David Balcon
Jack committed much of his life and energies championing the work of Canadian writers and film/television/stage creators. He wanted Canadians to discover their country, its peoples and their stories, through their works, and to have these works exposed to readers and audiences around the world. (Ironic that an American born Canadian should take up this cause at a time when most Canadians were demanding access to more American TV channels.) It was the mid-70s when I met Jack and spent much time with him (often with others like Vincent Tovell, John Hobday, Kirwan Cox, Sandra Gathercole) over the subsequent years discussing these matters as formulate cultural policies were being written and debated in Ottawa and the provinces. Our paths diverged in later decades so I've not seen him since, but knew things were good for him when he partnered with another friend of that period. We meet many many people throughout our lives, but only a few leave a major influence on us. For me, Jack was one of them through the ideas we discussed and the people he introduced me to. Thank you Sandra for being his partner through this part of his life.
Wednesday March 1, 2017 at 11:30 am