A Burnaby music teacher is featured in an upcoming evening of poetry and music.
Random Convergences - an evening of poetry and music is set for Monday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. as part of the 27th annual Jewish Book Festival.
It features poet Andrej Karsai and artist Janet Lee, reading a selection of poems from their collection Random Convergences, described as "a journey through their pasts in poetry and collage."
Karsai, born in Slovakia to Jewish parents, grew up in Czechoslovakia after he and his sister were rescued by a Christian family in 1944. He immigrated to Canada in 1968, and Random Convergences is his first book of poetry based on his life stories.
Lee, an artist who specializes in both digital and traditional collage, was born and raised in Vancouver. Her parents emigrated from Shanghai in 1948.
For the evening, the two will be joined by cellist Lei Hui Hua and guitarist David Yeung.
Hui Hua was born in Japan and grew up in Beijing, studying music from an early age. She was the director of the Beijing Philharmonic Orchestra before immigrating to Canada in 1990, and she's now a music teacher in Burnaby.
Yeung was born in China and immigrated to Vancouver in 1973. He has been a full-time music teacher since 2000.
Random Convergences is just one in packed week of events at the Jewish Book Festival, which runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1.
Featuring writers from across Canada, the U.S. and Israel, it includes meet-the-author events, literary readings and discussions, a cocktail evening, workshops on writing and self-publishing, film screenings and more.
For a full schedule of events, see www.jewishbookfestival.ca. All events take place at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, 950 West 41st Ave.
