On Feb 12, 2009, Flight 3407 crashed ten miles from the Buffalo International Airport.My friend Cantor Susan Wehle of blessed memory was one of the 50 people on board who perished, along with one man whose home in Clarence, NY was hit by the airplane.

Susan and I had worked together as musicians, producing the CD, “Songs of Healing and Hope”. Susan had also helped me with my unruly poetic outbursts making some of them publishable, and it was suggested we mark the ten years of her passing with a poetry event in her honor at our synagogue, Congregation Shir Shalom.

For all of our grief and loss expressed that night, I experienced a powerful coming together of community. Not just our Jewish community full of people who mourned our beloved Cantor. Not only our Buffalo community who would soon have to absorb such tragic losses in our African-American community. I also connected with the way I grew up, far from Buffalo, in working class apartment buildings at the edge of my hometown Lund, Sweden. It was a place where we kids gathered, walked to school together and sometimes, fought and argued. At “The Corner” as we called it, anyone, even a small timid girl like me, had a voice.

The idea of The Buffalo Corner Reading Series sprung from these communities, rooted in our backyards, our backgrounds and our hopes for our future. The Buffalo Corner Reading Series continues to provide a democratic corner where all voices may join and be heard. It’s a safe place where writers hear each other, learn from each other and enjoy good writing within and beyond our communities. Five years later we stand here still, sharing and expressing our observations, ideas and reflections. Here’s to keeping our voices strong. I’m glad to wish you all welcome to The Buffalo Corner!