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Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian

Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian
Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Many thanks to Lorraine Healy

I wanted to express my gratitude to Lorraine Healy, who traveled several hours from her home in Whidbey Island to read for the Vancouver writing community. I first met Lorraine at the Burning Word Festival in 2007, when we shared the same stage. I bought her chapbook "the archipelago," and loved it. Since then I have wanted to host her here in Vancouver, and on March 12 I had my chance.
The open mic at Cover to Cover Books continues to be a vibrant, joyous event every month. One of the things I love is the new faces we see every time. I see the regulars as our foundation, but is the new readers who keep everything fresh.
Lorraine's superb delivery of her well-written, compelling poetry, made it a very special night. Many of us were deeply moved by her poems and anecdotes. At the end of the evening, she helped me to read Federico Garcia Lorca's "Blind Panorama of New York." She read the Spanish version, and I read the English translation. I am very grateful to Lorraine for helping us to experience Lorca's beautiful words as they were meant to be heard.
The following day, she led us in an eye-opening workshop on Pablo Neruda's odes, encouraging us to find the people, places, and things in our own lives that are worth celebrating.
Lorraine is also a photographer. If you want to see some of her work, take a look at http://www.lorrainehealy.com/.

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