An encouraging response to the fundraising drive to save the Ameliasburgh home of Canadian poet Al Purdy.
Jean Baird of Vancouver established the trust in July because Purdy’s widow, Eurithe, had put the house up for sale since she no longer lives there.
Baird won’t say exactly how much has been pledged, other than it’s in the tens-of-thousands of dollars, but there’s been a great reaction from many Canadian poets and the academic community. She says she’d like to raise one-million dollars to restore the home, on Roblin Lake as a writers’ retreat, and to pay other expenses..
Eurithe Purdy is concerned it will be torn down and replaced by a larger, more expensive house if she sells it, and she has already rejected several offers.