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Jody Aliesan Obituary
Jody ALIESAN Jody Aliesan, poet, writer, and feminist, passed away on January 14, 2012, of ovarian cancer. She died in Vancouver, Canada, where she had received her citizenship last July. Jody lived a life dedicated to "telling the truth, and speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. My community, my culture, is our common humanity. I aspire to speak for that." The most recent of her eleven books, True North/Nord Vrai, was published in 2007 by Blue Begonia Press. Her poems, stories, articles, essays, reviews and songs are found in international periodicals, anthologies and recordings and have earned many awards including a literary fellowship from the NEA. She served for years as contributing editor for The Raven Chronicles. Her papers are collected at the University of Washington library. Born on the Midwestern prairie in 1943, Jody earned her B.A. from Occidental College and her M.A. from Brandeis University. She was teaching in Alabama the year Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered, and afterward she worked as media representative with the Vietnam Moratorium Committee in WashingtonD.C. and Chicago. She moved to Seattle in 1970 where she worked for many years for PCC co-op; she co-founded the PCC Farmland Trust. Jody also taught writing at colleges, universities, schools, and conferences. Deeply involved in the second wave of feminism, she worked against war and for social and environmental justice all her life. A recent project was her blog, http://asweweresaying.blogspot.com. Jody is survived by her brother, John Armstrong, his wife Judy, and their daughter Brecken Armstrong-Kelsey (Matthew Kelsey), and a great niece Gwyneth Kelsey, all of Altadena, California. Her many dear friends will keep in their hearts memories of her wonderful spirit and powerful voice. Remembrances may be made to Greenpeace or the PCC Farmland Trust. "The poet is the wick in the lamp of the community. Not the oil, and not the flame; but the simple piece of cloth that unites the two so that the people can see their own light." (Irish wisdom) Sign Jody's on-line Guest Book at www.Legacy.com.To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Phoebe Bosche
August 27, 2023
I still read the messages on Jody's page, Enid Smith Becker. In the Seattle literary community and beyond: we miss Jody...one of a kind spirit.
Enid Smith Becker
August 26, 2023
I believe my father met Jody while they were both working at the UW. I was a teenager. Words are powerful and now fifty years later every year about this time as I work in my garden I remember a line from one of her poems "nearly deaf from the buzz of things growing". That simple lined stayed with me like a seed in the ground and when I started a vegetable garden it came back to me and I savor it each august when it slips again to the front of my memory. I don´t know if this will be read ten years after her passing but I am sorry for her family´s loss.
Sharon Gayle Conner Whitney
April 2, 2023
My muse.
Jim Riley
August 22, 2014
I was reading Jody's 'Winter Solstice' that ends 'you have nothing to do but live' when i learned of her death. such a breath of fresh air and grace. her words made flesh. she lives on in us.
salishan
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December 21, 2013
I just read of Jodi's death almost 2 years ago. I had the privilege of seeing her on several occasions when I lived near Seattle in the 90s. She was a great soul. With loving memories, Joel Singer
Linda Robinson
June 5, 2013
remembering her creative committed spirit....
Síla ÓGrádaigh
June 3, 2013
I am saddened to learn of Jody's passing. We were neighbors and friends in Seattle. Both of us blessed to live in a small bit of paradise carved out by Paul Guimarin in the old woods of the University District. Jody shared her Life History with me which you can read at the University of Washington Library, Washington Women's History Archive.
April 23, 2013
I just found out about Jodi's death, She was a loved cousin I had lost contact with, now I know why. Condolences from my sister Darline and myself. Collene
April 23, 2013
Remembering Jody on the 70th anniversary of her birth. Grateful for the 68 years of her life, and missing her passionate spirit.
Alicia Hokanson
October 14, 2012
I am so sorry to know she is no longer walking on this earth. I had the good fortune to know her for a while when I lived on the Olympic Peninsula and her book was published by Empty Bowl. She was a great poet and person. Condolences to all who loved her.
Alicia Hokanson
October 7, 2012
A tribute for Jody will be held at Richard Hugo House in Seattle on Sunday, October 14, from 2 to 5 pm, with readings of her work and remembrances by friends and colleagues.
Catering by PCC. Open Mic.
Jeff Zorn
July 9, 2012
I just heard. I taught with Jody at Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama, where she made an indelible impression on me. I learned so much from her; my thinking about and relating to the female on the planet were never the same.
Val Reece
April 22, 2012
When I was a child, Jody babysat my sister and me. She was also a role model for me and the reason I attended Occidental College. Jody, thank you so much for the life I have because of you.
Nancy Downing
April 18, 2012
I read a poem that Jody Aliesan wrote in the LA Times. It was a very difficult time in my life, and I committed her name to memory so I could look for a book of her poems. I have remembered her name for 30 years. Thank you, Jody. I wish I could have expressed my gratitude while you were among us.
Nancy Gagnat
March 23, 2012
Impactful and full of insight, I'll always remember the time we spent together. My admiration grew the more I came to know her and her work. She taught me many things. Our world is certainly a better place having had her in it. Peace and blessings as you journey on a new path.
William Limbach
March 9, 2012
We sat in her greenhouse, where she nurtured her seedlings. Her poems were best when she read them or sang them, aloud with eyes sparkling with laughter or tears. Every moment was worthy.
Linda Galen
March 6, 2012
Jody has been a pivotal person in my life. I first discovered her in the Seattle Times story about her Urban Homestead. I visited her open house, then over the years took poetry classes from her and attended readings. I was always inspired by her uncompromising integrity and faithfulness to the earth.
Linda Galen
March 6, 2012
I knew Jody through a friend and at the Lesbian Resource Center where she used to read poetry at events. I also heard her
read from her books at the U Bookstore.
I love her poem, "By the Way" from her book "Desperate for a Clearing." It is about riding the #43 bus from 45th NE and University Way to Ballard.
She was one of the most committed people
I've met to social justice, the arts, and the environment.
Am so glad she walked on the earth during my life!
-Linda Robinson, Seattle
Carol Cummins
March 2, 2012
I remember Jody as a pioneering urban homesteader and poet in my former neighborhood in Seattle. She inspired me to follow a more sustainable lifestyle, a path I try to follow so many years later. The last time I connected with Jody was at her reading of poems from Loving In A Time Of War here in Port Townsend a little over a decade ago. I'm saddened to know that she is gone from the world. Her poetry and spirit has profoundly inspired me over time and always will.
Bo (laurie) Roth
March 2, 2012
I met Jody as a result of a field trip to Nash's farm on the peninsula, planting a windbreak. I ended up spending the better part of a day with her in the U-district, learning about conservation and working with sustainable agriculture. She was so warm, generous, and entertaining -- and completely patient with my questions. I was sad to hear she was planning to move to Canada soon after, but that compares not at all to how I felt when I read of her passing in the PCC newsletter this week. Such a fine human being. Thank you so much, Jody. Blessings on the journey.
Harlan Weniger
March 1, 2012
I remember Jody as a warm and talented artist. She recorded her album,"You'll Be Hearing More From Me" at my studio.I was the engineer. Her Spirit lives on!
Phoebe Bosche
February 7, 2012
Jody was the best editor I've ever worked with. I will miss her passion, her spirit, and her dedication to justice. I'm so happy she was able to live in Canada and became a citizen. It meant so much to her. We loved her.
Susan Helf
February 3, 2012
I just heard about Jody's death today from an old friend as I was shopping at PCC. Jody was my poetry teacher at the UW in the 1980s. She was inspiring and delightful and the best editor I'd ever worked with. I'm sorry she's gone.
Mary Beutjer
January 27, 2012
Jody was a unique, kind and thoughtful person. I knew her as the founder of the PCC Farmland Trust. Her legacy in saving farmland and preserving it for organic crops will live on indefinitely. Countless bodies will be nourished from those crops as countless minds have been nourished by her writings.
Steve Goldenberg
January 25, 2012
Such a beacon of wisdom, such a passionate believer in the power of words and the collective power of people.
Jody was a remarkably astute observer of the American political and cultural scene who tirelessly gave voice to social justice and environmental causes. She informed and inspired me, and the 100s if not 1000s of others who regularly read her emails in the pre-blog days. She was incredibly dedicated to the cause and she helped keep our hopes and spirits alive through some of the darkest times. What a gift she was, is, and will always be to us all.
Peter Pereira
January 24, 2012
I was saddened to hear this news. Jody was a wonderful poet and a gift to the world. Her poem "In Beauty it is Finished" has long been a touchstone for me: " . . . don't miss these last few moments by being afraid." Her life touched many.
Kenneth Nova
January 23, 2012
A beautiful soul, wonderful poet, guardian of the precious Earth, bursting with wisdom, gone far too soon!
Claudia Mauro
January 22, 2012
Jody was (is) a master of the art of encouragement. My life is so much more than it would have been without her. Keen Eye, keen Heart, Keen Voice—and no separation between the three.
Alicia Hokanson
January 22, 2012
Today, a blustery January day, I am remembering the ways Jody helped me see the world anew. In her poem "Grace" she describes the wonder of a winter high tide and seals yelping:
"so much water so much sky / so much darkness plenty / of everything "
She was a remarkable and unique poet and she lived her life to support her art and her commitment to showing us the wonder of living on this planet. I treasure the friendship we shared and the generosity of her spirit.
Carrie West
January 22, 2012
I remember Jody, so full of life, energy and excitement for all the things she discovered about life. I was honored to know her and work with her in the 70's at PCC. I loved her passion for the environment and every living thing in it. Carrie West
Kathleen Kler
January 22, 2012
Jody lived, with fierce deliberation, between the worlds of spirit, truth, and the harsh beauty of human frailty...and then gave voice to her burning visions of justice and independence. Our lives were deeply touched by her words. Blessings on her continued journey.
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