Reading through Collections

It's been another dreary week, with lots of clouds and rain. But it was a perfect day to sit on the couch with James (one of the most experienced volunteers at Write Around), and read through all of the publications in search of some of our favorite poems. They want to make sure old publications don't simply sit on the shelf, so volunteers have been reading through the entries to find some of our favorites so that they can make it back into the light of day.

Some poems may be published from older editions in the new editions so that people who get the new editions get a sense of what's been published in the past, and how it is all very diverse!

Some of the stories people wrote were hilarious, others were extremely difficult to swallow, many expressed what its like to move on or deal with a very difficult situation. But it is great to see a collection with so many voices of so many common people that we just wouldn't hear from otherwise. Some with an incredible sense of how to capture a physical world, others focusing entirely on an emotional state. I found these stories really touching, and I look forward to meeting more participants who have been in the workshops and had their work published. (James is one of them, I picked his piece as one of my favorites before I realized it was his! Which seems to be appropriate considering the title of his poem which is "Can't tell by looking") He described his past, beginning with the phrase "you can't tell by looking that I", and he goes on to describe some incredibly challenging events he's lived through. Just hearing anyone willing to record those experiences makes me a little shocked, considering how many stories lie behind the people we pass by on the street without knowing much of anything about their past.