About Bruce Kemp
So what have I done? I’ve been a professional writer, photographer and editor since 1968 (with a few side trips). On top of that, I’ve taught photography and journalism since the late 1970s. I like to warp young people.
Working for newspapers and magazines, I covered some pretty exciting stuff. I’ve reported on and photographed the America’s Cup since 1983, worked in more than 35 countries and had a lot of fun.
Along the way, I was honored with two Travel Media of Canada Awards for photography, a number of regional awards in Toronto, the 1986 Ontario Award for Best in Travel Journalism, and the Caribbean Photographer of the Year in 2006.
What tickles me as much as anything is that the late Stan Rogers wrote a song about my efforts to raise one of the last big Roué schooners – the Blue Dolphin.
Probably the biggest thing I’ve learned is that what we come to believe in is as important as what we’ve done. As a writer, I also know that all writers are merely historians, whether hard news reporters or researchers in musty archives, whatever, we add dimension to our culture.
Homing in on 60, I still can’t decide whether to be a pirate or fireman when I grow up, but for the nonce I’m stuck with being a writer. I figure I’ve learned enough to write a novel – which I am now doing.
I live in Kelowna with my lovely wife Laurie and our two sucky cats.
Arguments For A Good Hat
Men come face-to-face with the mortality of their youth when nature tells them the time has come to start wearing a great hat that fits their personality instead of a comb-over that doesn’t.
The Madness to Challenge Five Oceans
Some people find their challenge with Monday Night Football or Hockey Night In Canada. Others find it climbing a mountain and Derek Hatfield seeks it south of Cape Horn in world’s ultimate solo yacht racing challenge which attracts only “the toughest of the tough”. What makes him do it?
Chasing the Elusive Vincy Parrots
In search of the St. Vincent parrot, Bruce Kemp discovers that a hike in the rain forest can be so much more than ticking those little boxes on that ‘life list’ you so carefully put together.
A Slightly Immodest Proposal
There is a plague of government workers upon the land and we may have to turn to the 18th century essayist Jonathan Swift and his Modest Proposal for a solution. With apologies to Mr. Swift.
Whose History Is It Anyway?
Bruce Kemp feels cheated that he was never taught in school about the Underground Railroad or the fact that Uncle Tom’s Cabin was right in Canada, a country to which American slaves escaped in search of freedom and human rights. And he wonders, how many other people don’t know about this important part of our heritage?
If You Wanted to Be an Astronaut But Didn’t Make It….
Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory is where the big kids play — the ones who grew up to live their ten year-old dream of exploring deep space. This remarkable place in the semi-desert of British Columbia is where Jody Foster or Buzz Lightyear would feel right at home.
One Individual Can and Does Make a Difference
It sounds trite, but there are individuals out there who, despite common practice and the vagaries of government, do make a difference — Bequia’s turtle man Ortin King is one of those.
How I’ve Come To Love The World Cup
The World Cup has made a convert out of this writer even though he hates sports.
Pal Jimmy: Six Toes, Endless Love
Up until this point I hadn’t realized what this cat meant to me. He is my companion while I sit at home, lost in the struggle of writing for a meager living. When the world beats me up pretty badly, which it does at times, Jimmy plunks his 14 pounds down on my chest looks me in the eye and lets me know he’s there for me as long as I keep opening the can.
Waking Dinora: A Living Eulogy for Mother’s Day
In the movie Waking Ned Devine, there’s a scene with the character Jackie O’Shea (played by Iain Bannen) addressing a funeral. O’Shea is interrupted by a lottery official whom he is trying to defraud. Without missing a beat, Jackie launches … Read more →
