Thursday, August 10, 2023
Dear Les, Nancy and family,
I was so sorry and shocked to hear of Cynthia's illness and death. She was a wonderful friend, a shining present, original, empathetic, always ready to laugh--and to travel. We met in the Santiago airport on the way to Barry Dempster's writing workshop. I was weaving my way through the crowd, and somehow, I stopped to talk to her and said I was on my way to a writing workshop--it was a long way to go to write a poem. She said she was too--what were the chances? The workshop was transformative--but we were all scared to death at the beginning, and Cynthia made the group much better. I'd guess she always made groups much better. Nancy, she was so proud of your growth as a paper artist, and I loved seeing your work grow. Cynthia was a shining, generous presence, and she will remain alive in my heart. Sympathy to her family and many friends. Support to those who are working on collecting her poetry into a book.