Yearly Archives: 2006

Globe & Mail: Out of the mouths of babes, a plea for Kogawa's house

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Globe & Mail:  Out of the mouths of babes, a plea for Kogawa's house


photo courtesy of Joan Young (not printed in Globe & Mail article)

Out of the mouths of babes, a plea for Kogawa's house

ROD MICKLEBURGH

VANCOUVER
— If the innocence and passion of children were enough to save the
childhood home of celebrated author Joy Kogawa, the campaign to
preserve her old residence from imminent demolition would be a slam
dunk.

Twenty Grade 3 and 4 students made the trek to Vancouver City
Council chambers yesterday to issue a heartfelt plea on behalf of the
historic house, a plea that left councillor Kim Capri on the verge of
tears.

“I didn't expect to get so emotional. I welled up a little bit,” Ms.
Capri told the schoolchildren after listening to each of their
individual, one-sentence messages.

The pleas, made in turn, tumbled into one another in quick succession.

“Please save the house. Everyone will be happy. . . . The house is
so beautiful. I want to save it. . . . It is a beautiful house of
memories. . . . Please help us.”

And at the end, the most poignant of all: “If the house is destroyed, my heart will be a pool of tears.”

Ms. Kogawa's early home is a major image in her quasi-autobiographical, bestselling novel Obasan, about the wartime internment of a Japanese-Canadian family.

It is also central to her children's book on the same topic, Naomi's Road.

The story moved the students from Tomsett Elementary School in
Richmond to embrace Ms. Kogawa's tale and pitch in to try to save the
home where she lived happily for the first six years of her life.

The cultural landmark, a striking bungalow in the heart of the
city's Marpole area, is scheduled to be demolished by its owners at the
end of the month.

A grassroots campaign to buy the home and ward off its destruction
has been taken over by the Land Conservancy, which is seeking to raise
$1.25-million.

That would cover the purchase price, renovations and an endowment fund to establish a writer-in-residence program there.

But the task is daunting. With four weeks to go, the total stands at $170,000, almost all from relatively small donations.

The Richmond students donated $1 each to the fund, prompting Ms.
Capri, who had already made a donation, to cough up again to match
their contribution.

“I think what moved me was the fact that the students had been touched so deeply by this issue,” she said in an interview.

“They saw it, they learned it, they lived it. And what they said captured all of that. Their sincerity was very moving.”

Last month, the class toured the threatened house with Ms. Kogawa, who shared many of her childhood memories with them.

They paid particular attention to the stricken, backyard cherry tree that Ms. Kogawa played on as a child.

“I've just been amazed at how well they have responded,” said the
children's teacher, Joan Young, herself a Japanese-Canadian, whose
mother was interned in the Interior of B.C.

“It's been such a rich learning experience for them. I think they
were struck by the cherry tree, which was such a happy tree for Joy
Kogawa, and then the war came along.”

Yesterday, the students had been planning to present personal
letters to Mayor Sam Sullivan, but Mr. Sullivan had to cancel at the
last minute. Then, the letters were inadvertently left behind on the
bus.

But nine-year Carol Hu, a mere wisp of a child, was able to recite her letter from memory.

“Dear Mayor Sam Sullivan,” she began. “I am writing to you because I
want to save the Kogawa house. I want to save it because when I went
and touched the cherry tree, I felt the energy of love, peace and
friendship there.

“And when I went into the rooms, I felt I was living there with a
warm family. It was like I had four layers of cotton blankets on me.

“It would be a terrible shame if the house had to be destroyed.
Think how many memories would be destroyed and how many tears will come
down.

“We put a lot of work into it to save the house. If it does get destroyed, I would feel like knives coming through my heart.”

A TV crew was so impressed, they asked her to do it again. She did.

Canadian Press: Canada's leading writer's groups ask Ottawa for grant to save historic house

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Canada's leading writers' groups ask Ottawa for grant to save historic house

Canadian Press

Published: Monday, February 27, 2006

VANCOUVER (CP) – Canada's leading writers' groups are appealing to the
federal government for an emergency grant of $350,000 to save the
childhood home of novelist and poet Joy Kogawa.

Kogawa was six in 1942 when she and her family were forcibly removed
from their Vancouver home by the Canadian government during the Second
World War. The government used the War Measures Act to send 22,000
Japanese-Canadians to one of two internment camps in British Columbia
because they were considered enemies of Canada.

The Kogawa home was auctioned off without the family's consent and has been bought and sold several times since then.

The current owner wants to demolish the house and build a bigger one.

Vancouver city council has delayed issuing a demolition permit until
March 31 so the Land Conservancy of B.C. can raise $1.25 million to buy
the house and restore it for writers in residence.

The conservancy is supported by over a dozen organizations,
including the Writers' Union of Canada, the Writers' Trust of Canada
and the League of Canadian Poets.

So far, the groups have raised $170,000

, but Bill Turner, executive director of the Land Conservancy, said money continues to trickle in.

Supporters of the Save the Joy Kogawa House Committee say the simple
wood-frame house that was featured in Kogawa's award-winning book
Obasan needs to be saved as a symbol of Canadian history.

The committee is calling on all four major political parties for support.

Turner said he's trying to set up a meeting with Heritage Minister Beverley Oda.

“We're moving through the process but we don't have a lot of time
and of course, the government is just getting itself established so
it's an unfortunate time to have this,” Turner said.

“We have tremendous support but a lot of these (writers) are not very wealthy so that's one of the challenges.”

Several fundraising events, including one in Toronto on March 9, are
helping to get the word out about the campaign, Turner said.

© The Canadian Press 2006

See story by Canadian Press

Theatre: Sex in Vancouver “Doin' It Again, More please….

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Sex in Vancouver: Doin' it Again,  More please….



Waterfront Theatre
Granville Island, Vancouver BC
Feb 24th to March 5th
For tickets go to
www.vact.ca

“Fun,” is the first word that comes to mind when thinking of the latest
incarnation of Vancouver Canadian Theatre’s running theatrical soap
opera, Sex in Vancouver.  Based on “Sex in Seattle” created by
Kathy Hsieh and Serin Ngai, VACT president Joyce Lam wanted to create
opportunities for Asian Canadian actors beyond small walk on parts in
stereotyped characters.  

After seeing the first 2 productions, I have to say that “Doin’It
Again” is the best edition yet.  VACT has now moved from The
Roundhouse into Waterfront Theatre, Mainstream media is finally taking
notice by running a preview.  There is a new level of maturity
both in the production and the acting.

Shari, Jenna, Tess and Elizabeth, are the four female characters around
which all the action revolves.  Elizabth is the old flame and
ex-fiance of Kenneth, who is now married to Shari, but they are now
going through a separation.  Jenna is Kenneth’s younger sister who
once had a crush on Tess, who is Elizabeth’s best friend.  George
is Kenneth’s college buddy who has a crush on Elizabeth, and Adam is
dating both Jenna and Tess, until he found out Tess is married to Zane
who is gay.

This all makes for lively action on stage and lots of theatrical sight
and verbal laughs.  Enhancing the production are video flashbacks
that share past history and help bring the audience up to date. The
action is fast paced, with many inventive scene changes as furniture is
seamlessly moved on and off stage.  The lines are well delivered
and there are no lag times… which are deadly in a comedy.

It was great to see Grace Kim back in the role of Elizabeth.  She
is a great girl-next-door innocent foil to the conniving self-serving
bitchy Shari Song Sheng, played viviviously by Janet Ip, who has been
in all five Sex in Vancouver productions.  These are the central
two roles playing tug of war with their love interest Kenneth Sheng
played for the first time by Jonathan Lee, who had previously played
the role of Colin.  Both Kim and Ip show maturity in their roles
and clearly love them and the production.

Candice Macalino does a great job as Jenna Sheng, love-puzzled but with
the most  relationship action happening, having dated her
brother’s childhood friend Nathan, lived with Colin, and now dating
Adam.  Jenna is like the impressionable sex kitten to the fiery
dragon lady of Andrea Yu’s Tess Matsudaira, if they are to be linked to
archetypal figures.  But what makes Andrea’s performance riveting
is that Tess plays against all the stereotypes of Asian women. 
She is tough talking, assertive and marries the gay guy.

There is much much more to the latest incarnation of “Sex in Vancouver”
than meets the eye.  Despite all the relationship soap opera
shenanigans and missteps, the characters find the reflective time to
comment on what it means to be Asian Canadian.  This is done
subtlety as the characters find themselves in situations dating white
males, or dealing with family expectations.

Much credit goes to director Peter Leung who has adapted this
production from the original Sex in Seattle scripts, with additional
video and dancing creations.  I talked with Leung after last
Friday’s opening night, and he was very pleased with “Doin’ it Again.”
 

This is to be VACT’s final performance of the Sex in Vancouver series,
even though Sex in Seattle has gone on for a total of 13
episodes.  VACT wants to concentrate on more original work. 
VACT has done wonderful work in creating a community that really
supports their work.  The 20 to 40 something demographic is unique
and hard to find in the live theatre audience.   Wonderful
kudos to president Joyce Lam, director Peter Leung and producer Betty
So, for making the Sex in Vancouver series happen.  Go see this
production, tell your friends, and ask VACT to keep on doin’ it again!