A Cochrane woman is bringing her sister’s poetry to life with a heartfelt cross-country reading — one that bridges family, distance, and decades of creative connection.
When her sister Gay published Come Sit with Me in Cabin Three, a collection of poems rooted in Quebec farm life and personal memory, she asked if her sibling, former Cochrane mayor Judy Stewart, would host a reading to help share the recently released book.
“I thought, ‘Wow, this sounds like fun,’” said Stewart, who turned to the Cochrane Public Library when other venues weren’t an option. “Carmen (Erison) at the library said, ‘If you can get more than five people, we’ll give it a go.’ And so we did.”
The event, dubbed Poetic Echoes, is being held at the Cochrane Public Library on Thursday, July 31, from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m., and will also be available online through Microsoft Teams. There’s been a strong response to the reading, with about 10 in-person spots remaining. It’s free to attend, and those interested can register through the library.
The reading features poems from Gay’s book, as well as original responses written by Judy — a literary back-and-forth that began during their early manuscript exchanges.
“When she’d send me drafts, I’d send her back my own poem — either as a response or a reflection,” said Stewart. “It became this echo across the country.”
While Gay, a retired English teacher, will join virtually from Quebec, Stewart will host the in-person event at the local library, complete with a Teams link for relatives and fellow writers tuning in from both ends of the country.
The sisters grew up on a rural Quebec farm in West Bolton, part of a sprawling family of 11 children.
“Gay’s always been a bit more esoteric,” her sister joked, “while the rest of us were more down-to-earth.”
The event will be more than a reading — it’s also a kind of family reunion, with relatives connecting from across Canada. Twenty people are already registered to attend in person, with more expected to join online.
“There’s still room for 10 more,” Stewart said. “Of course, anyone can join on Teams.”
Author Gay Grannary describes Come Sit with Me in Cabin Three as “a selection of short works from my many years of stewing and brewing words into poignant vignettes and clicking SAVE. As in life, to discover an order that flowed from one thought or idea to another, I dug for the meaning, the emotion of my moments, ordered and reordered titles on my enamel tabletop until I had a book.”
The collection is presented in three sections: After Birth, Flowers, Water and Sky, and Me.
Come Sit with Me in Cabin Three is available on Amazon. The sisters’ story — and their words — are resonating far beyond the page.