Se fue el Crad

Crad Kilodney, 1948, Jamaica, N.Y. – 2014, Toronto

Lorette reports that Crad died this afternoon at a Toronto hospice. He hadn't been conscious for several days. He was in peace.

I published one poem by Crad, a few decades ago, as part of my Proper Tales Postcard series:

There'll be no more giant leeches
when you find the good lord Jesus.

That era in the 1980s, of selling my books in the street, left an indelible stamp on me as a writer. On reflection, what Crad taught me most was not to compromise in my writing. We would come only so far to readers, by putting signs around our necks and self-publishing chapbooks; from there, the readers would have to come to us.

Good night, Crad.

Over and out.