401 Main Street Vancouver Canada V6A 2T7 (604) 665-2289
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Ken Gerberick, local artist (pictured) passed away recently. He made art with locally sourced stuff, items found in alleys, thrift stores and so on. At his memorial some of his work was on display and, unfortunately two items were stolen. Janis Corrado, his partner, spread the word with pictures of the missing items, and asked for help. Time passed. Humanities 101 is a university entry-level course that's been ongoing for over 20 years, open to lowincome residents of the DowntownEastside and Downtown South to explore a diverse array of subjects and experiences at UBC. For the last 2 years ifs been online with some get-togethers at the Planetarium, walking tours and, most recently, a visit to the Vancouver Art Gallery. The theme this year is the idea of writer Octavia Butler: "All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you." The class of 20+ participants wentto the VAG and saw the art ofYoko Ono and Jan Wade and Wade's display was of items parallel with Ken Gerberick's. Jan Wade's work is described on VAG's website, "Political, social, spiritual and material transformations are integral to Wade's practice, and she often uses found objects and recycled materials in her works. Picked up in alleys, given to her by friends and sourced from thrift stores, these objects are used to point to a "generational ecological consciousness practiced by the disenfranchised." In other words, Wade's unique aesthetic was born out of necessity as well as social conscience." I ran into Janis Corrado and she told me what had happened. Seems that Trey, friend of a friend and working as part of the Overdoes Prevention Society, had seen pictures of the stolen art and saw them for sale on the sidewalk. He determined that the vendor wasn't the thief and just bought the two pieces and returned them to Janis. In her words:
{Recovered art]
Monday, lpril 4tli, 2022 •
the Carnegie Kitchen will no longer offer take out containers and cutlery.
Ken Gerberick's stolen Art Pieces Found and Returned to family Thanks to Trey - caring DTES community worker and Wendy Pedersen friend, neighbour, and commu. nity worker who referred me to Trey! We are so grateful to have Ken's work returned to our family 8 months later! It means so much to us! And what a beautiful way it happened! Love our community! Janis Corrado
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Welcome to the Downtown Eastside
Thank you for bringing your own containers if you would like to take a meal home.
From the Library
Theology for Me Today Should Idecide today to buy into this god theory That really a father sacrificed himself His son in a spirit of salvation to save me and humanity from sin Best Istart sinning lots and lots and lots In this story, daddy, spirit, and son are One Indulgence in Self torture, murder, suicide By this omniscient omnipotent Being seems lacking in imagination .... failure to implement Anything better that misery to save me? From sin he himself ordained But then again this is the same creator Who unhappy with his handiwork' Drowned most of his humanity Killed a woman for the minor crime Of looking back at her burning home On multiple occasion ordered the slaughter Of entire populations of entire cities guilty of disobedience Bit of a psychotic control freak Who loves me Who will burn me forever For straying from his command But he loves me
On the same day as this issue is released, the library . will be officially welcoming the 2022 Indigenous Storyteller in Residence, Eden Fine Day! Born on the Sweetgrass First Nation in Saskatchewan and raised in East Vancouver, Eden Fine Day is an author, musician, visual artist and proud nehiyaw iskwew (Cree woman). Fine Day will be reading her short story "Up North" about a pivotal year in her childhood when she lived in Fort St. James, B.c. and performing her song of the same name. Join in greeting her by attending the streaming of her welcoming event in the Camegie Theatre on Tuesday, March 15th from 6:00-7:00PM. We are also happy to share that Nicole Luongo's author reading has been rescheduled to take place in the Carnegie Learning Centre (3rd floor) on Tuesday, March 29th from 1:00-2:30PM. Luongo will be reading from her new book, The Becoming, "a brutal account of mental illness by a woman who doesn't believe in mental illness". Register for this event by visiting the Camegie Branch Library in person or call us at (604) 665-3010 ext. O. We are encouraging everyone who is interested in the event to visit the library to pick up a paper copy of select excerpts from the book before the reading. If you have any questions don't hesitate to come chat with one of our friendly staff! Hope to see you soon, - Izzy
But just in case Rabbi Yeshua ... (a supremely good man, in history mythologized misrepresented, who would role over in his grave at thought he had sacrilegiously been made into a god by the religion of empire he fought to defeat) ... did die for my sins Best I sin and sin and sin and sin and sin and sin and sin some more To ensure that for me he didn't die in vain Gilles Cyrenne
Remembering
Joan Morelli
"When times are bad, I don't give in! That's when imagination takes a spin." loan Morelli, 2012
We knew loan best as a writer, a captivating orator who valued every word that flowed from her keen awareness to her pen to her lips and into our listening ears.
She wrote what she believed, sometimes with a wry smile underneath and claimed her space through deeply committed activism, indomitable performance at community readings, and regal ever-presence. She was involved with Hum across a span of decades, a participant in Writing 101 and Writing 201 at UBC, and a member of the Wednesday Women's Writing Group at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, guided by Maureen Phillips and Mandy Catron. In this photo at DEWC, she's our militant mother, surrounded by her writing companions. We will truly miss loan, how she grounded us and freed us up, too. With love from Dr. Margot Leigh Butler and the Hum (Humanities 101 Community Programme) community, DTES and UBC on the unceded, ancestral, traditional land of the hon'q'cmin'om'<speaking x m;)8k ;)y;)m (Musqueam) people. W
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Letter to an Ou~ider You are of a special kind you light up a dull room, I find. How stale and ordinary to match! Better to be in the mix of mix and match. When I think of you I feel a glow You are magnetic the star of my show. No dull clod, your image nation soars. Who needs to be accepted by those bores? You, the wheat, they, the foolish chaff thinking themselves superior - what a laugh! You're a treasure of great worth. They, poor things, learning little since birth You are more precious than you'll ever know:
kindness, humility and intelligence flow. You make me think of JENNY KISSED ME your being helping me go on for eternity. Of course you feel you don't belongyou're too wise, too good, too strong.
loan Morelli
Imagination loan Morelli, Writing "When times are bad, I don't give in That's when imagination takes a spin. Traveling mountain range, wide flat plains Soaring planes, comfortable trains Then fancy hotels, cruise ships at ease On land or calm and tempestuous seas Recalling things I loathe or love Floating on air so high above Mundane harsh world of pain At arms length, down the drain. But when the sun shines and I'm not blue Writing or reading are important too Sharing our experiences with the world Both their and out hopes are unfurled Fairy tales when we're small Promising so much for us all The voice oflogic has its place But writing and reading do more for the human race! Lifting us above the dull humdrum Energizing us, whether in comfort or slum.
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Give us strength that cannot seek By deed or thought to hurt the weak That under thee we may possess Man's strength to comfort man's distress. When we read other writer's experiences, We recognize our own. WAR I tug you And you tug me I fall And so do you Pulled by my momentum Bloodied Muddied There are no winners When ravens cry Into the wind • AND PEACE There are pieces of me On the ground Smashed Like my fragmented Feelings Peace
We can't all be rich, athletic, or tall Yet special is a word that fits us all
Is picking up Piercing shards At my feet
A Don Quixote I'd much rather be Ruthless magnate is just not me.
And rising, rising Soaring across the sky
As long as I do my level best I'll pass any knocks or test. When it seems we can't go on Is just the time to be really strong. A line from a Hymn says:
Whole Wholly me Pinions pointing Into the sun Phoenix Winter
MURIEL.S JOURNEY POETRY PRIZE
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First Prize $100 First Prize for a poem by a Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) contributor $100 Second Prize $50 The Wild Card Prize $35 for a poem selected at random from the longlist of general entry poems All winners and honourary mentions will be published in Fire In The Heart, the Muriel's Journey Chapbook for 2022. (See the links below for previous chapbooks)
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CRITERIA: Content: Should meet one or more of these criteria: Speak your mind and let the world know what you think, look at your subject in an unexpected way, take a risk in your composition, be frank and unreserved! If the poem has good potential for being performed, all the better. Why these criteria? Because that's Muriel. She was not only a poet but a fabulous performer with a knack for unusual, wake-up-and-listen poetry performance. Other criteria (not optional!): Open to Canadians or people living in Canada Length of the poem: 5 lines or more Up to 5 poems, with an overall length for all poems together not to exceed 100 lines Please send the poems in the body of the email. Start the email with your name and the title (s) of your poem(s). DO NOT MENTION YOUR NAME ANYWHERE ELSE. We will cut and paste your poem from the email so that we can judge your poems anonymously Include a bio not exceeding 100 words that must include o The Indigenous territory/treaty you live on o How you contribute to your community Format: Times Roman, 12 point Please do not attach any images. If an image is absolutely necessary for your poem, tell us in your email and we will arrange for safe transmittal of the image.
The poem cannot be previously published, online or anywhere else If you submit your poem elsewhere and it . gets accepted, it is important that you let us know right away. If you are part of or closely related to the committee or the judges, you are ineligible If you won a first prize in 2020 or 2021, you are ineligible If you live in or are otherwise an active participant in Vancouver's DTES, please let us know DEADLINE: March 31, 2022 Email your submission or any questions to murielsjourney@gmail.com
VOLUNTEER PROGRAM UPDATES Hello Carnegie Volunteers, Please join me in congratulating Harris, he is the successful candidate for the Temporary full time position as Volunteer Program AssistanfII (Assistant Volunteer Coordinator) covering for Luke Vasak while Luke IS on temporary assignment at Mt. Pleasant community centre. Just over a year ago, Harris moved to Vancouver hoping to expand his experience in the field of community service. Besides working as an Activity Leader at PIipenheImer Park and a SecuritY. Attendant at the Gathering Place, he's also Been a Mental Health Worker; a Health Equipment Techi..f Research Assistant; a Canoe Sfiop Manager; a gigging bassist, and an Underwater Ceramics Technician. Having worked with volunteers extensively (and navmg been one himself), he's looking forward to learning the ropes in his new role as an Assist~t Yolunteer Coordinator at The Carnegie Community Centre. HarI)s holds a B:A. (honours) of Social SCIence and a M.A. of Philosophy both from the Universitv of Victoria, and IS eager to continue his work in community from a trauma informed and community assef development approach, We are excited to have himjoin the Volunteer Department. Harris will be acting in his new role starting today until September, welcome Harris! We are continuing the Returning and New Volunteers orientations into March. Volunteer opportunities will continue to be limited based-on safe areas of programming, to ensure the health and safety of all commumty members, volunteers, and staff. These are the training requirements, including health and safety protocols, that all volunteers will need to know and follow in order to return to volunteering at Carnegie. Here is what you need toknow: W.e are inviting both people that have volunteered at Carnegie in the past and new volunteers for trammg sessions
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• The new and updated "Volunteering at Carnegie" training, which includes new mandatory health and safety protocols, is required for all new and returning volunteers • Food Preparation, Runner, and Server roles are being offered at this time - other positions will be added as Centre capacity allows • Tutor, Computer tutor, and Receptionist positions for the Learning Centre are available but limited to certam days • Only scheduled shifts are being offered at this time - drop-in volunteering opportunities will be added as Centre capacity allows Sign up for an upcoming Volunteering orientation and training session if you: 1. A returning Volunteer (No application needed) New volunteer: make sure you have completed a volunteer application on: https://vancouveLca/parksrecreation-culture/volunteer-at-carnegie-centre.aspx 1. Are able to commit to 1 regular scheduled shift (3 hours) per week, the shifts available will be mornings 9am-12pm, afternoons 1-4pm, Evenings 5:30-8:30pm (Learning Centre hours are different, please connect with them directly for available shifts, and no drop in volunteering is available at this time) 2. Are able to commit to the full 4 hours of "Volunteering at Carnegie" health and safety orientation and site tour (2 hours) and role training (2 hours) All City of Vancouver volunteers are required to be fully vaccinated as a condition of onboarding and ongoing volunteerism. Candidates may only be exempted from this requirement if they request and are approved for an accommodation based on a reason related to a Human Rights Code ground (such as disability). Such a request must be made during, not after, the recruitment process.
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