The CSSE community mourns the loss of Dr. Carl Leggo (1953-2019). Carl was a member of CSSE for almost two decades. He was particularly active in the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies (CACS), Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada (LLRC), and the Arts Researchers and Teachers Society (ARTS). He was a celebrated professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at UBC and in 2012, he received the prestigious Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring for his outstanding supervision, inspiration, care and support of graduate students. Carl’s scholarly, teaching, and mentorship achievements were renown–he received the Ted Aoki Award in 2013 for his distinguished service within the field of Canadian Curriculum Studies.
Carl was well known for acknowledging the sacredness of being human. He had the warmth and wisdom to provide the specific type of solace that each person needed at the right time. He was not afraid of playing with words and narratives, and, above all, valued love and family, setting out to learn more about love in his research and his life. He leaves behind a legacy in Poetic Inquiry, leading by example, The International Symposium on Poetic Inquiry community (www.poeticinquiry.ca). He will be greatly missed by many. A blog of poems for Carl are at https://poemaday4carl.home.blog. The poem below, contributed to the blog by Sean Wiebe, remembers Carl for his legacy of poetry, love of family, and joy of living.
Leggo’s O’s
(Written in the style of Peter Van Toorne’s Mountain Boogie)
O the too loud tick-tock knick knock
O perpendicular man growing hillside up
O homemade balsamic vinaigrette
O silver surfer slicing ice sing song
O E, O H, O English method man
O happy hair hoping lemon sunshine
O the poetic license of Freudian cloud penises
O baleful howl of a coyote’s cello
O moan of moon, mother’s house, the view of Lynch’s Lane
O the peer review of Jacques Cousteau
O Skipper muscle squat deadlift
O turbine churning tangerine sunsets
O cherry tomatoes cucumbers and peas
O Heloise’s fist full of Abelard
O Antonio’s big mouth apple bite
O double pike somersault with a twist
O Tigger tip toeing T-T-F-N
O bicep flex dapper black red seas
O golden sip of hand crafted beer
O fathers and sons sailing National Geographic
O the way home
O Augustine’s heart hole in a concrete boat
O Cec Frazer Macky my brother and me
O ping pong balls gnip gnap the nog frog leaps
O Jesus calls
O Gros Morne Polaroid snap
O the cosmos in a spider’s web
O ding dong, ding a ling, leg loose diaper sliding
O Pooh wisdom babbling in morse code
O doodle, poodle, puddle, cuddle
O spice of stippled salamander palimpsest
O man of letters, long-vowels, tangled lines
O S-O-S, O E-S-S-O, O Leggo love calls
O highways, ferryways, His ways, always
O pink pink hibiscus rose hips fluttering butterfly fear
O yogun fruz chairlift holler
O sock removed at the toll booth window
O jiggly jello sploosh refracting summer’s light
O top down under Newfoundland sky
O Chilliwack manure tandem truck trailer
O coin flip call in a windstorm
O friggin cold February sucking icicles
O Saint at the threshold calls Leggo home
O gulps of water echoing down your throat in stereo
O father’s arms open whiskered cheeks
O dog dazzle at the doorway of life
O tao of Glad Tidings Tabernacle
O vocāre vision velvet valentines
O too few the mornings be
O Seuss sass says sing faithfulness
O brook breeze lazy days reading round corners
O salsa beats deep well heart whole
O Father untangling Caleb’s line twisted in knots
O wormwork wormwood library shush
O Oscars spark red carpet tango
O pots and pans and grandchildren bands
O Lana, Anna, and movies Tuesdays
O Fred Astaire at the Papermaker’s Ball
O loon call lingers lakeside cafe
O cotton dress hugging wet skin
O lost boy loves father in found poem
O found brother in lost pen in coat
O grandmother I love you
O the ways to build a boat, plank by plank, rib by rib
