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B small, broad shouldered
writer breezed into London

from a socialist country recently

and cheerfully. announced to a
Crowd of hard bitten journalists
that he would rewrite James
Bond,

And, what is more, he not
Only got away with it, but hisim-
pertinent suggestion that he would
rescue Bond from the wrong done
him by Ian Fleming won him de-
lighted laughter and applause,

Andrei Gulyashki, the Bulgari-

‘an writer who has won fame for

Creating the character Avakoum
Zahov, counter espionage agent,
1S proposing in his next novel to

‘Pit him against James Bond.

Cassell, the publishers, intend
to publish it later this year and
while the book is still not finished,
its fame is running before it like
wildfire,

Gulyashki told his press con-
ference: “To me and to Avakoum
Zahov the meeting with James
Bond was very interesting. We
had differences, too.

“Avakoum wanted to win the
duel, I tried to be entirely ob-
jective, I want the stronger to

HRA Mh RB bl si OR AL, vidi i dot LD

win, That is why I put the two
heroes in such situations which
require the full use of all their
qualities.

“Tan Fleming, willingly or un-
willingly, has deprived James
Bond of some of the essential
qualities for a hero of this type.
That is why, in order to be equal
adversaries, I permitted myself
to return to James Bond some
of these essential qualities.”

Gulyashki was quite emphatic

Andrei Guylyashki

James Bond finally meets
his match, Avakoum Zahov

about the differences between
Zahov and Bond, whose acquain-
tance he made through reading
Ian Fleming books in French two
years ago.

“James Bond is struggling for
the defence of a social order
which actually he is indifferent to,
while Avakoum Zahov fights to
preserve a social structure be-
cause he believes in it,

*Zahov possesses only one
weapon — his logic and the
strength of his analytical mind,
James Bond has also one weap-
on—his gun. Zahov loves, re-
spects and sympathizes with a
man, even when he is not on his
side. James Bond loves, re-
spects and sympathizes with no
one, not even his own friends,”

But Gulyashki didnot want any-
one to think that Zahov was a
“sort of stuffed - with - virtues”
shirt. He is a living human being
with his shortcomings which, as
very often happens in life, are
products of the very virtues.”

For the rest, we’ll have to
wait until the first Zahov book
APPearse eae

—Bob Leeson
(Br. Daily Worker)

- Champion Red-baiter

C.V, Chemainus, B.C, writes:
Iwas recently at a house gather-

- ing where Colin Cameron, M.P.

Teported on his visit to Cuba,
Have since heard that Dorothy
Steeves gave a much more ob-
jective report of her trip to the
Same country, :

Cameron stated that because
© was not on a conducted tour he
Was able to see “the seamy side.”
Mr, C, likes to red-bait, All
through his report he referred to
how Many people were “anxious
to leave Cuba,” and how many
had told him they didn’t like the
Castro regime.”

Castro is a good revolution-
ary leader, Cameron declared,
but now doesn’t know how to or-
Sanize the country—and how the
Common people of Cuba still
thought the U,S.A,as being“ good.”

According to Mr, Cameron the
State dairy farms are also not

Well managed ver or
ae . . very po

Economy wise, food in Cuba
very expensive” while hotel
8¢commodation, well, good, but

is

also very expensive,” And so

On and on,

— I have said, Mr, Cameron
bi always enjoyed red-baiting,
Ut it puzzles one at times be-
ae he cannot be that blind,
; erhaps he was putting on ashow
Or allthe rightist CCF’ers, since

He did mention how the Cuban
poole now have a chance to go
School and get an education,

SO with the bad, th
good, » there was some

As to those “poor cattle,”

. ent they shipped from Canada
e

d wasn’t there a bit of scandal

at time? Perhaps Mr, Cam-

here were a lot of them present, ~

Te about the scrub stock sent -
we conclude, Or was he a simpleton

erona hadn’t heard of it, being
too busy at the job of being an
M.P.?

Criticizes JSW’s Poetry

T,. Bardal, Vancouver, writes:
I would like to make a few com=
ments on J.S, Wallace’s column
in the Jan, 21 edition of the PT,
First, let me say that a-lot of
so-called poetry is foisted on the
innocent public and accepted as
art though it is neither poetry
nor art, but only a perversion
thereof,

Also one must grant that even
in good poetry a certain amount
of latitude is permissible, but
all good poetry must make sense.

The technique of repetition in
modernistic poetry is used ad
infinitum—words like JSW starts
off with: “I said, I said” and “I
read and re-read,” I am sure he
did not re-read the next line, for
whoever heard on“an inmost in-
tent” having SCENT?

As for “never, never, never
petting an octopus,” I don’t blame
him. for that; but how did he man-
age to associate a slimy octopus
with a lovely soft kitten?

The quotation regarding the
CZECH musician, taken from
some Karl Almegaard, obviously
a Dane, is animplied slur against
a people whom the Danes held in
economic bondage for centuries.

I venture to state that you could
not find amongst the Icelanders,
even a seven-year-old who does
not know what music is, or a
violin, or Beethoven—much less
a man of 88, unless he were
senile, ;

“The man had never seen a
woman other than his mother.”
This to indicate the low men-
tality and ignorance of his mother
(and Icelandic women), one must

the fighting,

because he had never seen an-
other woman, -

One will never know, The whole
thing, of course, is ridiculous
and JSW did not follow his own
advice about reading and re-
reading,

I must inform JSW that the:
Icelanders, Almegarrd notwith-
standing, are a highly literate
people and particularly well in-
formed on most questions. And
that includes poetry.

live Up to UN Charter

Roy Reid, Saskatoon, Sask.,
writes: The Charter ofthe United
Nations is a presently effective
treaty binding upon the govern-
ment of the UnitedStates because
it is the “supreme law of the
land,”

Indeed, the Charter constitutes
the cornerstone of aworld system
of nations which recognizes that
peaceful relations, devoid of any
use of force or threats of force,
are the fundamental legal rela-
tions between nations,

The following provisions ofthe
Charter are relevant: * All mem-
bers shall refrain in their inter-
national relations from the threat
or use of force against the ter-
ritorial integrity or political in-
dependence of any state or in
any manner inconsistent with the
purposes of the United Nations
(ch, I, art, II (4).

We suggest writing The
Right Honorable Lester B, Pear-=
son requesting our government
appeal to the United Nations to
spend the cease fire days in ne-
gotiations with a view to ending
the war in Vietnam,

Surely negotiations are the
civilized and sensible way to stop

Dick Gregory has seen the inside of a jail cell many, many times. Three
years ago he was imprisoned in a Birmingham, Alabama, jail and was
brutally beaten by guards while under detention. Upon being released he
showed his bruises to members of the press.

Dick has the tools,

uses them

Ss of the best acts to hit Van-
couver in years was Dick
Gregory, possibly the best stand-
up comedian in the U.S.A. His
audience at the Cave (where he
appeared from January 19 to 29)
roared at this one: “I like the
way you treat your Negroes in
Vancouver—all six of them,”

It’s a pity he didn’t appear at
the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in-
stead of a cabaret, because this
cat has a message for everybody.
Gregory is- very active in the
Negro struggle for civil rights
and has been jailed more than
fifty times,

As a Negro, he has known
poverty and discrimination, He
is an artist with a social mes-
sage. Where other people make
speeches for civil rights and

| peace, which is necessary, Greg-

oryuses the caustic wit, ridicule
and bitter-sweet irony of afirst-
rate comedian,

Gregory has been on civil rights
Picket lines in many U,S, cities
and suffered a gunshot wound in

the Los Angeles riots last year, .

riots provoked by police violence
against Negroes,

He is currently considering
offering himself as a candidate
for the mayor’s office in Chicago,
on a civil rights platform, No

Let war be banned!

Let force be damned!

War must be banned!

And no more war!

No More War!

A man of God has crossed the sea
To the promised land of Liberty
Millions watched and heard his plea

All honest men in every land

Should swear on oath that war be banned

That war be banned, that war be banned -
Swear on oath that war be banned!

Mankind has reached a tragic day
When Holy men are moved to say
“We must use force to have our way”

Young and old it’s all the same
Bodies torn and scorched with flame
All of this in Freedom’s name

True men of God should take first place
Condemning war and waste in space
Urge a better life for the Human race

skilfully

one can say that fame and wealth
have corrupted this fine artist,
He has given $2 million to the
civil rights movement,

Referring to his popular book
called “Nigger,” he brought the
house down when he said *“My
ambition is to put a nigger in
every American home,”

Like most good comedians, his
dialogue is topical, including
L.B.J.’s foreign policy (which he
ridicules), the Ecumenical Coun-
cil, the need to recognize China,
Birmingham, birth control, space

exploration and local issues,

Referring to the heavy snow
we had in Vancouver, he said that
friends had phoned his hotel to
apologize. “There’s no need to
apologize, Snow is the only white
thing I can walk over!”

There’s a picture book on sale
at the Co-op Bookstore, 341 West
Pender, Vancouver, called “Dick
Gregory, What’s Happening?” It
contains acollection of Gregory’s
best jokes, illustrated by some
very amusing photographs,

Gregory, himself, posed in
costume for most of the photos,
It’s well worth $2.35, For ex-
ample: “Sheriff, why do you want
to waste tear gas on us? We got
enough to cry about already!”

—Jack Phillips

—Bob Hickie, Vancouver

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