The Bookworm of Edwards hosts French night on Monday
Special to the Daily
EDWARDS — A local bookstore is a place that lends itself to an atmosphere of creativity, culture and community. The Bookworm of Edwards intends to bring all three of these things together for its first-ever French Night special. The evening will play host to two local residents, Jodie Hollander and Rosalie Isom.
Hollander is a poet who has found great success locally and internationally, most recently completing a month-long stint with La Napoule foundation in France. Hollander grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has found herself living all over the states and abroad. She and her husband moved to the Vail Valley last April, where she currently works as a English and writing specialist with the Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy. Her published project, “The Humane Society,” has been a successful work of poetry at The Bookworm of Edwards.
Isom is a local French enthusiast and teacher. She has her own private teaching practice called Word for Word. French was always destined to be a part of her life.
“My heritage is Sicilian,” Isom said. “But no Italian was offered at my school, so I studied Latin and French. I wanted to be an interpreter. French will always be part of the equation now. I love to figure out what each student wants and provide that level of instruction.”
She currently teaches private lessons and hosts group lessons around the valley.
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The evening will begin with Hollander sharing about her time in Mandelieu de La Napoule, near Nice, France. The La Napoule foundation was set up by Marie and Henry Clews whose love of the arts inspired them to create an atmosphere for creativity to be cultivated.
“Each year, the foundation accepts applications from an international pool of artists and invites eight to be guests of the chateau for a month-long residency,” Hollander said. “Meals and private accommodations are provided, giving each artist an extended period of uninterrupted time to focus on their project. I worked on my first full-length poetry collection, ‘Horse Bones,’ which I completed during my residency.”
Hollander will not only be sharing her work with the audience that evening, but she will give her listeners a look into where inspiration is found. In her time with the fellowship, she and the other artists found their solace and muse easily.
“The sea became my main source of inspiration during my residency,” Hollander said. “I did most of my work in my bedroom with the sea in view.”
In addition to hearing from Hollander’s travels and the sharing of her art, the night will also take people one step further into the French culture by exploring the language. Isom will be hosting a French lesson that reflects back on Hollander’s fondest memories of France. Isom will explore the area of France the foundation is located, teach vocabulary specific to the region and unique to the everyday life that Hollander experienced. There will be a mixture of music and exercises throughout the lesson. Isom said that she is most excited about “the pleasure of English and French combining to create this atmosphere.”
There will be French appetizers, French music and, of course, French wine. It will be a night to inspire creativity, explore culture and unify the community. As Isom so beautifully states, “Poetry comes in all shapes, art in all forms — language is ever present.”
Sarah Taylor is an avid reader, local musician and manager at The Bookworm of Edwards.
