In this first session of our new series The Evolution of Ideas, we explore and discuss the evolution of ideas in stories and storytelling through time. We talk about myths, fantasy, magical realism, science fiction, and speculative fiction.
This session was recorded on Feb 25, 2025 in 5 parts, by Bevan Bird and Dick Bird.
Mature audiences only, listener discretion is advised.
We may add more information here, with a list of the author, novels, stories, artists, or art that we mention.
Click these links to listen to each part.
About the speakers
Bevan Bird was born in Canada in 1985 and travelled a fair bit with his parents before the age of six. He is an experimental artist (creative writer, poet, visual artist and AI artist) expanding the liveliest ideas – those that bring the most excitement or joy. Exploring the evolution of ideas in the arts, he is passionate about the roles of imagination and invention in creating a better future for humanity. Serving as a Guide, he intuitively guides people to find their authentic voice as a creative artist. He encourages people to let their self be their self, do what comes naturally to them, and go at their own pace.
For fun, as he was “growing up”, he experimented in computer games and computer graphics and invented some new fractals, among other things. He co-authored The Rockstars of JVZoo.com, Your Shift Matters, and Goodness Abounds. He earned a Bachelor of Technology with Distinction in Geomatics Engineering Technology (Surveying) at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He received the Governor General’s Academic Bronze Medal in 2007 and The Bachelor of Technology Achievement Award in Geomatics in 2009, among 11 other awards and scholarships. He has worked as a surveyor, programmer, social media coach, AI artist, self-healing catalyst, teacher and crypto trader. He enjoys nature, reading, making art, surfing, trying new things, improvising, talking with smart and funny people, wintering in the tropics and witnessing people reclaim their power as a creative force of nature in their own life. He lives in Princeton, BC, Canada.
Dick Bird is a published writer and storyteller who believes that individual autonomy is of great importance, man is part of nature and can live in harmony with it, and hilarity is the key to reality.
Born in the UK in 1934, he lived through the second world war. He was a Sergeant in the British Army stationed in Egypt with the Parachute Brigade. His father wanted him to continue the stationery business he started in London but Dick chose his own path: farming. After emigrating to Canada in 1955, he worked as a taxi driver and later raised his own pigs (and children) on his farm in Canada. His adventures in Mexico and Central America helped him become a poet and storyteller. He earned a B.A. in English at Simon Fraser University in 1979. He worked as an E.S.L. teacher and kayak instructor, and in 1989 he started guiding whitewater kayaking adventure tours all over Mexico. In 1994 he was hired as a private children’s caregiver and in 2007 he retired to the country to live in the woods on the bank of the Similkameen, one of his favourite kayaking rivers.
He is the author of more than 80 short stories, 19 of which have been published in magazines. “Some Observations of Comparative Intelligence” won Grain Magazine’s Non-Fiction Prize in 1999. He has read some of his poetry on the CBC, Canada’s national radio network.
Some of his stories are based on his life and they reveal deeper meaning upon reflection. Others are based on his vivid and fantastic night dreams which he feels compelled to share. He has also been telling some of his stories in an off the cuff format (unscripted, uncensored, spontaneous, and sometimes hilarious audio recordings are available) and these include “A Baby Crow”, “The Golden Horn of Youth”, “Magic Mountain”, “A Couple of Religious Experiences”, “Cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula”, “Agua Azul”, “Surfing In Mexico”, “Kayaking Waterfalls”, “Three Narrow Escapes”, “The Hot Seat”, “Las Gallinas by Night”, “A Click Too Late” and “A New Body”.
