Literary: Tribute to Livesay Includes Local Poets

World Poetry Presents
a Life Celebration of Dorothy Livesay,
October 27 at 7:00 pm t the Alliance for Arts
and Culture, 938 Howe St. with host Ariadne Sawyer
and guest host Diego Bastianutti.
Featured presenter: Bernice Lever
Readers: Anita Aguirre Nieveras, Bonnie Nish
Sita Carboni, William Stevenson, Victoria Pascha,
Kyle Christensson, Peter Lojewski and others.
15 minute open mike for poems about or by Dorothy Livesay.
Info: 604-526-4729

Dorothy Livesay (October 12, 1909-December 29, 1996) was one of the leading Canadian poets of the twentieth century. Her free verse poetry probes the mysteries of existence—life and death, waking and dreaming, love and hate, male and female, being and doing—rejoicing that "small miracles / shatter the facts— / explode!" As a social worker, a teacher and a radical journalist, Livesay fiercely protested social habits and polices of oppression and destruction. She asks in her poem, "Ice Age,"

Now who among us
will lift a finger
to declare I am of God, good?
Who among us
dares to be righteous?

Dorothy was born and spent her first eleven years in Winnipeg. Her parents, both journalists, Florence Randal and John Frederick Bligh (J.F.B.) Livesay, fostered her literary interests. Florence was also a poet and translator, J.F.B. a war correspondent and author of Canada's Hundred Days, 1919. In 1920 the family moved to Toronto where J.F.B. was manager of the Canadian Press. Dorothy attended a private girls' school in which, she later wrote, she was isolated from "the pounding pulse of the city." Even as a child she wrote poetry. Without her knowledge her mother submitted one of her poems to a newspaper. It was accepted and she received a cheque for two dollars.
Read more here:
http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/livesay.html

Happy Birthday Alejandro!!

I just wanted to pass on this little note i received from the founder and co-host of the World Poetry Cafe, Alejandro Mujica-Olea (seen here with co-founder Ariadne Sawyer, which I found to be inspiring. Today is his birthday.

Tomorrow I complete 60 years.

Good evening another time and welcome to the fantastic world of poetry with Ariadne Sawyer.

And at the technical board, Medi.

Your host and poet, Alejandro Mujica-Olea, will turn 60 years old, tomorrow, the 8th of August,2007.

Some of these periods of my life have been like an earthquake.

After an excellent youth, with a profession, stable work, married with one son and with great political possiblities.

My life brought me the first bite.

It has been 34 years since I was tortured and damaged psychologically which lasts until today.

My life was worthless and I could have been assasinated by the facist soldiers at any time.

Later I lived in the liberty that Canada brought me, and another blow knocked at my door.

There has passed 25 years from the day in which it was discovered that I had cancer and was given

3 months of life to work.

This diagnosis was confirmed by the US, Cuba, the Soviet Union and Germany.

I have lived 25 years and have ten times this fatal illness, only 3 years ago I had it again

and I was in danger of losing my life. Thanks to God, the treatment of vitamins and a vegetarian

lifestyle has saved my body of copper sheath..

This is the treatment that is in my book: Your Love Killed My Cancer, by World Poetry Publishing.

I will celebrate my 60 years in a Tibetan Buddist temple with a special ceremony and refreshments.

This will be good since I want to reflect on the past and think of the future.

“My soul is happy

I sing, laugh and recite poetry.

I am content to live

in this ocean of Earth.

white, green and gold.

Oh Canada

(Qoute from page 179, Contentment from Your Love Killed My Cancer.)

Special Event: AfrikaDey Festival!

Come celebrate AfrikaDey!

Sept. 1&2:

The Croatian Cultural Centre.
3250 Commercial Drive,
Vancouver, BC

Music! Food! Market!
Cultural events, children’s corner and World Poetry!

Contact: Phone: 778-865-2767
www.Afrikadey.ca