WRITING CULTURE 2012: Film, Food & Beyond

Listening to Katherine Vaz tonight was like being transported to a different realm.

The power she has with words and with creating scenes makes it very easy to feel as though you are a part of them. I enjoyed her reading from her new book that is soon to be published, “Below the Salt”.  A few quotes that really stuck out to me included “for every 5o notes about fright, there are 30 about joy”, “so much of love is not worrying about what happens next”, and “happiness is simply the purity of not wanting anything else.” I think these are amazing and a testament to the range of emotions she conveys through her writing, it describes her ability to showcase love in the midst of tragedy.

I absolutely loved the connection she drew between spider webs and a deceased person’s presence. I come from a South American tradition that has a strong religious foundation from which stems a belief in the supernatural. My grandmother always tells us stories about how those that pass are able to see us from heaven and give us little signs that they are watching us. It’s what kept us moving during hard times, the spider web connection puts it all in context.

I read Katherine Vaz’s Our Lady of the Artichokes  and found it a more in depth description of religion than I would’ve expected. My favorite short story was the first one, “Fatherless”, which goes into having a sick father and the ties to religion and belief in miracles that are so intertwined with this family. I appreciated that Katherine answered a question tonight on how her own experiences with religion played a part in the short stories she wrote.

I love to write and even though I favor web and feature writing, there’s something about being able to compose a magnificent story that grounds you in facts, but still takes you away from reality.