BOOKMONGER
Lessons for birds and humans
Novel focuses on serinettes,
built to teach songs to birds
Laura Stanfi ll is simply a pillar of the
Northwest literary community. A transplant
from New Jersey, Stanfi ll has been a Portland
resident for many years. In the far archives of
a blog she started more than a decade ago, she
announces on her very fi rst post, in a humble
yet hopeful way, that the themes she’s going
to be dwelling on will be writing, reading and
community.
Also in that initial post, Stanfi ll mentions a
novel that she has been working on for some
time, one that involves “mechanical music.”
As the author’s blog develops, she shares
interviews with other writers, lists of books
she loves and information about writing, plot-
ting and rewriting.
Two years later, she records her eff ort
in launching a micro-press. Finally, Stanfi ll
announces that her novel, that one with the
mechanical music, is fi nished. It is titled “The
Serinette.”
Over the next year, Stanfi ll retreats from
the blog, but her publishing endeavor, For-
est Avenue Press, continues to grow. With
the tagline, “literary fi ction on a joyride,” the
press has published nearly 20 books to date.
Stanfi ll also launched the Main Street Writ-
ers Movement, encouraging writers to support
regional literary organizations and indepen-
dent bookstores and to cultivate a local liter-
ary ecosystem in every community.
And in case you were wondering about
that novel that Stanfi ll was supposedly fi n-
ished writing, it took another seven years
before being published. The debut novel is a
testament not only to Stanfi ll’s dedication to
learning and practicing craft, but also to her
perseverance.
The book has a beguiling new title, “Sing-
ing Lessons for the Stylish Canary,” but
keeps its theme. It still revolves around seri-
nettes, small barrel organs that were crafted in
France 200 years ago to teach human tunes to
songbirds.
The story has folktale qualities. Beginning
in a small French village where the primary
trades are serinette crafting and lacemaking,
it seems to be a setting where little changes
This week’s book
‘Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary’
by Laura Stanfi ll
Lanternfi sh Press – 352 pp – $18.99
from one generation to the next. Certainly ser-
inette master Monsieur Blanchard expects to
pass his business along to his fi rst born son,
Georges, and in time he will do the same.
But unusual events disrupt this expecta-
tion. For one , when Georges is a baby, the
rain clouds that have perennially cloaked the
village suddenly part. Soon, everyone cred-
its Georges with bringing the sunny change to
the weather.
Many years later, Georges’ son, Henri, is
born, and this lad fi nds it impossible to fi ll the
shoes of his legendary father. But when Henri
discovers a secret stash of letters in his par-
ents’ bedroom, what he initially believes will
doom his future may have an entirely diff er-
ent eff ect.
This tale of generational tension, adoles-
cent growing pains and jealousy occasionally
gets mired in despair. But it is leavened with
historical curiosities and magical realism, not
to mention canaries. Henri pursues a future
where the sun may not shine every day, but
optimism is the prevailing wind.
The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMi-
chael, who writes this weekly column focus-
ing on books, authors and publishers of
the Pacifi c Northwest. Contact her at bar-
baralmcm@gmail.com.
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