New Writer-in-residence at Historic Joy Kogawa House
Marpole will make like the new Bloomsbury on the evening of Saturday, November 17, when friends and music lovers gather for an entertaining musical program, lively conversation – and light refreshments.
Saturday, November 17, 7:30 to 9:00pm, friends and neighbours will squeeze into the recently restored living room of this 1912 home to listen to folk songs, beat poetry, and repartee from singer-songwriter, essayist, and current writer-in-residence Joseph Maviglia. From iconic tunes such as Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee” and“House Un-American Activity Blues Dream” by Richard Farina, Maviglia’s repertoire ranges widely, featuring original compositions, recorded on two albums: Angel in the Rain (2010) and Memory to Steel (1994).
In his latest work, Critics Who Know Jack: Urban Myths, Media, and Rock and Roll (2014), Maviglia explores the relationship between critics and artists across various mediums of expression. New work is under way while in residence at Historic Joy Kogawa House. His two-month residency began on October 1, 2018, and focuses on writing, research, and community programs. While in residence Joseph is also assisting in the creation of an archive to articulate items donated and preserved at the Historic Joy Kogawa House.
The Historic Joy Kogawa House Society is a community-based arts group that supports writers by providing a live-work space in the leafy Marpole neighbourhood of South Vancouver. Set in the former home of the author Joy Kogawa, the residency offers writers affordable (free) rent in one of Canada’s most expensive cities in exchange for community projects such as the musical evening offered on Saturday, November 17. While in residence, Maviglia has also offered two writing workshops: a craft talk on transitioning poetry to song lyric (Saturday, October 20, 10:00 to 11:30), and the second on performance and metaphor (Thursday, November 8, 7:30 to 9:00).
Born in Ottawa, Maviglia studied at Simon Fraser University before settling in Toronto where he is part of a group of singer-songwriter poets in the vanguard of Toronto’s musical and literary circles. His signature style blends the power of poetry and song with a powerful onstage delivery.
About Joseph Maviglia
Joseph Maviglia is renowned for his energized musical performances, written text, and non-fiction essays. The CBC commissioned Joseph Maviglia to write a tribute poem on the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.” Maviglia is writer-in-residence at Historic Joy Kogawa House from October 1 to November 20, 2018.
Please go to www.josephmaviglia.com.
About Historic Joy Kogawa House
Historic Joy Kogawa House is the former home of the Canadian author Joy Kogawa (born 1935). It stands as a cultural and historical reminder of the expropriation of property that all Canadians of Japanese descent experienced after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The Historic Joy Kogawa House writer-in-residence program brings well-regarded professional writers in touch with a local community of writers, readers, editors, publishers, booksellers, and librarians. While in residence, the writer works to enrich the literary community around him or her and to foster an appreciation for Canadian writing through programs that involve students, other established and emerging writers and members of the general public.
Since 2009, the Historic Joy Kogawa Society has hosted writers from across Canada and from overseas to live and work in the house. The City of Vancouver purchased the house and property in 2017 and supports ongoing activities of the Historic Joy Kogawa House Society by requiring only a nominal rent of only $10 per year.
Additional funding is provided through City of Vancouver Cultural Infrastructure grants, BC Museum Association Legacy Fund, and the Frank H. Hori Charitable Foundation, Jim Green Fund, and Josef Wosk Foundation, and through cash donations from the general public. Annual memberships are also available for $25 (annual) or $100 (supporting).