The residence at 1450 West 64th Avenue, former childhood home of author Joy Kogawa, now marked for demolition plans. - photo by Don Montgomery
- For immediate release -
“Joy Kogawa House Facing Bulldozer”
October 28, 2005
Only a week after writers from across Canada and around the world were celebrated at the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival, the childhood home of Vancouver- born Joy Kogawa, one of Canada’s most eminent authors, is in increased danger of being bulldozed into the ground.
Gerry McGeough, Senior Heritage Planner in the City of Vancouver Planning Department, has confirmed that the current owner of Kogawa's former childhood home on 1450 West 64th Avenue has drawn up architectural plans for the redevelopment of the site including demolition of the Kogawa house. Processing a development and demolition application by the City takes less than four weeks.
McGeough will recommend to the Vancouver City Council Standing Committee on Planning and Environment on November 3 that City Council recognize the heritage value of the Marpole property and issue a 120-day demolition delay order as allowed by section 591 of the City Charter. The meeting is open to the public. The Save Kogawa House Committee, formed when the home first went up for sale in September of 2003, will also ask the Planning and Environment Committee to urge City Council to pass the 120-day demolition delay order.
The Committee has contacted professional writers organizations across Canada to support the drive to save Kogawa's childhood home as a Vancouver literary landmark and convert it into a major writers-in-residence centre for Canadian and international writers. This support from eight associations, representing several thousand professional writers, will be released shortly. For Kogawa, the 1450 West 64th Avenue property became a symbol of lost hope and happiness after she, at age six, and her family were removed from their home in 1942 as part of the forced evacuations and internment of over 20,000 Japanese-Canadians during World War II. The house is featured in the award-winning novel Obasan and the children’s story Naomi's Road, which premiered on September 30 as Vancouver Opera's second-ever commissioned original work and is now touring to 140 schools and community centres throughout B.C.
“The destruction of the Kogawa home would be a great loss of cultural heritage for Vancouver, for British Columbia, and for Canada,” Margaret Atwood declared at the Vancouver International Writers Festival on October 13. “Although Canada scored high on the recent all-nations report card, it scored low on culture, history and heritage. Why destroy more of this precious asset?”
The Save Kogawa House Committee reactivated when it was alerted on September 21st that a demolition application was expected. Two years ago the committee tried to raise funds to buy the house and persuade the federal government to protect the cultural landmark, but became dormant when the owner made no plans for demolition at the time. The committee seeks to preserve the Kogawa House as a Canadian and international writer’s centre, similar to the Pierre Berton House in Dawson City and the Margaret Laurence House in Neepawa, for the cultural heritage of future generations.
“There is only one literary monument erected in Vancouver for a Canadian author," says BC Bookworld publisher Alan Twigg, "It is the Pauline Johnson memorial in Stanley Park.” Johnson died in 1913.
Kogawa is the recipient of many awards including the Order of Canada in 1986. Roy Miki, Simon Fraser University Professor and 2003 Governor General's Award Winner for Poetry, has called Obasan the most important literary work of the past 30 years for understanding Canadian history. In 2005 Obasan was selected by the Vancouver Public Library for its One Book One Vancouver program, encouraging all Vancouverites to read this single book.
Mayor Larry Campbell and members of Vancouver City Council will plant a cutting from Joy Kogawa’s cherry tree from the childhood home featured in Obasan in the garden of City Hall November 1 to commemorate the experience of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. Paul Whitney, City Librarian of the Vancouver Public Library, James Wright, General Director of Vancouver Opera, and Joy Kogawa will also participate. The public tree planting ceremony takes place in the City Hall garden, north of City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue.
If City Council passes the demolition delay order, the Save Kogawa House Committee will raise funds to purchase the property. The Vancouver Heritage Foundation has set up a fund to save the Kogawa house and will issue charitable receipts for donations. All donations to the Joy Kogawa house rescue receive a tax receipt for the full amount of the donation. Cheques should be made out to “Vancouver Heritage Foundation” and mailed to the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, 844 West Hastings St., Vancouver, B.C. V6C 1C8. Donors are asked to indicate on the cheque memo line: “Save Kogawa House.” Donations can also be made on-line on the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s website
http://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org/kogawa.html
If the Vancouver City Council does not vote to delay demolition, the house may be demolished within weeks. It then becomes the latest casualty of Vancouver's short-term memory in a climate where arts, history and culture are left to fend for themselves.
To prevent demolition, the Save the Kogawa House Committee is seeking community support and volunteers in Vancouver and across Canada in its drive to convert the house into a major writers centre. The Committee is also asking supporters to email the Vancouver City Council at mayorandcouncil@vancouver.ca urging Mayor Campbell and City Councillors to prevent the demolition of the Kogawa House.
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Photo credits:
The attached Dan Toulgoet Kogawa House_1519 Vancouver Courier 9 28 05.jpg of Joy Kogawa in front of her childhood home can be used by both non-profit organizations and commercial media. The photo credit must be: “Photo-Dan Toulgoet, Vancouver Courier”.
The photographer can be contacted at 604-630 3514 or at dtoulgoet@vancourier.com
The Don Montgomery 3.jpg can be used by non-profit organizations. The photo credit must be “Photo: © 2005 Don Montgomery”. Commercial media are asked to contact Don Montgomery at 604-878 6888 or don@asiancanadian.net
For further information contact:
Ann-Marie Metten, Vancouver Co-ordinator, Save Kogawa House Committee
604-263 6586; ametten@telus.net
Todd Wong, Vancouver Committee spokesperson
604-240-7090; toddwcan@yahoo.com
Anton Wagner, Committee Chair
416-863-1209; awagner@yorku.ca
Gerry McGeough, Senior Heritage Planner, Planning Department, City of Vancouver
604-873-7091; gerry.mcgeough@vancouver.ca
Diane Switzer, Executive Director, Vancouver Heritage Foundation 604-264-9642; diane@vancouverheritagefoundation.org
