Devon Rae’s Writing Space
My favourite place to write is Pallet Coffee on Kingsway in East Vancouver. Though perhaps it’s a mistake to tell you because now the secret is out!
Pallet has delicious tea and treats. The staff are so warm and welcoming. They know me by name and my order by heart (Irish breakfast tea and a cheddar chive scone). The booths are very comfortable, and the café (generally) plays smooth jazz music, which I enjoy for writing. When the music is too loud, the staff have even graciously turned down the volume at my request. Pallet has large windows and gets good light.
This café is a gathering place for creative people. I have written next to a prolific Norwegian fantasy novelist who was working on her first book in English. I have written next to two friends in their twenties creating a webcomic and videogame. They struck up conversation with me by saying that I had a great aesthetic, which made me blush. The Vancouver Genre Writers Group meets here regularly. Vancouver isn’t known to be a friendly city, but people at this café are extremely friendly. Once, a man drinking a coffee and holding a newborn asked what I was working on. When I told him I was writing poems, he pulled out a notebook from his backpack and asked what I thought of his poetry. “Lots of sleepless nights with a baby,” he explained. “The middle of night is a good time for writing!”
Pallet is a short walk from my home. I take Lanark Street, which has beautiful gardens and lots of birds. One house has a huge blueberry patch, and earlier this summer, the residents put out a box in their garden filled with bags of blueberries and a sign that read “please take me home!” In September, they filled the box with pears from their tree. For many years, I have gone to Pallet every Sunday morning to read and write for a few hours. When I’m done, I stop at the Kensington Branch of the Vancouver Public Library, which is right next door. I return home with new books to read and new poems in my notebook.
Photo courtesy of Kris Atomic.