The Flamenco Academy
To Greg Case, editor of The Journal of Flamenco Artistry, August 23, 1945—July 11, 1998.
And to all true flamencos, past and present.
First published by Random House, 2006
Copyright © Sarah Bird, 2006
EBook published by Sarah Bird at Smashwords, 2012
Copyright © Sarah Bird, 2012
Cover design by Gabriel Bird-Jones
EBook design by A Thirsty Mind
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.
The Flamenco Academy is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
In the green morning
I wanted to be a heart.
A heart.
And in the ripe evening
I wanted to be a nightingale.
A nightingale.
(Soul,
turn orange-colored.
Soul,
turn the color of love.)
In the vivid morning
I wanted to be myself.
A heart.
And at evening’s end
I wanted to be my voice.
A nightingale.
Soul,
turn orange-colored!
Soul,
turn the color of love!
—Federico García Lorca (1898-1936)