I'm a progressive immigrant with annoying views. I have a trade-union background, and an academic one too. I have published a lot of poetry, three books, and numerous articles. My interest in blogging came out of the blue. Well, not entirely. I came across so much right-wing nonsense in the blogosphere that I thought I could add some left-wing ...wisdom. I have a good sense of humour and a short fuse. But I have sworn to myself that I will avoid Usenet and its low-level babble, and get into the substance of things here. So if people want to mix it up, I'll try (and maybe fail) to take the high road. You have been warned. :)