Vancouver extends deadline for Kogawa House

The city of Vancouver has extended the stay of execution for Joy Kogawa's childhood home.

The modest wood-frame house that features in her novel Obasan was scheduled for demolition March 30.

The owner of the property wants to take it down to make way for condominiums.

A group led by the Land Conservancy of B.C. has been trying to raise money to buy the house, so it can be turned into a writers retreat.

The house will cost about $1 million to buy and restore, but the group has raised just $200,000 so far.

Land Conservancy executive director Bill Turner remains optimistic. "The fundraising has been very successful for the short timeframe we've had, but time was running out," he said in a statement.

The group has convinced Vancouver City Council to extend the deadline to April 30.

Book lovers, writers groups and people with an interest in preserving history are donating to the cause. Fundraisers have also approached all three levels of government for support.

Kogawa herself has backed the campaign. She lived in the house in the 1930s, but her Japanese family was turned out and interned in camps during the Second World War, a story she told in Obasan and children's book Naomi's Road.

"We must preserve these places so that our children and grandchildren can learn what happened," Turner said. "In a society that doesn't remember and recognize its mistakes, they can continue to happen."

The plan is to restore the home as a tribute to Canada's cultural heritage and use it for a writers-in-residence program, especially for authors interested in human rights issues.

Book clubs and schools have recently begun to donate. The faculty association at York University contributed $1,000 to the campaign, and book readings and silent auctions have been held in Vancouver and Toronto.