Language of Music, The Music of Words

A Musical Evening with Joy Kogawa and Friends

When: Friday, April 25, 8:00 to 9:30 p.m.

Where: Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 West 64th Avenue, Vancouver

Cost: By donation. Space is limited. To secure a seat, please RSVP by emailing kogawahouse@yahoo.ca. Wine and cheese will be served.

Vancouver
composer Leslie Uyeda presents two song cycles written to accompany
five of Joy Kogawa’s most exquisite poems. “Stations of Angels” will be
performed by soprano Heather Pawsey and flutist Kathryn Cernauskas and
“Offerings,” by Heather Pawsey and pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa. These
performances are the world premiere of both song cycles, which were
composed especially for these three artists.

To
complement the musical performance, poets Joy Kogawa, Heidi Greco,
Marion Quednau, and Vancouver’s poet laureate George McWhirter will
read.

The evening will close with a stellar
presentation: the Vancouver Public Library will award Joy the George
Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for an outstanding literary career
related to British Columbia.

This National
Poetry Month event takes place in Joy Kogawa’s childhood home—a place
that is representative of the many properties owned by Canadians of
Japanese descent that were confiscated during the Second World War when
their occupants were interned. After a hard-fought effort to save the
house from demolition, the tiny bungalow is being restored and will
host a writer-in-residence program.

Proceeds
from this musical event will fund the honorarium for the first writer
to live and work at the house, beginning in March 2009.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the League of Canadian Poets.