The singer-songwriter and former judge Philip Seagram discusses his new memoir No Judgment: And Other Busking Stories (Caitlin Press, 2025), with Joseph Planta.

No Judgment: And Other Busking Stories by Philip Seagram (Caitlin Press, 2025). Click to buy this book from Caitlin Press: No Judgment

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

I really enjoyed reading the new book by Philip Seagram, No Judgment: And Other Busking Stories. In the book, he chronicles leaving his job as a judge, to hit the road, going across Canada busking. This is in 2022, just as we’re coming out of the pandemic. He’s able to see the country in his travels in a unique way, seeing divisions over politics and vaccines. As he plays, he’s got the guitar case open and people are allowed to leave money or take money. Anything extra is donated to Ukrainian humanitarian relief. I’ll ask Philip about the experience of meeting a variety of people on the street, about why people donated or why they took money. Philip Seagram is a former criminal lawyer and provincial court judge who has lived and worked in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the Okanagan/Similkameen, and the West Kootenay. He is a late-blooming singer-songwriter, writer, and cross-country ski instructor. He lives with his wife, two horses, a dog and a cat on a small acreage near Nelson, BC, though he joined me from Victoria just over three weeks ago. The website for more is at www.philipseagram.com. This new book is published by Caitlin Press. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Philip Seagram; Mr. Seagram, good morning.

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