Reneé Monamy and a message in bottle

If anything symbolises my interest of this project, it is finding Reneé Monamy's limited edition book Guernesey, mon île... Guernsey my island... which was a bilingual collection of some very nice poems indeed. I found them in the Guille-Allès Library in St Peter Port. The book was dedicated to the people of Guernsey. It was published in the 80s, but in the back there was an invitation to contact her.

Intrigued, I decided to send a postcard to this address, even though the chances of her still living there were remote. In my personal blog under anothersun I mentioned that I had sent her a card. Some time later, I received an email from Reneé, who had not got my card but instead had stumbled across her own name in my blog. Since then Reneé has also sent me two copies of her book, which was translated by Kenneth V. Bailey, and is very keen on being included.

I love this idea of reaching out to people who have contributed to the writing about Guernsey over the years. Many of us who had done so have felt until recently that we were dropping stones into a well, and never hearing a plink.