Greetings McLuhan friends & colleagues:

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Marshall McLuhan Initiative (MMI) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, I’m very pleased to announce that longtime prolific author, teacher, poet, Associate Professor in the Departments of Humanities and English at York University in Toronto, public intellectual and media ecology prober  BW Powe is The Medium and the Light Award recipient for 2022.  The MMI Board was impressed with receiving his nomination many times over for his impressive body of work that is, of course, very much ongoing and promises to be engaged in for generations to come, like that of McLuhan himself.  It was a distinct privilege to recognize BW in this way and we were humbled by his acceptance of the Award.

For your information, I have attached the official media release announcing that The Marshall McLuhan Initiative’s eleventh annual Medium and the Light Award that was virtually presented to BW while at his residence in Cordoba, Spain through a special Zoom meeting set up by Dr. Mike Plugh at the 23rd annual Media Ecology Association (MEA) Convention held (for the first time in-person since 2019) at  Pontifícia Universidade Católica (PUC) do Rio de Janeiro . The MMI is most grateful to Mike and his MEA Convention team for once again so graciously inviting The Medium and the Light Award Presentation during their opening reception.  Due to technical difficulties the presentation could not be livestreamed during the reception.  Instead, the recording was intended to be shown at a later plenary session so the ca. 100 attendees could view it.     Some 12 participants joined the Zoom meeting of the presentation for what BW called “an evening of grace”.  

Besides the media release, I have attached a portrait of BW and his youngest daughter Elena Teresa taken by his wife and her mother Maria Auxiladora, BW’s speaking notes, my introductory remarks, 3 screencaps from the presentation itself: BW, yours truly with the Award still unveiled and a group shot featuring MEA Convention host Dr. Michael Plugh,  4 photos of the 2022 award itself by artist/creator Matthew McMillan of Prairie Studio Glass in Winnipeg, an image of The Marshall McLuhan Initiative’s pebble-in-the-pond logo, and my PowerPoint presentation from 2021 for context, a total of 13 attachments. In addition, here’s a link to BW’s acceptance speech on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DG9Bqix2nKg.

Please feel free to share and publicize this good news as you see fit.  Thanks for your consideration.

Continue to be kind, remain calm and stay safe.

Sincerely,
Howard

Howard R. Engel,
Founding Director & C.E.O.
The Marshall McLuhan Initiative
Winnipeg,  Manitoba, Canada
 
 
“I think of Western skies as one of the most beautiful things about the West and western horizons. The Westerner doesn’t have a point of view.  He has a vast panorama, he has such tremendous space around him… he has a total field of vision.” — Marshall McLuhan, in a 1970 CBC interview with Danny Finkleman & published in the collection of interviews Speaking of Winnipeg (Queenston House, Winnipeg, 1974, p.23)

“The Medium is the Message.” — Herbert Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980)

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