We wanted to say farewell to a fantastic year of events with something rather special, and on Sunday afternoon we were able to do just that, thanks to two wonderful visitors: Mong-Lan and Abe Louise Young (below, left and right).
Our first reader was Abe Louise, who immediately won us over by referring to our stage as “a little wooden cabin.” I love that image—what better place for creative endeavors than a little wooden cabin? Abe Louise shared a beautiful poem by Lucille Clifton, and then read some of her own extraordinary work, including “Forget Making Your Bed,” a poetic shot in the arm for all of us epic procrastinators. It begins:
Forget making your bed. Make your desk instead.
Let your bed sheets lie rumpled on the floor
with pillows underneath them
like elephants in the bellies of snakes.
If you’re a writer who tidies when you should be typing, you need to listen to this poem!
Next up, we welcomed the multi-talented Mong-Lan, an artist whose areas of interest and expertise require a daunting number of slashes: poet / writer / painter / singer / musician / photographer / dancer / tango teacher! She read from two of her eight books (including the bilingual English/Spanish collection Tango, Tangueando: Poemas y Dibujo), and shared some exquisite poetry, including a love poem to tofu and a tribute to the late, great Marcel Marceau.
And finally, Mong-Lan and her dance partner Stephen Shortnacy treated us to a rousing demonstration of the Argentine tango… check out the footage below, and I guarantee you’ll be swaying a little in your seat! Our heartiest thanks to Mong-Lan and Abe Louise, and to everyone who stopped by to help make our final ’14 event such a fun and festive occasion. Here’s to many more to come in 2015…
