Bud Osborn
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Bud Osborn (4 August 1947 – 6 May 2014) was a poet,
community organizer Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community buil ...
, and activist in Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues, including disproportio ...
. Following his prolonged struggle with
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
addiction and
alcohol dependency Alcohol dependence is a previous (DSM-IV and ICD-10) psychiatric diagnosis in which an individual is physically or psychologically dependent upon alcohol (also chemically known as ethanol). In 2013, it was reclassified as alcohol use disorder ...
, Osborn became a founding member of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and advocated for the creation of a legal
supervised injection site Supervised injection sites (SIS) or drug consumption rooms (DCRs) are a health and social response to drug-related problems. They are fixed or mobile spaces where people who use drugs are provided with sterile drug use equipment and can use illic ...
. His poetry commented on poverty and
homelessness in Vancouver Homelessness is a social crisis that has been rapidly accelerating in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia, over the last decade. According to the United Nations, homelessness can either be relative or absolute. Absolute homelessness ...
.


Life

Osborn was born as Walton Homer Osborn III in
Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...
to Patricia Osborn (née Barnes) and Walton Homer Osborn II. He spent his childhood in a rough area of
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...
, where a neighborhood friend nicknamed him "Bud". His father, who had been a pilot and German prisoner in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, was a reporter for the ''
Toledo Blade ''The Blade'', also known as the ''Toledo Blade'', is a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, published daily online and printed Thursday and Sunday by Block Communications. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835. Overview The first issu ...
''. Walton Osborn committed suicide in jail when Bud Osborn was three years old. His mother, who also served in the US military, reportedly married seven times. At the age of four, Osborn saw her get raped by a stranger whom she brought home from a drinking establishment. He made his first suicide attempt a year later, throwing himself off the porch at his home. At 15, he attempted suicide by taking
Aspirin Aspirin () is the genericized trademark for acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions that aspirin is ...
. Osborn got into sports, particularly basketball and running, during high school. It was there that he began to read and write poetry. He entered
Ohio Northern University Ohio Northern University (Ohio Northern or ONU) is a private college in Ada, Ohio, United States. Founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871, ONU offers over 60 programs across five undergraduate and graduate colleges and is affiliated with the Unit ...
but dropped out after two years. He married and had a son. They moved to his wife's hometown, New York city, but the marriage failed. He started using hard drugs. In 1969 he left the U.S. and moved with his family to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
in order to avoid draft for the Vietnam War. His wife Julie and son Aeron later left for Oregon. He would be estranged from his son Aeron for three decades. In 1970 he published his first chapbook of poetry by the Toronto Coach House Press.


Downtown Eastside

In 1986 he moved to Vancouver with his new female partner Cuba Dwyer, who eventually moved back to the United States. They ended up in the Downtown Eastside. Osborn got arrested for stealing books to support his heroin addiction and on one occasion almost died of a drug overdose. Years later, with the help of a Roman Catholic priest he overcame his heroin and alcohol dependency. In 1997 he met Ann Livingston, with whom he had a romantic relationship, and who was involved in running an illegal supervised drug injection site. Together they founded the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users. In 1998 Osborn was appointed to the Vancouver/Richmond Health Board, where he advocated for legal safe injection sites, working closely with MP
Libby Davies Libby Davies (born February 27, 1953) is a Canadian politician from British Columbia. She was the member of Parliament for Vancouver East from 1997 to 2015, House leader for the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011, and deputy leade ...
. He and Livingston helped the leadership of the
Portland Hotel Society Portland Hotel Society (PHS) is a Canadian non-profit society created in 1993 to provide advocacy, housing, services, and opportunities, for Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Its staff support thousands of supportive housing rooms and operate North Ame ...
, the nonprofit that ran the housing project where Osborn lived, organize the display of thousands of white crosses in
Oppenheimer Park Oppenheimer Park is a park located in the historic Japantown, Vancouver, Japantown (Paueru-Gai) in the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. History The park was opened in 1902 as the Powell Street Grounds by Vancouver's sec ...
, representing the people who were dying in the Downtown Eastside. Following that protest and many subsequent ones, the Portland Hotel Society opened
Insite Insite is a supervised drug injection site in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada The DTES had 4,700 chronic drug users in 2000 and has been considered to be the centre of an "injection drug epid ...
, the only legal supervised injection site in North America, in the Downtown Eastside in 2003. After Insite was opened, Osborn shifted to opposing gentrification of the Downtown Eastside.Mike Harcourt (March 1, 2013)
Poor priced out of their east Vancouver neighbourhood.
The Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...
.
He died on 6 May 2014 at the age of 66 after being hospitalized for pneumonia and a heart condition, and was remembered at a street memorial attended by 200 people.


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


References


External links

*
raise shit
, a poem by Osborn
Osborn reading "1000 Crosses in Oppenheimer Park"
*The Bud Osbor
digital collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, Bud 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male poets 1947 births 2014 deaths Poets from Vancouver Canadian health activists Canadian people of American descent Canadian homelessness activists Writers from Toledo, Ohio Ohio Northern University alumni Downtown Eastside 20th-century Canadian male writers