Beautiful Words...

Yesterday we drove into Pittsburgh to attend a poetry reading by my friend Sarah Williams-Devereux (and Romella Kitchens) at the Carnegie Library. I met Sarah years ago at a summer residency program. I was working while participating in the residency and went in after most of the other artists had already left for the day. I often found myself in the studios alone late at night. When I got frustrated or tired and needed a break, I would wander the halls. One night, bleary-eyed and exhausted, I came across a line of text running along the base of the sink in the restroom. The words were so tender, heart-felt and impossibly beautiful that I broke down in tears. The next night, I went back to savor the words again, but they were gone. At the time, no one knew who had left the poetry that was infiltrating our lives in the most subtle and unexpected ways. You might find a string of spidery handwriting on a pane of glass in an empty studio, or a stamped letter message running along the floorboards. As quick and as mysterious as they would appear, they would just as easily disappear. Her words held us all enthralled... and they still do. I wouldn't drive two hours and battle traffic (each way) for just anyone. Sarah is a master wordsmith, who I admire deeply. We were fortunate enough to hear her latest works, a kaleidoscope of images, memories and emotions.