International Support for Kogawa House in Estonia through Canadian Studies program
There is indeed international support growing for the preservation of Kogawa House. The following letter is from Eva Rein, Assistant lecturer for the Canadian Studies program at the University of Tartu, in Estonia.
Estonian Association for Canadian Studies
Department of English
University of Tartu
Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu, Estonia
E-mail: eva.rein@ut.ee
March 27, 2006
The Right Hon. Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0A6
E-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca
Cc: The Hon. Bev Oda
Minister of Canadian Heritage
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0A6
E-mail: Oda.B@parl.gc.ca
Cc: Anton Wagner
Secretary
Save Joy Kogawa House Committee
E-mail: awagner@yorku.ca
Estonian Association for Canadian Studies Resolution Concerning Joy Kogawa House
Joy Kogawa’s works have restored the silenced chapter of persecution and internment of Japanese-Canadians to Canadian history. Joy Kogawa’s childhood home, known to us from her Obasan and Emily Kato, is a site of the writer’s personal memory as well as literary, cultural and historical memory of Canada. Moreover, its significance extends far beyond Canada, as does that of her works.
Considering Joy Kogawa’s instrumental role in keeping alive the memory of the past and the significance of her childhood home in Vancouver as a highly important site of Canada’s cultural legacy, the Estonian Association for Canadian Studies would like to extend their request to the Canadian Government to preserve the Joy Kogawa House.
Yours sincerely,
Eva Rein
Assistant Lecturer (English-Canadian Literature)
Estonian Association for Canadian Studies