Heart of the City - Wednesday Nov. 4th

Richard Tylman (born January 30, 1952) is a Polish-Canadian poet and painter. Born in Kraków, Poland, as Ryszard Tylman, he has lived in Vancouver, Canada, since 1982. Tylman received his Master's degree in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków.

Tylman was the first of two children of Edward Tylman, professor of engineering from the Kraków University of Technology, and Danuta Krupa, college teacher of nursing. Tylman co-founded a student literary newspaper called “Skarpa”, in which he debuted his free verse poetry with an introduction by the Rector of Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts (PWST), and soon after won the Grand Owl Poetry Award sponsored by the Jagiellonian University of Kraków. He received a Masters degree in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts (ASP), and was chosen to represent Kraków at the national juried exhibition of paintings by the most prominent young professional artists.^[1][2][3] Following his graduation he worked as an arts instructor and theatre stage designer.

Tylman left Poland in 1981 and settled in Vancouver, where he pursued a career in graphic arts. He became a Canadian citizen in 1985.

While in Canada, Tylman continued writing poetry, articles, and essays in Polish throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, publishing a volume of poetry called Koty marcowe (The Felines of March) in Warsaw in 2002. He began writing poetry in English nearly a decade after becoming a Canadian citizen, and has self-published several limited editions of verse in English and Polish, including Imaginary Lovers, Living Inside the Moving Landscape, Privilege / Przywilej, Wax Poetics, and Selections From an Old Shoebox.

Vancouver Moving Theatre, Carnegie Community Centre & Association of United Ukrainian Canadians present;

The 6th Annual DTES Heart of the City Festival

Wednesday October 28 – Sunday November 8, 2009

More than 80 events at over 25 locations throughout the DTES

6^th Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival celebrates the creative and committed communities, artists and activists who thrive in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

The theme of the 2009 festival is Illuminating the Four Corners - the intersection of Main and Hastings Street, at the very heart of the Downtown Eastside - and this year the festival will feature twelve days of musical showcases, play readings, spoken word, writers writing, films, poetry, processions, community dances, workshops, discussions, gallery exhibits, mixed media viewings, art talks, history talks, and history walks at the four corners and throughout the surrounding neighbourhoods (Gastown, North Hastings, Strathcona and Chinatown). The 2009 Festival also offers a special spotlight on Downtown Eastside, First Nation and Asian Canadian artists, producers, curators and residents and their perspective on ‘standing proud’ at the Four Corners.

Highlights include The Sandy Scofield Band; a Comedy Evening at Carnegie; an afternoon to honour DTES poet Bud Osborn; the DTES Music Theatre Showcase; the highly acclaimed Khac Chi Bamboo Music at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden; and Illuminating the Four Corners, an outdoor multi-level event at Main and Hastings featuring visual projections on buildings and through windows that focus on the faces and the voices of the Downtown Eastside.

Festival programming on Co-op Radio CFRO 102.7fm includes: a broadcast of the radio play Jack Benny Live at the Pantages on Arts Rational Thurs Oct 29, 9pm; Rudolf Penner and Robyn Livingstone on World Poetry Café Tues Nov 3, 9pm; and a special poetic guest on Wax Poetic Wed Nov 4, 2pm.

Most festival events are free or pay as you can. Visit www.heartofthecityfestival.com for full details.