Some Fine Reading and Playing at Liminal

Greg Trafidlo sang about an Irish Starbuck's.

Sarah Bourlakas reading poem.

Maddie Smith

Genre Night at the monthly (or so) Writers at Liminal tonight brought out an interesting mix and a couple of truly special pieces. This is Cara Modisett's baby and she stole the show tonight with a short piece of prose that I mistook for poetry in its lyricism. It was a brief look at her and her best friend growing and and becoming what they are today and it captured my heart. Lovely piece.

This was the first Liminal where music was a featured writing type and

That's me reading about a scooter manual.

there were three musicians singing their original work. Mike Pearrell, John McBroom (of Community High, where these are held) and Greg Trafidlo played and sang and Greg (who will perform at the Roanoke Regional Writers Conference Jan. 24-25 at Hollins) brought the house down with a tune about an Irish Starbuck's.

Chad Runyon's "speech."

The best find of the night was young Sarah Bourlakas, a junior at CHS who recently moved here from Lexington, Ky. Her mother, Martha, read a marvelous piece of her own. We invited Sarah to read her poem on opening night at the Writers Conference. She seemed pleased. We are.

Here's some of what it looked like. You might note that some of these photos were taken by my new marketing manager Maddie Smith, who at 8 is probably a bit young to be working, so I don't pay her. That helps me avoid child labor laws.

Cara Modisett reads her short prose piece that I thought was the night's best.