~from intern Haley Huffman
The Writer’s Harvest isn’t just a bounty of award winning literature, but it is also a food drive for the Larimer County Food Bank. It is an opportunity to provide food for those less fortunate. A community gathered to share a passion for the humanities in an art gallery that was stark in appearance, but felt very warm and inviting.
Well-lit white walls with small works of strategically framed artwork enclosed the audience. I felt a little out of place because everyone there seemed so cultured and this was certainly not my average weeknight activity, and this was my first reading. I stood in the back wondering to myself what etiquette accompanied a literary reading and how I was supposed to behave.
The atmosphere warmed up drastically after the reading began. As everyone settled in, their attention shifted to the readers. My own focus shifted too and my worries about fitting in drifted away.
Harrison Candelaria Fletcher gave a vibrant reading that transported the audience to the deserts of New Mexico with beautiful descriptions of the landscape and of his family bonds. Fletcher read several passages that reflected on his bond with his mother and their collective bond to the land. Fletcher’s words and descriptions completely blew me away and I could picture myself standing in the middle of the desert, with the red sand blowing around me. Fletcher read about the warm nourishing wind that blows through New Mexico and Professor Dungy likened that wind to the literary community that gathered that evening.
The theme of nourishment continued as Tess Taylor read from her latest book of poetry Works and Days. Works and Days is about her experience working on a farm in New England. Farming is an experience that I don’t necessarily identify with as I’ve never worked on a farm, but Taylor’s descriptions made perfect sense. Her poetry was moving and elegantly combined farm life with the changing of seasons and the inherently human thoughts that both evoke.
The evening was dedicated to feeding Larimer County with non-perishable food donations, and it also fed the souls of the audience with literature. After experiencing my first reading, I realized that no one is paying attention to what other people are doing. The experiences that are portrayed through the readings captivate everyone’s attention and transport them all to different places, together.
The Larimer County Food Bank is always accepting monetary donations and non-perishable food. For every $1 donated, they provide $5 of food. For more information visit: www.foodbanklarimer.org.