FFWD Weekly
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| BOOKENDS Roy Kiyooka, poet, painter, musician and photographer, is one of Canada's most respected Japanese-Canadian cultural figures. Kiyooka was made an oficer of the Royal Order of Canada in 1978, and he died in 1994 when he was 68 years old. This Friday he's at the center of a series of talks and book launches at the University of Calgary. Authors such as Roy Miki, Daphne Marlatt and local writers Mark Nakada and Jeff Derksen are all involved. If you've ever wondered what a poetry editor does, and what editors take away from the experience afterward, you can find out when Roy Miki discusses editing Pacific Windows, Kiyoooka's book of collected poems. Miki, who also edits the Vancouver journal West Coast Line, is especially interested in the "imagined Japan" that appears in Kiyooka's poems. Roy Miki speaks at noon on Friday, March 13 in the International Centre Lounge (Room 588 BioSciences, the first building you get to as you leave the university LRT station). Later the same day there will be a launch/reading featuring (count 'em) six new titles. It happens in the Special Collections Room at the top of the library building - up where they keep all those manuscripts by Alice Munro and W.O. Mitchell. The books presented begin with Pacific Windows: Collected Poems of Roy K. Kiyooka. Then comes Mothertalk: Life Stories of Mary Kiyoshi Kiyooka (that's Roy's mother), edited by Canadian author Daphne Marlatt. Will Marlatt be there? Don't know. She spoke earlier in the week (too early to be covered in this issue of FFWD), so maybe. (Okay, I'll find out and leave a taped message at 220-5477). Calgary writer Mark Nakada launches Ryuku Rheology, a chapbook of poems published by Calgary's own disOrientation chapbooks. Special issues of two journals will also be launched: an issue of Open Letter edited by Jeff Derksen, with poetics as its focus, as well as a Sunshine Coast edition of West Coast Line. A whole group of sponsors are putting this on: NeWest Press, Talonbooks, the English Department and the Asian Studies Group at the U of C, and Full Force, a speakers series. Here's the odd thing: There's a sixth "mystery book" being launched as well. Usually writers want you to actually know that they're bringing out their books - they only bother with these events for publicity and party purposes, so this is a little different. But these authors are so enlightened they can even launch books on Friday the 13th (superstitious James Joyce wouldna done it). Worrying about a teensy bit of missed publicity isn't going to stop them from having fun. |