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Lifelines and Deadlines: The late Chana Bloch and End of LIfe Issues

Story by Karin Evans
Photos by Nancy Rubin and Peter Sussman



In September, 2016, Ashby Village member Chana Bloch read her last poems for Ashby Village members, as well as for family and friends, at the Berkeley City Club. Bloch, an internationally known poet, translator, scholar, and teacher, called the afternoon event “Dying for Dummies.” 

The September reading was filmed by Lonny Shavelson, M.D., and ultimately made into a film called “Lifelines and Deadlines.” The premiere screening took place on Sunday, January 27, at Epworth United Methodist Church, coordinated by Ashby Village’s Arts and Culture committee, in coordination with Epworth Church’s Older Adult Ministry. 

Ashby Village Board Member and Arts and Culture Co-Chair Rochelle Lefkowitz led off the program, introducing the two speakers, Ashby Village member and veteran journalist Peter Sussman, and Shavelson, a local physician who helped produce the film. “We are here today to honor Chana Bloch’s life and Ashby Village’s commitment that we need not face the high stakes of aging alone,” Rochelle told the audience. “Having lived for four years with terminal cancer, Chana hoped her poems would be thought-provoking for those coping with aging, illness, and mortality. The Process of writing helped her maintain her sanity. The afternoon reading also reflected Chana’s wish to give back to the community that had stood by her side through her illness, offering rides, encouragement, and support.“ 

Peter Sussman then introduced the film, telling of his friendship with the late poet. “The poems she read illuminated her personal quest to retain self and soul amid brutal assaults on the body,” he said. “Sharing these poems was both brave and generous.” Peter noted that when Chana first asked if Ashby Village would be interested in having such a reading, she said she wanted to do it as soon as possible. “I didn’t have to ask why,” said Peter. The reading, the first in the ongoing Arts and Culture series, was initially conceived as a living room gathering, but as enthusiasm built, was moved to the Berkeley City Club. 

The poems Chana read that day were part of her sixth and last book of poetry, The Moon Is Almost Full, published after her death. Also included in the film are on-camera segments in which Chana talked about her experience with Ashby Village, and her motivation in writing that last book of poems. “Ever since I was diagnosed, what I wanted most was to be spending time in a meaningful way,” she said. “That was my initial impulse behind writing poetry.” Noting that her publisher had offered her the opportunity to publish a new book just as she had been diagnosed with a new sarcoma, she said, “All of a sudden there was a burst of creativity, the last thing I expected. There is nothing like a deadline.” 




Chana’s powerful poems look mortality in the face, with humor as well as grace and courage. In a poem called “Taking the Waters,” she writes. “Everybody has a story, the halt and the lame…The bodies take to the water, a local eau de chlorine where every hurt is healed.” 

“In my earlier books,” Chana said on camera, “I was really writing for myself, to clarify what was going on in my life, to try to make sense, to restore balance if it was lost. In this book I was really conscious of writing for an audience, because what I am experiencing is what everybody is going to experience. So it’s important to me to reach other people with these poems, sometimes with humor. The poems are not all grim. For me humor is a coping mechanism.”


The last poem she read, was titled appropriately “The Will,” ending with these lines: 

…All my loved ones I leave

To this life, which will change them

just as it changes you. And you—if you can use it—

I leave you this poem. 


At the end of the screening, Lonny Shavelson—who works with patients facing end-of-life issues, offering both terminal care and medical aid in dying—read a letter he had written that morning to Chana, reflecting on the discussions the two had had about her desire to “make a good death.” He told of Chana’s initial interest in medically aided dying. But ultimately, he wrote, “You played the notes as they came naturally. No poison involved. You won’t know what that last note is until it’s played,” he went on. “Dying is simply dying. It is not a pre-arranged event.”

He then entertained questions from the audience, many focused on the often confusing details of California’s End of Life Option Act. He clarified that California’s statute is currently in force, and answered a number of questions about the legal requirements and other aspects. [For more information, see this link from the California Department of Health  https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/Pages/End-of-Life-Option-Act-.aspx] Information is also available from Dr. Shavelson’s organization, www.BayAreaEndofLifeOptions.com.

The new film, “Lifelines and Deadlines” was supported by grants from the Connemara Fund, with thanks to Herrick and Elaine Jackson, and donations from other Ashby Village members. It is available on DVD for $15, with proceeds going to Ashby Village. To purchase, click here.










   
Welcoming the audience




Dr. Lonny Shavelson









Many discussions followed the event











DVDs of Chana Bloch's last public reading available for purchase


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