policy in his book, Peace Maker or Powder Monkey. The question: Was Canada to be a minor player with the U.S. in combatting perceived threats or instead stake out its role in conflict resolution and peace building?
Editorial: Our vote reflects support for two-state solution
Posted By: Irwin Block December 12, 2019 The Trudeau government has come under fire from some major Jewish organizations after Canada’s representative at the UN voted last month in support of Palestinians’ right to self-determination, including the right to an independent state.
Refugee rights are human rights, lifelong advocate Rivka Augenfeld says
One of the most prominent voices in Quebec advocating for refugees has been that of Rivka Augenfeld. From the arrival of Vietnamese Boat People to the plight of Syrian refugees fleeing for their lives, Augenfeld has been working and speaking out on their behalf and urging a compassionate and welcoming response.
Time to put a check on police checks, experts and critics say
Pressure is mounting on the Montreal Police department to put an end to its controversial and discriminatory practice of random checks on pedestrians and drivers, also known as carding. It disproportionately targets minority and racialized communities. Judges in Ontario and Nova Scotia have ruled that the practice is illegal. We heard about carding – interpellations in French – during the public inquiry into the slaying by a police officer in Aug.
Languid and mysterious Lucia - music and theatre of the highest order
For its second major operatic production of the season, Opéra de Montréal is presenting Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti, considered the most famous tragedy in the romantic bel canto repertoire. For its lead singer, it offers the possibility of a vocal and theatrical tour de force. It’s on for four performances, from Nov. 9-14, and given the fact it is both theatre and music of the highest order, it should be on everyone’s must-see list.
End-of-life issues: Louise Penny in conversation with Shelagh Rogers
The event was billed as a conversation between two long-time friends: Best-selling crime novelist Louise Penny and the CBC’s Shelagh Rogers, host of The Next Chapter, and the title, Life, Death, and the Whole Damn Thing, had particular significance for Penny. It’s a topic that Penny lived, first as a palliative-care volunteer some 25 years ago and then sharing the last years of her late husband, Dr. Michael Whitehead. He had been living with dementia and died at home in 2016.
Dr. Ruth tells Montrealers to have sex and not give up on getting it
With her wisdom and humility, joyful enthusiasm, and deep commitment as a caring professional, Dr. Ruth Westheimer displayed the stuff of stardom in two public appearances last month in Montreal, with not a hint of being a prima donna.
Psychedelic drug may reduce anxiety and depression for terminal cancer patients
The title of his talk, Psychedelic Research: Implications for Palliative Care and End-of-Life Existential Distress, was intriguing, and so we climbed the hill to McGill’s McIntyre Medical building last month to listen to Anthony Bossis. We wondered: can psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin or LSD be beneficial as we enter the final phase of our lives, especially if we face terminal illness?
A project for all of us: talking about end-of-life issues
Some 60 events designed for people of all ages to think and talk about end-of-life issues gets underway Oct. 14 at various locations in Montreal. It’s called Projection, initiated by the McGill Council on Palliative Care, at the forefront of creating strategies to help Montreal patients facing or contemplating the last chapter of their lives. The idea to hold these events here came from Kappy Flanders, founder and co-chairperson of the McGill Palliative Care council.
Tory David Tordjman banks on tax pledges in Mount Royal campaign
David Tordjman, a Côte-Saint-Luc city councilor, is attempting to do in Mount Royal riding what its former mayor, Robert Libman, failed to do in the 2015 federal election — win for the Conservatives in a Liberal stronghold.
Housefather’s working hard to ensure re-election in Mount Royal
Montreal’s Mount Royal is a fortress riding that has voted Liberal in every federal election since 1940, but incumbent MP Anthony Housefather is not taking anything for granted. He says he’s “working harder than his opponents” to ensure his re-election October 21. On a typical Sunday early in the campaign, Housefather, 46, began by joining a Walk for Bladder Cancer in Town of Mount Royal.
Off Festival de Jazz celebrates its 20th season!
Posted By: Irwin Block September 19, 2019 Music that is fun and challenging – newly composed, developed, and performed by our best and most active jazz messengers, is on the menu for this year’s Off Festival de Jazz de Montréal. It features 19 concerts over two long weekends Oct. 3–6, and Oct. 10–13. The big opener Oct. 3 is a must-hear concert called Unstoppable, music by saxophonist Joel Miller, assisted by noted composer John Rea, for a 19-member Big Band, directed by Christine Jensen.
Highlights of Lisbon Jazz Fest, August 2019
Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, rapper Kokayi, and Origami Harvest Posted By: Irwin Block September 13, 2019 LISBON – For a third year in a row, we attended the annual Jazz em Agusto festival of new and improvised music at the lovely, park-like setting near the Plaza España, where the Gulbenkian Foundation operates a broad range of cultural activities. This year’s theme was Resistance, and the headliner in the festival’s first half featured American guitarist Marc Ribot’s project of the same name.
The Pianist of Willesden Lane dramatizes mother’s escape from Nazis
Mona Golabek tells her mother’s story Posted By: Irwin Block September 9, 2019 The Segal Centre kicks off its new season with a concert/drama that is tailor-made for its core audience and, with high quality music, acting, story, and direction is sure to appeal to the city’s broader theatre community.
Environmental warrior Steven Guilbeault seeks Liberal win in Plateau riding
As an environmental activist, Steven Guilbeault has made headlines with dramatic stunts, but he’s also shown balance and restraint in criticizing governments for action and inaction. Raised in the pulp & paper town of La Tuque, Guilbeault, 49, recalls being aware of how sulphur compound and nitrogen oxide emissions were poisoning the air. He also climbed a mature tree behind his house at age five in a bold but failed attempt to prevent it from being cut down as part of a residential development.
Sheila Goldbloom exemplifies wisdom, compassion and action
As book launches go it was exceptional: It was a love-in for a remarkable woman and her story — her intellect, compassion, commitment, values, and achievements. Family and friends, former students, and colleagues, in social work, community activism, politics, feminism, and progressive Judaism came to the Temple Emanu-el-Beth Sholom in Westmount last month to salute Sheila Barshay Goldbloom, 93, and buy her memoir.
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