Kazhiuk, Kazuk, Kizuk, Gocebe, patronymical.
Goncho, Mucho, Ponce, juvenile additions.
Randall, Alexander, Alex, Aleksei, forgiven;
Alamin, the Islamic; Al to family and friends.
Stupidest-man-I-ever-married, matrimonial.
Red Wolf, Blue Bear, Jackdaw, animal.
Detached, aloof in all things political.
Muslim, Buddhist, Pagan-Christian-Jew, denominational.
Classicist, Romantic, contrarian.
Ukrainian bandit, English agrarian;
Manitoba farming to the Air Force in WW2 and then
Mercantile out west. Legendary all of them.

During World War II, My father changed his Ukrainian surname from Kazuk (pronounced Kazhiuk) to Kizuk because he was worried about discrimination that existed in Canada at that time regarding people with central European names. He chose Kizuk because it sounded like the Scots name Mckissik (or MacIssak). Thus he was Scotty to his buddies in the Royal Canadian Airforce.

As a young man, I wanted to honor my grandfather’s name and his place in our family lore by publishing my poems under the pen name Kazuk. I met my wife of more that three decades at the University of Alberta, and in 1980 we decided to marry. My wife’s family were strict Moslem immigrants from Tanzania, and so it was requisite for me to convert to Islam. At that time I was given Alamin as my Moslem name.

My marriage always was an east-meets-west affair. When I took my family to Istanbul on vacation in 2012, I chose Gocebe as a Turkish nickname for myself. The name means Wanderer in Turkish but has etymological links to the Ukrainian Kazuk. To most of the people in my life, I am Al.

I often use the pseudonym Gocebe on social media. My criticism is published under my legal name, Alexander (A. R.) Kizuk; my poetry is mostly published under Alex Kazuk. However, as evidenced by this website, my views on this issue in my life might well be changing again, now that I am in my autumn years. Ce signifiant un manteau reprise et rapiécée.

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