This Fall I will be teaching several courses and workshops. The workshop dates are still in the process of being firmed up, but the courses are scheduled and classes are starting over the next few weeks. Here’s the list of public offerings:

Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey campus
Thursdays, 11am to 1:50pm

Mythological Narratives
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey campus
Mondays, 4pm to 6:50pm

Group Counselling
Vancouver Community College
Thursdays, 6:30pm to 9:30pm
(This course if full, I believe.)

If you are interested in any of the above courses, feel free to get in touch. The Kwantlen courses require 30 previous credits of undergraduate work. The VCC course is open to anyone (almost!).

This from the list of subjects for which I really should write an article but seem never to get around to it. So, here are the bullet points:

Boundary Bay
(between Centennial Beach and the Delta Heritage Air Park)

This stretch of beach, dike, and bog offers great views of the mountains, ocean, and local wildlife. It’s uncommon to see more than a couple of other walkers or runners during the most isolated stretches, near the Air Park (which provides free parking). At low tide you can run a mile or more offshore, right at the edge of the world (don’t drown when the tide comes back in).

Burns Bog

The largest urban wilderness in North America. The wildlife viewing and the quiet (especially along the 2K boardwalk) are mesmerizing. Burns Bog has the cleanest air in the Lower Mainland (due to the ecology of the bog). Running beneath the canopy is like passing through some primordial landscape. Enchanting in many ways.

Just a few items of interest:

David Edwards, Artscience: Creativity in the Post-Google Generation.

For my students:

Michael Moschen puts on a quietly mesmerizing show of juggling.

I was talking with some students last night, in the VCC Counselling practicum class, about ethics as the foundation of human society. I described to them the famous scene from Jacob Bronowski's Ascent of Man documentary series, in which Bronowski speaks about knowledge, certainty, and the ethical condition. Bronowski was the most important public figure in my own creative, intellectual and professional development. His example -- his spirit of inquiry -- exerted a profound influence on the direction of my education and career. Here is the scene:

It’s right here:

Check it out. (And let me know what you think.)

I’ve been working with a group of instructors and administrators at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (this group includes Sibeal Foyle from the Fine Arts department, Genni Gunn and Sheila Hancock from the Creative Writing department, Don Hlus from the Music department, and Humanities Dean Linda Schwartz) to develop an undergraduate stream in Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts.The first course in this new stream begins in Fall 2008. If you are interested in finding out more about the program, visit (and join, if you want) the development group. These courses represent a significant milestone in education for students in British Columbia: never before have interdisciplinary expressive arts courses been offered at the undergraduate level in BC.

What are Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts?

Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts refers to a specific set of educational activities, goals and strategies. Based on innovative pedagogy and integrative approaches to learning, interdisciplinary studies involve the synthesis and synergy of various disciplines toward a cohesive, unified educational experience. Interdisciplinarity is much more than enrollment in courses from more than a single discipline. Authentic interdisciplinarity emphasizes the linkages between disciplines by focusing on contrasting and complementary aspects of diverse educational domains.

Poemcrazy chapter I mentioned the other night.