Sheila Baxter at the Library Tonight

The one time I saw someone reading their poetry about the DTES and they weren't from there, it was really lame. Writing about that stuff is totally cool, but writing it as if you were from there doesn't always carry the ring of sincerity. That ain't the case when Sheila Baxter gets her pen on the paper. She's been in the DTES for decades, deeply involved as a counselor, welfare advocate and author.

Tonight at the library, the Vancity Women's Book Prize winner will be reading from her latest play, Death in a Dumpster: A Passion Play for the Homeless. Having read her book Under the Viaduct: Homeless in Beautiful BC, I can attest that she tells stories with sensitivity yet without pulling punches: a rare talent. Her reading and talk tonight should be good to further illuminate unfortunate issues around our city's growing homeless population,.

Sheila Baxter: Death in a Dumpster.
Monday May 7, 7:30 pm.
Vancouver Public Library, Peter Kaye Room, 350 West Georgia Street.