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John M. Ford 1957-2006
Sep. 25th, 2006 11:58 amRob called me in tears this morning. The Minneapolis/St. Paul SF community is in shock. John M. Ford (Mike to his friends) is gone, cause of death unknown. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elisem found him this morning. Here is the post at Making Light, which includes tributes and a collection of links.
I've known Mike for years, seeing him around conventions here in Minneapolis. But I really got the opportunity to know him in the Shakespeare reading group that met every two weeks for five years or so. Many remember Mike best from his uproarious and astonishing "Ask Dr. Mike" performances at cons, but I will also particularly treasure the memory of his velvet voice bringing to life Othello, Lear, Bottom, Septimus from Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, and Thomas from Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not for Burning--and the astute and hilarious asides that he threw in with his readings, that kept all of us in stitches, laughing until the tears ran down our faces. His books and poetry were subtle and brilliant. I was one of those fortunate enough to receive his long and wonderful Christmas poems, and I treasured those chapbooks and re-read them as often as I read any of the poetry in my collection.
We've known for years that Mike's days might--would--probably be short, despite the transplant, because his health has been poor for so long. Still, this is a dreadful shock.
Mike, we will miss you and remember you always. I will miss your writing, your astonishing breadth of knowledge, your voice, your amazing quick wit, your wild eyebrows, your bon mots, your warmth and humility and humor, and the poet's gift that enabled you to choose the perfect words that strike right to the core of the soul.
Everything I could say about losing you seems pitifully inadequate. We will not see your like again. And we are all the poorer for losing you. You were too damned young. Rest in peace, my friend.
Love,
Peg
Edited to add: Flickr group tagged JohnMFord here.
Edited to add again: Someone linked to his last post here. A villanelle about Edward IV. A wonderful glimpse into Mike as a humorist, a historian, and a poet. And here is one of his best, 110 Stories, about the World Trade Center and September 11.
elisem found him this morning. Here is the post at Making Light, which includes tributes and a collection of links.I've known Mike for years, seeing him around conventions here in Minneapolis. But I really got the opportunity to know him in the Shakespeare reading group that met every two weeks for five years or so. Many remember Mike best from his uproarious and astonishing "Ask Dr. Mike" performances at cons, but I will also particularly treasure the memory of his velvet voice bringing to life Othello, Lear, Bottom, Septimus from Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, and Thomas from Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not for Burning--and the astute and hilarious asides that he threw in with his readings, that kept all of us in stitches, laughing until the tears ran down our faces. His books and poetry were subtle and brilliant. I was one of those fortunate enough to receive his long and wonderful Christmas poems, and I treasured those chapbooks and re-read them as often as I read any of the poetry in my collection.
We've known for years that Mike's days might--would--probably be short, despite the transplant, because his health has been poor for so long. Still, this is a dreadful shock.
Mike, we will miss you and remember you always. I will miss your writing, your astonishing breadth of knowledge, your voice, your amazing quick wit, your wild eyebrows, your bon mots, your warmth and humility and humor, and the poet's gift that enabled you to choose the perfect words that strike right to the core of the soul.
Everything I could say about losing you seems pitifully inadequate. We will not see your like again. And we are all the poorer for losing you. You were too damned young. Rest in peace, my friend.
Love,
Peg
Edited to add: Flickr group tagged JohnMFord here.
Edited to add again: Someone linked to his last post here. A villanelle about Edward IV. A wonderful glimpse into Mike as a humorist, a historian, and a poet. And here is one of his best, 110 Stories, about the World Trade Center and September 11.
