Lisa Forrest Fast-paced polymath Story and photo by Nancy J. Parisi Lisa Forrest is a gregarious librarian, poet, and musician—sort of in that order. I’ve enjoyed her friendship as well as her summer front porch coffee gatherings. She’s a true polymath who maintains a frenetic schedule of work, running Rooftop Poetry Club, a literary series at Buffalo State College; being mom to son Matt; playing in two bands; and learning something new—always. Born a Midwesterner (Cottonwood, Minnesota, population 900), Forrest, thirty-seven, moved to WNY and became a creative, restless, stay-at-home mom. Then she practiced as an occupational therapist for eight years and studied to become a librarian. Nowadays she is the full-time, award-winning senior assistant librarian at BSC. Before all that she was once a counter-intelligence instructor for the Army to earn money for college. One of her Army-era tales, about the rigors of training with a fever while carrying a heavy pack (and an individual’s compassion for her), aired on WBFO. Her band Shady Grove performed at the Burchfield Penney Art Center’s grand opening cavalcade in November. She never rests. What does eligible mean to you? That I might win a prize! [Lisa likes this answer because it’s both “funny and obscure.”] Can you share a story from your past that not many people know? I was Miss Cottonwood runner-up in the ninth grade. I was really happy. I had three different dresses because we rode on floats in the summer and we did figure-eight waves at all the dairy pageants. Every sixteen-year-old girl tries out for this pageant held in the gym of the high school. It’s very Prairie Home Companion. For the talent portion of the pageant I wanted to play “Stairway to Heaven” on my guitar. It was three days before the pageant and every time I got together with my friend Austin Dacey (he lives in New York City now; he’s a total big shot) to practice we would end up listening to U2 all day in the attic. So it was three days before the pageant and I knew only one chord. The Church Lady was really big on SNL then and I did this ridiculous skit dressed as her: everybody else did real acts. I wore my grandma’s wig, and had my guitar that my dad had sent to me. Everyone else had pastels on, but I wore a handmade dress that my friend Heather made—it was up to my knee, asymmetrical, and black—total 1980s. What’s your advice for meeting someone for dating purposes? I do what I love to do: enjoy nature, and attend live music and literary events around town. Whether it’s Rust Belt Books’ series or Rooftop Poetry, there are always readings around town. For music, Sportsmen’s has the best music in this town. Almost every night of the week there’s live music, and open mics. I go out and do what I would do anyway; that’s how I’ve met all my friends, through literary or musical events. I’m drawn to that type of person, too. My advice is to find new interests: if you want to attract someone interesting, you have to have interests. Do you wear anything special when dating? A smile. I always wear jeans, boots—I’m pretty casual, I guess. I just want to be comfortable. You won’t catch me in heels, unless my pants are too long. Can you describe a perfect date? I so love it when a man cooks, and I can sit at the table having a glass of wine while he cooks me something really delicious. Or we could sit on the porch, listening to music, having good conversation. I like going to the Botanical Gardens, especially in winter; I think it’s one of the most dreamy places in Buffalo, all that green. I like walking through it and think it’s the best gift you can give to someone: a membership there. You can read, have a cup of coffee, write—you can pretend you’re living in an English cottage with an English garden. Nancy J. Parisi is a journalist and photojournalist. SUBSCRIBE NOW Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top