CelticFest Performer Bios

John was born and raised on a farm in Robert Burns country, south-west of Glasgow, Scotland. His mother and eldest sister were professional actors and his childhood was steeped in mimicry and other forms of improvised dramatics around the kitchen table. A career as a public servant eventually eliminated his fear of making a fool of himself in public and since taking early retirement in 2004, John has continued to make a fool of himself acting and singing, both on stage and in film. He has written and performed two one-man plays: one about the doctor who founded the first hospital in Wakefield and the other about the life and work of Robert Burns, “King o’ Men”. In 2009, the year of Burns’ 250th anniversary, he will perform the “King o’ Men” as part of a Burns concert on the 4th Stage at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and as part of CelticFest Vancouver.

This tribute features Robert MacDonald, a local piper, Chairman of “A Swarm of Drones” (Vancouver’s Alternative Bagpipe Gathering) and Burns aficionado telling the fascinating story of the life and times of Burns and playing some of the tunes Robert set words to.

From the age of 16, Robert MacDonald has earned his living wholly, or in part, as a professional piper. He has been captivated both by the sound and versatility of the Northumbrian Smallpipe from the moment he first heard one, and this is now his principal instrument.

An active member of both the ‘Northumbrian’ and ‘Lowland and Border’ Piper’s Societies, Robert is a serious student of the Early Music of the Scottish Borders region. He also conducts seminars, workshops and concerts for a wide range of drone instruments.

Robert is also an internationally-renowned kiltmaker and authority on Highland Dress.

www.westcoastkilts.com

Warren has been performing, publishing, and promoting poetry since the early 90’s. He has performed his words as a feature and at open mics in Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Kamloops, Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, San Francisco, New York, & even New Westminster. He has published now & then in little lit magazines in Canada, the US, & the UK and has published through his micro poetry press Pooka Press the likes of GG award winners; George Bowering, Stephanie Bolster, John Pass, Patrick Lane & other such well known poets as, Robert Creeley, Susan Musgrave, Heather Haley, Rob McLennan, Kate Braid, Bill Bissett, Marilyn Bowering, John B. Lee, jwcurry, Amanda Earl, Jeffrey Mackie, Todd Swift, Joe Blades, Shannon Rayne, Faust MacKenzie, the Svelt Ms Spelt, RC Weslowski, & SR Duncan, as well as dozens of others. In addition to the readings & publishing, Warren has also made short videopoems, & literary (poetry) documentary films/videos, one short on THUNDERING WORD HEARD & the late T.Paul Ste. Marie, which played in The Hawaii International Film Festival in 2002.

Sean is a poet and storyteller living and working on Vancouver’s Eastside. He helps out with the Vancouver Poetry Slam, the Main Street Slam and the Vancouver Story Slam. He was the artistic director/producer of the West Coast Poetry Festival.

George McWhirter was born in Belfast on September 26, 1939, and growing up, he spent his winters in a brick kitchen house on the Shankill Road and his summers at an asbestos bungalow in Carnalea on the shores of the Belfast Lough. He received his BA and DipEd from Queen's University Belfast (1957-62), where he was a classmate of the poets, Seamus Heaney and Seamus Deane, and the Irish literary critic, Robert Dunbar.

He came to Canada in 1966 and lived in a cabin at Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island, teaching at Alberni District Secondary School. For thirty-five years, he stayed on at UBC, becoming a Full Professor in 1982 and Head of the UBC Creative Writing Department from 1983 until 1993. He was Advisory Editor for PRISM international magazine from 1977 until 2005, and prior to that Managing Editor (1968-1969), Poetry Editor (1970-1976), then Co-Editor (1976-77).

At Vancouver City Hall on March 13th, 2007, George McWhirter was presented to Mayor Sam Sullivan and Vancouver City Council and inaugurated as Vancouver’s first Poet Laureate. The selection committee represented a broad spectrum of literary culture in the city, chaired by the Chief Librarian, Paul Whitney, and comprised of Marnie Rice from Vancouver City Cultural Affairs, Hal Wake from Vancouver International Writers Festival, Marjorie Reynolds from the BC Publishers Association, Carla Funk, the Poet Laureate of Victoria, and the writer-poet, Gary Geddes. The laureateship is made possible by the generous gift from Yosef Wosk to the City of Vancouver. Mr. Wosk also sat in on the selection process.

Duncan is a computer animator for video games. He also likes to write. He grew up in Nelson, British Columbia and now lives in Vancouver after a five year stint in Edinburgh, Scotland. He’s a tall man. He’s a bit of a freak for movies and misses working in the video store. He has a mildly large collection of comics, DVDs and toys. He’s trying his hardest to earn a living by being creative any way he can. He has blue eyes, a few tattoos, is a Libran, enjoys the rain and likes bland burritos. He’s happy to be here.