Previous
Artist Profiles
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
February 2012
December 2011
December 2011
August 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
~ by Judy Brayden
December 2010
October 2010
July 2010
~ by Rebecca Hazell
September 2009
~ by Bernice Ramsdin-Firth
August 2009
~ by Gloria Lorenzen
July 2009
~ by Liz M. Forbes
June 2009
~ by Karen Allen
May 2009
~ by Bruce Whittington
April 2009
~ by Kate Sutherland
March 2009
~ by Tom Masters
February 2009
~ by Gloria Lorenzen
December 2008
~ by Roxanne Strasbourg
November 2008
~ by Rebecca Hazell
October 2008
~ by Kate Sutherland
September 2008
~ by Sylvia Holt
August 2008
~ by Gloria Lorenzen
July 2008
~ by Liz M. Forbes
June 2008
~ by Gloria Lorenzen
May 2008
~ by Bruce Whittington
April 2008
~ by Rebecca Hazell
March 2008
~ by Tom Masters
February 2008
~ by Ron Greenaway
January 2008
~ by Liz Forbes
December 2007
~ by Elizabeth Symon
November 2007
~ by Longevity John Falkner
October 2007
~ by Yvette Stack
September 2007
~ by Kate Sutherland
June 2007
~ by Bruce Whittington
May 2007
~ by Lesley Hammocks
April 2007
~ by Tom Masters
March 2007
~ by Theo Gustafson
February 2007
~ by Bernice Ramsdin-Firth
December 2006
~ by Theo Gustafson
November 2006
~ by Dorothy Jeanne Engst
October 2006
~ by Bev Mountain
September 2006
~ by Liz M. Forbes
August 2006
~ by Lesley Hammocks
July 2006
~ by Dorothy Jeanne Engst
June 2006
~ by Lesley Hammocks
May 2006
|
|
Charles 'Charlie' Van Gorkom
 |
Bootmaker and Poet
250-847-0412
vangorkomboots@gmail.com
After forty-three years up north in the Smithers area, Charlie and his wife Leslie recently moved to Chemainus where they intend to spend the rest of their live.
 |
| Charles 'Charlie' Van Gorkom |
Their plan was to live near an artistic community. An excerpt from his poem Impressions of Vancouver Island show that Charlie found what he was looking for.
Art hanging everywhere,
world class crafts on shelves tucked
into every crook in the narrow roads,
murmuring voices of sea and wind,
Live acoustic guitar,
smells of coffee and baking
in coffee shops with live music,
on an island world to itself
seceded from the mainland
more than a 100 years ago... |
Through his poetry, Charlie captures the ebb and flow of daily life, his love of the outdoors and his deep abiding faith. "I believe that poems should stand alone, unsupported by comment or biography, resumé, or self promotion of any kind," he notes. Poetry "should not mean, but be." Charlie describes his mission to surprise his readers, if possible, with a glimpse of the beauty of God.
A prolific writer, Charlie observes the world and records the seasons and his feelings through poetry. Here is an excerpt from December Afternoon.
Through a forest of maple and hemlock,
winter sun, gossamer and golden,
pauses briefly these December afternoons
to drape thin promise veils of light
trunk to trunk,
coy, ornamental silken scarves,
woven gold, transparent fine,
promises of warm Spring. |
When Charlie is not writing, he works as a boot-maker, a trade he learned from European masters. In fact, his boots are so popular that there is a long waiting list for a fine pair of custom made Van Gorkom leather hiking boots!
To read more of Charlie's poems check out his blog at .
|
|
