Banyen Blog

Richard Wagamese
October 14, 1955 - March 10, 2017

Richard Wagamese was a celebrated Canadian novelist and former journalist who was Ojibwe of the Wabaseemoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario.

His 2012 novel Indian Horse won the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit, and in 2015 he was the recipient of the Matt Cohen Award from the Writers’ Trust of Canada for his lifetime of work.

Wagamese also wrote for the TV show North of 60. Prior to becoming a novelist he was a journalist with the Calgary Herald, with his articles often appearing in the Vancouver Sun and other Southam publications of that era.

Planetary Initiation, Donald Trump, Psychedelic Shamanism, Ecological Crisis, and the Return of Quetzalcoatl

In this Banyen interview author & consciousness explorer Daniel Pinchbeck discusses how we may be in the midst of a radical planetary initiation. The author spoke with us via Skype from New York.

Many traditions today call our attention to the roots of Christmas that are far older than the story of Jesus, traditions of renewal, and the return of light into a darkened world: the lighting of candles, evergreens, feasting and generosity -- are echoes of a past that extends many thousands of years further than we ever before imagined.

The Mesopotamians were first, it claims, with a 12-day festival of renewal, designed to help the god Marduk tame the monsters of chaos for one more year.

Merben Throws

Leonard Cohen
Sept 21, 1934 - Nov 7, 2016

Leonard Cohen was a Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality, and personal relationships. Cohen was inducted into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame as well as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He was a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honour.

“Leonard Cohen was the most beautiful man I have ever known.  His company was quickening in every way. The elegance and the seductiveness were the least of it. The example of his poise was overwhelming, more an achievement than a disposition, and much more than an affair of style.