WRITTEN IN THE FOREST

Fort Langley’s McLellan Forest East, 25 acres of mature
coniferous and deciduous old trees in Glen Valley, was put
up for sale last summer. Because of recent public concern
and media attention, the Township of Langley has now
taken 60% of it off the market.

Langley artist Susan Falk and her poet pals want McLellan
Forest East and West (a nearby parcel taken off the market
earlier) to both be permanently protected, and are working
toward that goal.

In preparing for her upcoming art show, Written in the
Forest, Susan Falk chose evocative phrases from the work
of twelve of the over 200 poets who contributed to the Han
Shan Poetry Initiative to raise awareness about the forest.

In December of 2012, poems inspired by Han Shan, an
ancient Chinese poet who suspended his poems from trees,
were hung in the trees for several months.

These poems have inspired Falk to work for the
preservation of the “stunningly beautiful” (Falk) mature
ecosystem. “Phrases from each poem suggest the poem’s
entirety and express how I feel when I visit and paint
impressions of McLellan East and West,” says Falk.

These established lower mainland poets embody a poetic
voice of the forest as an art action. They will perform
readings at the Saturday May 11 (12-3 pm) opening of
Falk’s show. Each painting will be accompanied by the
original poem.

The poets are E.D. Blodgett (Governor General’s
Award), Daniela Elza, Pam Galloway, Heidi Greco, Roni
Haggarty, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Christopher Levenson, Susan
McCaslin, Ray McGinnis, Elsie K. Neufeld, Catherine
Owen, Jamie Reid, and Celeste Snowber.

Proceeds from the sales of the paintings will benefit
W.O.L.F. (Watchers of Langley Forests) through a silent
auction, beginning at $350.00 per painting and rising in
increments of 50.00. The auction will run for the duration
of the show, May 8th - 26th, 2013 (12 oil paintings 36" x
18"). Bids will be accepted through the Fort Gallery.