Lorraine Ferra

1/4/2025

It’s never good news when my mom calls back to back without leaving a message, but today came the news that I knew would someday arrive that Lorraine Ferra has passed away. Lorraine came into my life when I was a kid — I grew up in a place where being an artist was a job, and being a writer was a normal way to make a living, so that my school district had a poet-in-residence just made sense to me. She instilled in me the knowledge that I am a writer, and that my stories are worth telling. I am grief-stricken to hear of her passing — mostly (as you’ll read in my journal entry below) because despite her near-daily presence in my own life as the opposing voice to my own inner critic, I’m not sure I ever succeeded in properly letting her know the impact she had on who and where I am today.

I wish that at any point in my life I’d prioritized tracking her down, sitting her down, and asking her to tell me her stories (and saying a proper thank you to her).

Today I’m sending my condolences to Lorraine’s spouse, Deborah, and I am just so incredibly grateful for Lorraine’s presence in my life — which will continue for the rest of it.