Friday, April 07, 2006




I had not noticed that Books In Canada had ceased publishing. While it did, the best I could say about Quill & Quire was that it was the second driest Canadian magazine. In July, 1994 I was called by Quill & Quire to photograph Vancouver poet, Michael Turner. I took him to my favourite location for sexy, sleezy photographs. This was room 615 of the Marble Arch Hotel on Richards Street. My friend Tony Ricci always made this room available when I needed it. When the picture appeared in the August 1994 issue on the cover (the writer of the piece was a not yet known Zsuzsi Gartner), the publication was showered with instant hate mail. Most readers objected to Salem, in black underwear, lying on the bed behind Turner. The editor called me up to tell me how happy he was. I returned to room 615 in November, 1997 for the Georgia Straight that was one of the few fashion shoots I ever did. This one featured two male Ballet BC dancers who are lured by three female Ballet BC dancers and are quickly dispatched to the other world with a snub nosed .38 revolver. In one of the pictures I decided to place Michael Turner's picture in a frame. Here you see Andrea Hodge and my favourite male Ballet BC dancer ever, Miroslav Zydowicz. I may be tempted to change my mind when I see Donald Sales in Ballet BC's A Streetcar Named Desire this week end.



Ballet BC
Michael Turner