four women
This is partly a continuation of previous story about Mitzi. That’s her on the very left – photo taken in July 2003. It’s a favourite picture of mine because these are four great women, all friends for many, many years and all wonderful artists, poets, and all-round geniuses in their own right. Next to Mitzi is Judy Copithorne, poet I first met at UBC poetry seminar in summer 1963. Then there’s Lenore Herb – videographer, poet, and activist whom I met after leaving town for a couple of weeks in the summer of 1965 to return and find she’d moved in to my room with her boyfriend who 30-odd years later was my doctor briefly. Then there’s Renee Rodin, poet, and ex-bookshop owner who ran an illustrious reading series for several years and put out a beautiful book of poetry. Renee and I go back about 45 years. There are a lot of stories here but they’ll have to wait. Meanwhile in the last few days I discovered just how estranged I’d been from Mitzi. I knew she’d made some bad choices in life but in the last few days, bit by bit, just how bad they were has become more evident to me. Still, none of it takes away from the woman she really was and the friend I knew.