Gorge Event

An Experiment in Writing, Reading and Community Is Successful

By Susan Hess, 1-22-06

By the 7 p.m. start, more than 100 people crowded the intimate Hood River bistro, Jean's at 110, for a new event called "13 on the 13th." The evening offered thirteen writers reading their works on…Friday, January 13th. The seven-member Columbia River Writers group invited six other writers to join them in offering this free public event — an experiment in writing, reading and community.

Scott Sadil read a short piece about a fly fisherman whose wife allows him to fish only twenty minutes on an afternoon canoe trip. Mary Schlick read from her memoir, telling about the thirty years she and her husband lived on Colville, Yakama, and Warm Springs Indian reservations. Doug Miller, in poem, told about his Great Pyrenees' love of jazz, especially Dave Brubeck. Three actors staged Althea Hukari's ten-minute play about two eccentric people who meet in a laundromat.

Also reading: Craig Danner, Kristy Athens, Diane Allen, Leigh Hancock, Kerry Ruef and David Melody, plus myself.

The audience, squeezed together, had a hard time reaching the quiches and desserts that owner Jean Vercillo had for sale or to the bathrooms at intermission. It hardly seemed to matter; the crowd's enthusiasm continued until the final reader, Keith Liggett, closed the two-hour event with his piece about a man whose ideal life changed with a call from a dangerous old friend.

The turnout stunned the Columbia River Writers. They met the next night to begin planning the next reading event. Watch this blog for an announcement.

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