Dark Sovereign: calligraphic logo
The calligraphic logo for Dark Sovereign was created by Yaroslava Surmach Mills, in 1991. Her estate holds the Copyright.
Together in Exile: Burtins, Munks, — and an odd wedding present
Carol Burtin married Robert Fripp in 1965. Dr. Max M.Munk brought a most unusual present to their wedding. Carol’s father and step-mother, designers Will Burtin and Cipe Pineles, chartered a small plane to bring ‘Uncle Max’ and his twin, Thekla, from Maryland to New York for the wedding. First from the plane came the pilot struggling to extricate this propeller. Not just any old propeller. This was Uncle Max’s prototype; he used it to develop his first generation for the Langley Variable Density [Wind] Tunnel (1922) — the world’s first pressurized wind tunnel. 103-years later, Max’s prop looks more rested in a Toronto garden. / Photo: Will Fripp
Robin Taylor
Robin Taylor was my boss for nearly ten years. Too bad it wasn’t longer; he was a model for Canadian journalism. He died on June 12 2013, in Basingstoke, England. One of six children to William and Joan (née Hendry) Taylor, Robin was born on Boxing Day 1932, in South Shields, County Durham. A Labour … Read more
‘Dark Sovereign’, a Reading November 13, 2024
Presented by the Friends of Victoria University Library Please join us for a reading: Guest Speaker: Robert Fripp In person and online Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, 2 p.m.Old Vic Building, Alumni Hall, VC112 Dark SovereignA New Version for the Stage The Tragedy of King Richard the Third that William Shakespeare should have written Crafted in … Read more
“For Real, For Realm: Excellent Eleanor”
Eleanor of Aquitaine, 81, is soon to die, but here dictates her biases and memoirs to her secretary. ‘Power of a Woman’ is Eleanor, a women without fear, dictating cutting comments on everyone she’s known, from popes to abbots, and her husband-kings, Louis VII of France and Henry II of England. Her treasured memories, loves, politics and hatreds all come through as Eleanor finds the energy to tell her tales and pass them to eternity.
‘Power of a Woman’: the turbulent life of Eleanor of Aquitaine
‘Power of a Woman …’ ~ Melissa Snell reviews ‘a monumental challenge’: Mr. Fripp has taken on a monumental challenge. Not only does he handle the delicate balancing act of telling a good story while maintaining accurate historical detail, but he does so by getting inside the head of someone who actually lived more than … Read more
Intelligent Microbes
‘Science’ (25 November 2017) published a story I thought both weird, wonderful —’Seeing the Beautiful Intelligence of Microbes …’ — and strangely familiar. [1] The story begins: “Bacterial biofilm and slime molds are more than crude patches of goo. Detailed time-lapse microscopy reveals how they sense and explore their surroundings, communicate with their neighbors and … Read more
Channeling Aphrodite
A Perilous Venture: Channeling Aphrodite Welcome to Aphrodite, more recently known as the Venus de Milo. I am writing her fantasy. Writing serious stuff is like farming. It may not pay. I used to write television scripts, technical stories and features about advanced software. That paid well. Now I write to keep my brain in … Read more
The Becoming
Excerpted from ‘Let There Be Life’ (published by Paulist Press, 2002) By Robert Fripp Verse 1. In the beginning was darkness and the silence of the void. And the spirit of God looked out upon the void, and was alone within it. Verse 1, commentary ~ For the authors of Genesis the moment of Creation … Read more
Wildflowers, wildfires
Out of the ashes Carol Kaesuk Yoon wrote much of the story below in 1999, from which this is adapted — giving credit, of course. Her story was beautiful. I merged text from my ‘Let There Be Life’ (2002) . Here is Wildflowers, wildfires ¶ ‘Ninety million years ago, on what [was, in 1999] an empty … Read more