Alcuin Society Citation for Excellence in Design

Signs of the Times reunites the poetry of Bud Osborn and the woodprints of Vancouver printmaker and painter Richard Tetrault. As with their first collaboration, Oppenheimer Park, Signs of the Times is both an unflinching look at Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and a beautiful object in its own right.

Praise for Signs of the Times:

"The greatest barriers we face are cynicism on the part of those who have the resources and power to make change happen, and hopelessness on the part of those who have had everything stripped from them. Signs of the Times meets these barriers head-on and shows us a way through, together." (Libby Davies, from the Preface)

"Osborn reclaims the role of poet as social catalyst... Osborn challenges us to not turn away as he presents his characters in the harshness and brutality that result from the economic and social oppression they experience... These poems and prints are a revelation to those who live in the downtown eastside and to those who observe and are perplexed by the complexities and contradictions of this community. These two remarkable artists have offered themselves and their experience with generosity, openness, and compassion." (Kim Elliott, rabble.ca)

"... a timeless marriage of ardent words in the tradition of Pablo Neruda and Walt Whitman, on behalf of those whose voices aren't often heard, with striking woodcuts and linocuts reminiscent of the works of Lynd Ward and Clifford Harper. Osborn's poems about the dehumanizing experience of being homeless in a city express a generic sense of outrage and compassion even as they describe specifically the lives of suffering junkies, prostitutes, and 'binners' in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside." (Chris Dodge, The UTNE Reader)

A poet and social activist, Bud Osborn's life and work represents the embodiment of the disenfranchised. As a former drug addict, he never thought he'd be alive today, let alone living a respectable life. Now, seven years clean, Bud channels his energy into helping his neighbours in Vancouver's downtown east side, a neighbourhood he aptly describes as a "third world health horror."
A member of VANDU (Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users), Grief Into Action, a support group for parents of addicted youth, and the Carnegie Community Centre Association Board, Bud spends his time ultimately "trying to save lives and solve problems, not defend drug addicts."
His poetry speaks to those he is trying to reach. Used as a communication and educational device for and about people on the streets, Bud's poetry also serves as documentation of the people nobody else will write about and to let them know they are not alone. From his troubled youth in America to waiting out the Vietnam draft in Toronto, Osborn has finally found a home in Canada's most troubled neighbourhood and the poetry he spins from his experiences transcends borders and communities.
Fighting popular opinion that Vancouver's downtown east side is without hope, Bud chooses to see the bright side of his neighbourhood. He blames the media for doing more damage than good in their portrayal of the down-and-out and feels there is more community in troubled neighbourhoods than in others. Partly, because so many people depend on each other just to survive.
Bud Osborn passed away in Vancouver on May 6, 2014.

Bud Osborn's profile page

Richard Tetrault has received numerous grants for his exhibits and public projects, including a five-month residency in Germany, a Canada Council Grant for an exhibition in Asia, support for touring exhibitions in Mexico and Africa, and grants for mural collaborations and workshops. These murals are visible throughout the Vancouver area, in community centres, public housing developments, banks, and schools. Tetrault's artwork (in full colour) is showcased in Anvil Press's Painted Lives and Shifting Landscapes, and in Signs of the Times (black and white wood prints)?which also features the poetry of Bud Osborn.

Richard Tetrault's profile page