Report by Ann-Marie Metten
Ann-Marie Metten is the Vancouver coordinator for the Save Kogawa House committee. She and Joy Kogawa have travelled to Lethbridge Alberta to attend the Alberta premiere of the Naomi’s Road opera, by the Vancouver Opera Touring Ensemble.
Ann-Marie is a wonderful person with many literary connections and dedicated to the cause. She first contacted me in early 2005, after I posted a message suggesting Obasan could be nominated for Vancouver Public Library’s One Book One Vancouver program. She then contacted me in September, when the City of Vancouver received an inquiry about a demolition permit for Kogawa House.
The following message is from Ann-Marie:
Just want to report several small donations received at the reception following the performance of Naomi’s Road in Lethbridge yesterday.
The Vancouver Opera troupe ended their evening show to a standing ovation, with many Japanese Canadians in the audience – those interned and their families. Joy spoke strongly about the need for forgiveness within the community and within Canada as a nation, and I got to say a few words at the reception about Kogawa House and invited questions and discussion. Lisa Doolittle of the University of Lethbridge Theatre Department was generous in her publicity of the campaign to rescue Kogawa House, including a summary of the project in the programme for the evening, posting notices of the project around the reception area, speaking about it in her introduction, and displaying pledge forms at the buffet and book sales tables. Lisa also arranged press coverage with the Lethbridge Herald, which ran our story on the cover of today’s edition, along with a photograph of the troupe and a photo of Joy inside on page 2. Global TV was expected to run the story not only at noon today but also on their evening news report.
Many friends and relatives came to support Joy, with 25 Japanese Canadian seniors traveling from Calgary to attend the noon performance and many, many others attending the evening performance. Joy and I also drove out to the communities of Coaldale, the model of Granton in Obasan — and Vauxhall, where I spent some childhood years – and connected with people there. We visited the Galt Museum, which houses the Kogawa Collection of furnishings and pieces from the Marpole house. What topped everything, though, was our walk through the coulee and the thrill of the prairie after snowmelt, just before spring.
It was a trip well worth the effort. Photos to come this evening…
Ann-Marie Metten,
Save Kogawa House Committee