Katell

a storyteller
and poetess was in town
we had a good talk

As I was seated in the Lion d'Or, having my café crème, visiting blip and working on some photos, this highly stylish lady came into the café and took a seat at the table next to me.

She proceeded to read a newspaper, then to write in a notebook she took out of her purse. I let her be for a while, but then couldn't resist, told her I found her looks striking and asked if I could maybe take her portrait.

She was delighted: she said she didn't have many photos of herself, that she could use them as she was a poetess, a storyteller, who gave shows for adults and children too. Her name is Katell. First I took a few photos from where I was seated, but quickly realised, once I'd looked at them on my computer, that I'd get nothing good with them as they were backlit. So I leaned towards her again and asked if maybe I could take a few more from another angle, where I'd have better light. She agreed and I positioned myself so I had the window's light to my right. We took a few photos over the next few minutes. I'm going to print them for her as she doesn't have an email address I can send them to.

I stayed a while more and, as I was leaving, Michel, whom I photographed with his puppy Norbert a few days ago, grabbed my arm (gently!) and took me aside, where Katell couldn't see us. He told me: "Do you know who you just photographed? That's Glenmor's wife!"

I'd be astonished if this meant anything to any of you, but to me, it did: Glenmor was a poet, protest singer and bard whose aim was to revive Breton culture in the '60s and '70s. He was friends with another well-known Breton poet, Xavier Grall.

Katell used to be a schoolteacher in Belgium, where she met Glenmor. She used to recite poems at intervals during Glenmor's concerts. She was (and still is) very active. She's an indomitable woman! And very kind.

Not knowing who she was, and seeing as she was interested in my photos, I said that maybe we'd be able to work together in the future. In hindsight, it might have been a bit presumptuous of me. :-)) But who knows?

For those of you who read French, here's a portrait of her published in the Télégramme back in 2004.

Extra: poetess at work