MSA Poets Potpourri Society

On December 21, 2011 MSA PPS Lifetime Member Thurlow Gowan said goodbye to Vivian Gowan, his wife of 60 years.

A celebration of Vivian’s life (April 17, 1920 – December 21, 2011) was held on January 11th at Bevan Lodge in Abbotsford.

Vivian Gowan (1920-2011) with Thurlow and family (Photos © 2012 by Shelley Haggard)

Many MSA PPS members were part of the approximately 60 that attended.

Brayden Sawatzky led a couple of prayers and read Thurlow’s poem “Friendship.”

Prayer for Vivian’s Celebration of Life (Brayden Sawatzky)

Heavenly Father,
You are the Creator and the Lord of Life and Love.
Every good and perfect gift comes from You, the Father of all heavenly lights.
We thank You now for the gift of friendship and family, and the gift you gave us to enrich our lives – the precious gift of Vivian Gowan.
In Psalm 36, a psalm of David, we read these reassuring words:
“Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings.
You feed them from the abundance of Your own house, letting them drink from Your river of delights.
For You are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.”
And now O Lord, we gratefully invite Your sacred presence to enter our hearts as we celebrate the life of Vivian, and we ask for Your peace to touch every aspect of our lives as we fellowship together.
We pray in Your Holy Name – Amen

Shelly Haggard read Lord Byron’s poem “My Soul is Dark.”

Alvin read Thurlow’s poem “Picking Flowers” and shared quotes and tidbits from famous poets.

Rhonda, daughter of lifetime member Donna Bishop read a poem by Donna.

Friend Roy Morice played tributes on the clarinet and saxophone.

Vivian’s niece Beverly Urschel gave the eulogy.

Messages from friends and family who couldn’t attend were read. Some of Vivian’s hair dressing awards were on display and a lovely video tribute recalled details of Vivian’s life. A reception concluded the afternoon.

Vivian’s obituary

Many members of MSA PPS attended. Vivian's awards pictured lower right. (Photos © 2012 by Shelley Haggard)

Thanks to Shelley Haggard who supplied the details of the event and took the photos.

Members and guests of the MSA Poets Potpourri Society gathered at Kariton House Wednesday night, November 23rd, for their annual Christmas potluck.

Brayden welcomed us to the table by reading a blessing from Thurlow, who is in hospital recovering from an illness. (Thurlow is 99 years old!)

Food there was aplenty!

Later Brayden presented Jaye Lowe with a plaque honoring her as a lifetime member of the MSA PPS.

He also presented Alvin with a more complete version of his lifetime membership plaque.

Thank you, Jaye and Alvin, for your contributions to MSA PPS!

Then it was time for our poetic Christmas treats.

We enjoyed Alvin, Murray and Paul’s original poems, Brayden, Erin, and Violet reading the poetry of others, Ruth-Ann’s German songs, Rita’s memories of Christmas in Mexico, Satwant’s first impressions of snow, Terry’s adventures with a bold walnut-toting squirrel, and Shelley’s shivery tale of going out to hunt for a tree with her little brother on a freezing cold afternoon in Fort St. John.

Poetic Christmas Treats

Group shots by Rita Carrington

More evening memories by Rita Carrington

We left with full stomachs and hearts.

A Christmas Blessing for the Poets
—from Thurlow Gowan

May the good wishes and good will
of this coming Christmas
extend to all through this yuletide season
and many more to come.

God’s blessings are not limited—they go on and on;
when God’s blessing is in you, it doesn’t stop …
May God’s blessing extend to and encompass
the well-being of all
who associate and connect through poetry.

As we think of the ability we have as poets,
we realize it is a God-given gift
and it will not become irrelevant
regardless of how much we use it.

It is a joyous time as we sit down to partake of the food—
there is joy in the tasting and eating.
There is another joy in the reverence of the Holy Spirit:
Christ was the Son of God
that is what the season is all about,
and when we sit and enjoy the Christmas meal,
we are bringing glory to His presence.

© 2011 by Thurlow Gowan

The final event of 2011 is the MSA PPS Christmas Potluck:

For all members and invited guests
November 23rd
6:30 p.m.
Kariton Gallery
2387 Ware Street
Abbotsford, B.C.

Please email Brayden with your plans to attend and what you are planning to bring by November 15th.

Then update your calendars for the MSA PPS 2012 reading dates

• March 26 – Open Mic

• April 16 – Blue Moon

• May 7 – Open Mic

• June 11 – Blue Moon

• September 10 – Blue Moon

• October 15 – Open Mic

Time: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Place:

Clearbrook Library

6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

32320 George Ferguson Way,

Abbotsford B.C.

Guest readers will be announced closer to reading dates.

Our final MSA PPS reading of the season Monday, October 17th, was an intimate event. We shared poems around the circle, took a break to eat Satwant’s spicy samosas and then read some more.

We will round out the year with two more events.

The Annual General Meeting

Monday, November 7th,

6:00 − 9:00 p.m.

Meeting room of the Clearbrook Library

32320 George Ferguson Way,

Abbotsford B.C.

All MSA PPS members are asked to attend.

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A year-end potluck is planned for November 23rd at the Kariton Gallery. More details coming soon.

On Monday, October 17th the MSA Poets Potpourri Society is hosting their last open mic, poetry reading night of 2011 in conjunction with Canadian National Library Month.

Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: Meeting Room
Clearbrook Library.
32320 George Ferguson Way,
Abbotsford B.C.

Everyone is welcome to attend this free event!

Members of the MSA PPS and guests met for the final Blue Moon Reading of the 2011 season Monday, September 12, 2011. Ten readers entertained us, during the open mic part of the evening, with poems on everything from environmental sustainability to traveling in Spain, gardening to Jack Layton.

Our featured reader, Ibrahim Honjo, was the perfect guest for the evening’s international literacy focus. He told us about the warm welcome poetry once received in his native Yugoslavia, and encouraged us to keep enthusiasm for the craft alive whether our numbers are large or small.

It was a night of romancing the stone as he read English selections from his books Roots In The Stone, Enigma From The Stone, and Do Not Write This Down (several of these books are written in Serbo-Croatian and English). Finally, he charmed us with a love story from his recently published autobiography.

Find out more about this warm, engaging poet and his work by visiting his web site: HONJO’s POETRY & ART.

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Coming events:

• Poetry, art, and music enthusiasts won’t want to miss the Arts Eco Salon event (Abbotsford’s contribution to the global movement 100 Thousand Poets for Sustainable Change) to be held at The Reach [32388 Veterans Way
  Abbotsford, BC V2T 0B3] 1:00 p.m. Saturday, September 24th.

• Also plan to attend MSA PPS’s last reading of 2011

Open Mic Poetry Night
October 17, 2011
6:30 p.m.
Clearbrook Library -  Meeting Room
32320 George Ferguson Way
Abbotsford B.C.

All are welcome to attend this free event.
Sign up to read your work when you arrive.

View a message from Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of International Literacy Day.

MSA PPS’s next Blue Moon Reading is September 12th. Featured reader for this event that also celebrates International Literacy Day is Ibrahim Honjo

Ibrahim Honjo has a long and distinguished poetic CV.

Born in Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1948, he moved to Canada in 1995. While still in Yugoslavia he published seven poetry books (from 1971 to 1993) and is represented in an additional three anthologies. He was also introduced in many magazines, newspapers, and radio stations in Yugoslavia.

He edited several books and newspapers in Yugoslavia and organized many poetry events and festivals.

Honjo received several prizes for his poetry.

Since coming to Canada he has continued to write and publish.

Published books in Canada:

• Do not Write this Down (2006) – This book with 32 poems Honjo initially published 1991 in Yugoslavia. The Canadian edition has 60 poems. Honjo translated these poems from the Serbo-Croatian language into English.

• Roots in the Stone is his second poetry book in English, also translated from the Serbo-Croatian language.

• Enigma from the Stone (2009 & 2011 – with Publish America) has poems in both English and Serbo-Croatian

• Threads of My Essence (2011) is his most recent book.

Everyone is welcome to this free event. The open mic segment of the evening will precede the featured reading. (If you want to read, please sign up with Brayden when you arrive.)

Blue Moon Reading featuring Ibrahim Honjo
September 12, 2011
6:30-9:30
Clearbrok Library
32320 George Ferguson Way
Abbotsford, B.C.

The room was full – the poetry lively and diverse at Monday’s Blue Moon reading at the Clearbrook Library. This was the MSA Poets Potpourri Society’s third Blue Moon Reading of the 2011 season and its second book debut!

The evening opened with the open mic segment and coffee.

Open Mic readers included Joe, Brayden, Satwant, guest, Robert, Surjeet, and Violet (not pictured). Photos © V. Nesdoly

Following the break Shelley Haggard, our evening’s featured reader,  put us under her poetic spell with pieces like “Don’t Make Words You Wouldn’t Want to Eat,” “Dormancy,” “Truth’s Tale,” and “On the Edge of the Ice” (“The ice talks with a sharp tongue; / gnashes its teeth, so to speak. / Its dark voice whispers to the black spaces / above and below …” and on — words icy enough to give you shivers even on a June evening). These and so many more are found in The Haggard Road — Shelley’s first book, hot off the press.

Shelley Haggard launching 'The Haggard Road' - Photos © V. Nesdoly

Congratulations to Shelley Haggard on The Haggard Road – Selected Poems and Photos!

If you’re interested in purchasing The Haggard Road [$15.00], please email Shelley for details.

Our club is taking a break for the summer, but will be back with another Blue Moon Reading on September 12. On that date we will also be celebrating International Literacy Day.

Blue Moon Reading (Featured reader to be announced Ibrahim Honjo)
September 12, 2011
6:30 − 8:30 p.m.
Clearbrook Library
32320 George Ferguson Way
Abbotsford B.C.