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Johnny Pigeau

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me



I am an emerging Canadian writer (journalist, poet, novelist). In May 2006, I was awarded an Ontario Arts Council Writers' Works In Progress grant for my first novel, THE NOTHING WALTZ, which will be set for publication later in 2008.About the book:The story of a misfit, THE NOTHING WALTZ follows the misadventures of the prematurely wealthy Finny McKee as he struggles to reconcile a perpetual adolescence with his yearning for an adult relationship. Despite the dubious help of his friends, a troubled collection of fellow eccentrics, Finny finally stumbles into that elusive relationship when he meets Kathleen, a free-spirited single mother. His newfound happiness, however, is threatened when an unexpected crisis forces him to confront a lifetime of fear.

My Interests

Writing, reading, golf, music, guitars, Anne Tyler, the haunting wail of a blues harmonica, people with passion, creativity, imagination, flair, charisma, collecting CDs, DVDs, LPs, oh please please please ... give me back my bike.

I'd like to meet:

Hmmm? Thousands of people. Writers (novelists, poets, journalists) musicians, photographers, and people with passion. Would be nice to meet Bono, too, for a chat and a beer. I know he's a busy lad. And Neil Finn—I think we'd be mates, too. I'd like to meet ME as a toddler, or me at, say, seven. I'd whisper secrets to myself. And I'd still have issues, but one thing'd be for sure: I'd never have to shave again!

Music:

U2, Neil Finn, Crowded House, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon, The Shins, Coldplay, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Blue Rodeo, Leonard Cohen, Matt Mays, Great Lake Swimmers, Tom Waits, INXS, Simple Minds, Joni Mitchell, Ryan Adams, Aimee Mann, Bowie, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Rufus Wainwright, Johnny Cash, Finn Brothers, Bob Marley, Hothouse Flowers, Sarah McLachlan, Bob Dylan, Neko Case, Wilco, Maria McKee, Daniel Lanois, Los Lobos, Tom Cochrane, Billy Bragg, Daniel Lanois, The Police, Lone Justice, Elton John, The Beatles, Sting, Sarah Harmer, Kathleen Edwards, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Tom Cochrane, Patty Griffin, Rolling Stones, John Mellencamp, Badly Drawn Boy, The Dream Academy, Stars, Amy Millan, Dandy Warhols, Tears For Fears, Madonna, Alanis Morissette, Sam Roberts, The Tragically Hip, Peter Gabriel, 10,000 Maniacs, R.E.M., Elton John, Billy Joel, John Coltrane, Spoon, Modest Mouse, Cowboy Junkies, The Tragically Hip, Tracy Chapman, Trash Can Sinatras, The Stone Roses, Indigo Girls, The Shins, Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley, Steve Earle, Stevie Wonder, The Pretenders, Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran, The Cure, the cranberries, Paul Simon, Edie Brickell, Billie Holiday, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Keane, Tift Merrit, Lucinda Williams, Jann Arden, and on and on and on ...

Movies:

The Accidental Tourist, Say Anything, JFK, High Fidelity, Jerry Maguire, Beautiful Girls, Finding Neverland, Singles, About A Boy, Notting Hill, Amelie, The Pianist, Little Miss Sunshine, Schindler's List, A Few Good Men, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Rattle and Hum, Broadcast News, Terms of Endearment, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Almost Famous, Terminator 2, Nixon, The Wedding Singer, Garden State, The Door In The Floor, The World According To Garp, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle, You've Got Mail, In The Name Of The Father, A River Runs Through It, Roxanne, Big, Philadelphia, Forest Gump, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Rain, St. Elmo's Fire, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, The Sure Thing, Elizabethtown, Sylvia, and on and on and on ...

Television:

The Discovery Channel, The Office, The Daily Show (Jon Stewart's a brilliant imp!), The Colbert Report, Ellen (except the dancing), Seinfeld, Scrubs, and Sex And The City reruns. And when I'm sleepy and just want to doze off, I dig the Shopping Channel.

Books:

The Accidental Tourist, High Fidelity, About A Boy, How To Be Good, The World According To Garp, The Petty Details of So-and-So's Life, Saint Maybe, Shopgirl, The Hours, Empire Falls, A Beautiful Mind, Girls' Poker Night, Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant, Stranger Music, This Boy's Life, Mere Christianity, The Bell Jar, Girl, Interrupted, An Unquiet Mind, A Grief Observed, The Descriptionary, Breathing Lessons, The Know-It-All, A Widow For One Year, The Fourth Hand, Favourite Baby Names, Uncle John's Bathroon Reader(s), Morgan's Passing, Searching For Caleb, Generation X, and many, many more.

Heroes:

Lula Hazel Chapman, Norman Vincent Peale, C.S. Lewis, Pope John Paul II, Bono, Gramps, Ghandi, MLK, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, my nephews, Lizzie, Mom, Da ... Sammy, Riley, Wee Benny, and Macon Leary Pigeau.

My Blog

the marching claim

once again the marching claim(in silence the sufferingrepeal their pain)once again i rip it uponce again you soundly sleeponce again we share one aimonce again i am outsideonce again i am ashamedonce ...
Posted by Johnny Pigeau on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:55:00 PST

Stitch

please don't stitch my lips togetherbefore I'm dead / I know you'd like to pinmy wagging tongueto one sweet, golden threadwell, I'm sorrywithout tricksI'd shut the hell up if I couldquell my nervous h...
Posted by Johnny Pigeau on Sat, 22 Dec 2007 11:25:00 PST

Not The Girl Anybody Really Wants

Maggie phoned Edward. She was crying. "We were just having a really nice time," she sniffled, "drinking wine and laughing, listening to music. And then I fucked him." "Okay," Edward said, slightly thr...
Posted by Johnny Pigeau on Fri, 14 Dec 2007 09:02:00 PST

Numb

Perfect sad/madnessa mind, a circled soulanesthetizeddense skin wrapped in cottonhard bone under watercoruscating ideascompassion suffocating in plasticthe womb's tollexhilarated anguishat once you wo...
Posted by Johnny Pigeau on Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:40:00 PST

"Fields Of Erin"

coffee stains & earth tones remind me of youplacid lakes & canoesstone monuments by riverbeds& low-fi grassy tunesa crashing wave of laughteryou're just waking up& you're then most beautifulfor now is...
Posted by Johnny Pigeau on Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:20:00 PST

sea song 2

in the alleywayi saw a bird stretch out its wings& take flightinto a deep, dark sea of nothingmotherless, stillsignature eaglea minefield of treasonslows you furtherred piles of dustchoke off treaty s...
Posted by Johnny Pigeau on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 09:50:00 PST

Ritual

At dusk on Halloweenthe village is alive with chattering childrenhappy chirping echoes through skeletal treesfaces painted costumes fitted masks adornedrituals of their waking parents each dayhidden s...
Posted by Johnny Pigeau on Thu, 01 Nov 2007 05:33:00 PST

A Very Good Soul

(for Lulu Hazel Chapman)1.You died on a Saturday in June, shortly after sunrise. Mom and I were by your bedside, sleepily watching a CBC documentary on a family who'd adopted a deer as a household pet...
Posted by Johnny Pigeau on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:46:00 PST

Book flap

About the book:The story of a misfit, The Nothing Waltz follows the misadventures of the prematurely wealthy Finny McKee as he struggles to reconcile a perpetual adolescence with his yearning for an a...
Posted by Johnny Pigeau on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:05:00 PST

Autumn Haiku

October cold snapBright-eyed girl sent my hat downThe street just for kicks
Posted by Johnny Pigeau on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 10:03:00 PST