About Vanora

Poetry & Paint

In The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis claims that friendship centers around common interests. He writes: “Hence we picture lovers face to face but we see friends side by side; their eyes look ahead.” If Lewis is right, then Vanora could be understood most simply as the fruit of a long friendship. 

Born and raised in the American Midwest, Zachary Moll and Cameron Brooks met sometime during the throes of kindergarten at a small private school in the small town of Seward, Nebraska. Their shared upbringing—which included catechesis, midwestern values (e.g. Husker football), and not a few King Arthur legends—laid the foundation for a future of common interests and projects—that is, a friendship.

After a few years of writing and performing with the band Colossus, and after several hundred Crossfit workouts, they split ways to pursue formal education, Zach in art and graphic design, Cameron in English and theology. A few degrees and half a decade later, they met up for a camping trip in the Black Hills of South Dakota. And that’s where Vanora originated.

What began as a chance to hike Spearfish Canyon turned into a weekend brainstorm for a new creative project, something which would integrate their respective art forms (painting and poetry) while engaging big ideas from a distinctive point of view. And, at bottom, that’s all Vanora is: a channel for two friends to create art and share it with others. For such is the nature of delight—to reference Lewis once more—that its consumption comes about only through sharing.