Roanoke resident and writer Katherine DeLorraine has published a book, “Human Bridges,” that has drawn praise from the likes of writers Nikki Giovanni and Fred Chappell. The writing consultant and sometime teacher – she’s been an educator at local public and private schools, and at several local colleges – mixes poems about the lives of African women with others about life in Roanoke and Virginia.
There’s even a brief five-act play, titled “Power Play,” in the 136-page volume from Plain View Press. DeLorraine will read from the book and sign copies at the Tanglewood Mall Barnes and Noble this Saturday at 2 p.m.
“I’ve studied writing for a long time,” said DeLorraine, a Farmville native who attended Longwood University and later earned a master’s in creative writing from a small Vermont school. She’s also a writing coach who runs her own business, “Moving Write Along,” which can be found at the website of the same name. “It’s to help writers of any kind … who aspire to achieve something.”
DeLorraine is now working with a female firefighter who wants to tell her story. Most people have a tale to tell, but sometimes they need help. “If you can talk, you can write,” says DeLorraine. She encourages all of her students to “get out of the box,” when they sit down to write creatively. “That’s what is near and dear to my heart – to help people tell their stories.”
In the poem “Market Street Blues” she writes about the fellow “on a bench in front of the theater…he plays harmonica, a tin cup wedged between his knees … feet tapping the rapid beat.” One of her poems about African women (Manena), describes the person in the title: “my name means mountain… and everyone says that I am made of rock inside, because I never show how I feel … no one has ever seen me cry.”
“Human Bridges” is a compilation of “many years of work,” according to DeLorraine, adding that all sections of the book are linked by two characters. Some poems are based on her childhood. “We repress memories,” noted DeLorraine, who finds that writing helps free those memories.
DeLorraine believes that technology “has put a damper on education,” and creative writing, but on her website movingwritealong.com she also takes advantage of the Internet to post chapters from a novel in progress. “Technology is allowing the universality of our lives to come together,” she concedes.
“DeLorraine is singing a new song of expectation and hope,” writes Nikki Giovanni, the Virginia Tech distinguished professor in her review. “We all should be pleased.” Katherine DeLorraine will be at the Tanglewood Mall Barnes and Noble, this Saturday Dec. 12 at 2 p.m.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]