Posts by Ken McGoogan
Ken McGoogan on the Ice
During my 2008 Arctic voyage with Adventure Canada, we visited Beechey Island, site of the first three graves of the lost Franklin expedition of 1845. Elisha Kent Kane, the subject of my book Race to the Polar Sea, was one of the first to discover those three graves. I was trying to locate the precise…
Read MoreSay goodbye to John Steinbeck
Say goodbye to John Steinbeck“An unfortunately timeless classic . . . When a politician tried to ban a book in Alberta, Ken McGoogan wrote a protest song. It’s a tune that still needs singing today” That was the headline at the Globe and Mail Books website, where editor Peter Scowen posted and introduced Say Goodbye…
Read MoreSay Goodbye to John Steinbeck
On Feb. 27, during Freedom to Read Week, I’ll be part of Closer to the Land: Freedom of Expression and the Environment, an extravaganza slated for the Toronto Reference Library. I won’t bring my guitar that night, but to mark the occasion, I’ve ransacked the musical archive and voila: Say Goodbye to John Steinbeck. I…
Read MorePolar Sea video draws on latest voyage
So here it is, my first YouTube video. It’s called Polar Sea, which is short for Race to the Polar Sea, and it draws on my latest Arctic voyage with Adventure Canada. We sailed north towards the Pole in the wake of Elisha Kent Kane, but didn’t get as far as he did. We didn’t…
Read MoreSlouching towards a cyber-presence. . .
I have been remiss. I have neglected to post links. And links, I am told, are the very stuff of a cyber-presence. So here’s me at a Polar Bear Swim. . . Here’s me rambling around Scotland. . . which adventure contributed to a book (How the Scots Invented Canada). And here’s me SIMULTANEOUSLY in…
Read MoreYo, Peter C. Newman . . .
Yo, Peter, the cheque is in the mail. But seriously, thanks for the hit in today’s Globe and Mail. And for those who missed it, voila: “For a change of pace and mood, I’ve been devouring Ken McGoogan’s magnificent Race to the Polar Sea, published last year and arguably the most evocative of his four…
Read MoreJohn Geiger makes three . . .
This revised line-up just in: On Feb. 17 at Commensal Restaurant, Ken will “read” along with Andrew Pyper and — wait for it — John Geiger. John has just published The Third Man Factor: The Secret to Survival in Extreme Environments, which has been drawing raves and has been picked up in 10 countries. Possibly…
Read MoreKen Turns Up at the Centre of the Universe
Three events loom in downtown Toronto. They’re billed as readings, but let’s face it, I do more talking than reading. And wouldn’t have it any other way. JANUARY 28: The KAMA Reading Series, signature event for World Literacy of Canada, finds me “performing” with Joseph Boyden, Mary Lou Finlay and Dan Hill. The event happens…
Read MoreRobbie Burns at Port Credit
Polar Bear Swim for Robbie Burns
On January 24, Adventure Canada will hold a Polar Bear Swim in Port Credit, Ontario, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robbie Burns (Jan. 25, 1759). From 1 p.m. onwards, Ken will be there, along with Doug Gibson, Graeme Gibson and Margaret Atwood, dispensing drams to those in need. The anticipation alone…
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