Celebrating the Life of Andrew Suknaski

On the afternoon of June 3, 2012, friends, family and acquaintances gathered at the Public Library Theatre in Moose Jaw, Sask. to celebrate the life of Andrew Suknaski.  Robert Currie was the Master of Ceremonies and led off by welcoming all who were able to attend and highlighted Andrew’s subtle sense of humour and zest for life. He, as several others during the afternoon, reinforced his perspective of Andrew by reading an excerpt of one of his poems.

More so than anyone else, Sid Marty commented on Andrew’s great gift of being able to read people’s inner thoughts, emotions and dreams.  Sid also reflected on Andrew’s career as a visual artist and especially that of a poet for which he had been internationally recognized and acknowledged.  However, smiles and chuckles were evident for Sid’s commentary on Andrew’s passion for fishing, mountain climbing and excursions into the medium of singing.   Sid also closed of by reading a passage for one of Andrew’s poems.

During the afternoon there was an amazing array of comments on Andrew’s life, passions, wisdom, and of course his poetry from an equally amazing array of people. Cathy Fenwick referred to Andrew as the trail blazer for Saskatchewan poets, John Neilson mentioned that he has used some of Andrew’s poetry during his political career, while Byrna Barclay reflected on assisting Andrew in many small ways.  Harvey Spak related his experiences with Andrew as they worked on the award winning National Film Board film ‘Wood Mountain Poems’.  The last speaker of the afternoon was Glen Sorestad, Saskatchewan’s first Poet Laureate who also had nothing but praise for Andrew.

In total there were 13 who paid tribute to Andrew including Jars Balan, who travelled from Edmonton just to be able to share some of his experiences with all who gathered, and to emphasis the enormous impact of Andrew’s life and work.  As an aside, Jars has written an extensive paper on Andrew Suknaski. Others who spoke, during the course of the celebration, included Marlene Borthwick, Paul Wilson, John Papiak, Collin Morton and Thelma Poirier.  Andrew’s sister, Sophia Demjanew and her daughter Marilyn Jessop both from Winnipeg were able to attend.

Refreshments were served following the formal portion of the program. In closing the afternoon’s celebration, the attendees were invited to enjoy the film ‘Wood Mountain Poems’. 

Over 50 people attended, shared and reminisced on the passing of a cherished and extremely talented friend.  Andrew Sukanski’s father was Ukrainian and his mother was Polish. He was born on a homestead in the Wood Mountain area of south central Saskatchewan.  Andrew is a renowned poet who received awards for his work and is the subject of study at a number of institutions. More about Andrew can be found on the Internet.

Dr. Tony Harras

PHOTO

Andrew Suknaski