||| FROM TOM RAWSON |||


On Thursday, April 21 I’m taking my banjo to the Orcas Public Library where I’ll be singing a few songs.

But don’t let THAT stop you from coming!! The main event is Iris Graville’s book launch. Iris is a fabulous author from Lopez. Her new book, “Writer in a Life Vest” is a collection of essays she wrote when she was the first Washington State Ferries Writer in Residence. In 2019 Iris rode the San Juan Islands interisland ferry once a week observing life on the beautiful Salish Sea and chronicling her journeys. Iris’s essays cover a wide range of topics from the monthly Floating Ukulele Jam songfest aboard the ferry to the naming of the Salish Sea to the condition of the fragile marine ecosystem. Her humorous anecdotes juxtaposed with the plight of the iconic resident orca whales serves as a call to action for all of us to save our precious environment.

Iris will read excerpts from her book and talk about her experience as WSF Writer in Residence. As part of the program, Iris is going to let me sing a song she wrote to the tune of an old favorite made popular by the Kingston Trio over half a century ago. If you want to sing along, the lyrics are on page 47. The book can be found at Darvill’s, and of course, will be available at the event on Thursday.

If you can’t make it to Orcas on Thursday, you can Zoom in! Zoom registration info is HERE.

Hope to see you at the library on Thursday!


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