More Serendipity & Less Zemblanity

Joe Wai

 

Zemblanity, coined by novelist William Boyd in his 1998 book Armadillo, is the opposite of serendipity. It is defined as "the faculty of making unhappy, unlucky, and expected discoveries by design". It refers to the inevitable discovery of unpleasant truths or, more broadly, the inevitable onset of misfortune, often brought about by one's own actions or system designs.

 

George Bowering

Because of the blog I just wrote about George Bowering I have been thinking of that expression I was told in my youth (forgotten who it was) that,, “Coincidence happens more often than not.”

George Bowering -  Barefoot He Was

The reason for my thought on this is that two architects, Joe Wai and Abraham Rogatnick lived on the same street (9^th Avenue) at the corner and their homes were just separated by a wall. Across the street and on the corner is where George Bowering lived. I wonder if they became friends because they were neighbours or somehow they met somewhere else.

 

Abraham Rogatnick

There is another moment of serendipity. I had my eldest granddaughter Rebecca in the car when I went to pick up Bowering to go to a burlesque show at the Russian Community Centre on 4