The Return of Inspiration
I was honoured to participate in a staff dinner celebration with the co-workers I love and special guest poet Malcolm Guite. Who could fail to be inspired by such an experience as this? I sat across from him at the table for almost three hours, listening to him talk, including jokes and sonnets. A man stopped by our table to say hello to our manager's wife, Kim. He was a local Winnipeg poet, and was introduced to Malcolm, who engaged him in greetings. Then Malcolm shared his own sonnet with the fellow. I was unable to hear the words as he spoke to him, but I saw his reaction. His eyes widened and he was moved and amazed at the words Malcolm spoke. Inspiration block is a common occurrence to all artists, including Malcolm himself. He told me the story of "Saying the Names," which was the sonnet included in the portrait of Malcolm that he has on display in his own home. Apparently he had a list of the various Biblical names of Christ on a piece of paper that he kept in his...