The Hermit Poet

Well, despite an embarrassingly tardy arrival at last night’s reading (I arrived an hour late due to traffic and my own misreading of the emailed time), the North Vancouver Teacher Librarian Association generously allowed to me read at the close of the event.

The reading was held in the gallery portion of the Leo Marshall Curriculum Hall — room filled with artwork and a sense of space. The room’s acoustics were perhaps the best I’ve experienced for a while and I felt more comfortable reading there then almost anywhere I’ve read before. Regrettably I missed the poems read before my arrival by Bonnie Nish, Fran Bourassa, and Daniela Elza. I heard that they were each outstanding and look forward to an opportunity to hear more from them.

After the reading, I went out with Bonnie, Fran, and Daniela to a local pub for wings and conversation while we waited for traffic to die down. I’d forgotten how nice it is to sit down with other people and talk seriously about poetry. Living out in Port Coquitlam, I feel quite isolated from any sort of literary scene. I miss as well the comraderie and intellectual stimulation that comes when you’re in a writing program of any sort. To a certain extent, I think we were all feeling somewhat starved for this type of conversation and ended up talking for another 2.5 hours.

I’m looking forward already to the next reading.