Supporting writers and writing programs: a revolutionary act

I cannot describe how much gratitude I have for the Centrum organization since I began attending the Port Townsend Writers Conference in 2005.

But I can do this: I can rave about the opportunities this place and its people have afforded me, and I can encourage peers who can’t make it due to budgetary restraints to apply for scholarships.

This year, through efforts by long-time attendees (especially Dawn Pichón Barron for Native Pathways/TESC), the trust that holds scholarship money for Centrum’s writing students shelled out $12,000 to host 12 students who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to make it.

At least two of those people are in my classroom this year (led by the amazing Jenn Givhan). I’m so blessed to have them in my class and need to make it clear: without their ability to attend based on scholarships, I would have never met them or learned from them.

This is what Centrum as an arts community has always been about. From the Centrum.org Writers Fund webpage:

“Since 1974, when award-winning novelist and poet Bill Ransom started the Port Townsend Writers Conference, the program has become a haven for storytellers from across the Americas.

“The Conference regularly attracts some of the most influential writers of our time, including Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners, PEN Literary Awardees, and New York Times Bestsellers. We are proud to provide a space for writers from diverse backgrounds at any stage in their writing life.

“To ensure the conference represents the true complexity of voices and stories out there today, we award up to $35,000 in scholarships and fellowships annually.

“For some, attending the Port Townsend Writers Conference is a financial stretch, and we are proud that our writing community values reciprocity.

“If you are in a position to give, consider making a donation to The Port Townsend Writers Conference 50th Anniversary Fund and help to mark this milestone year.”

I can also (and did) do this: I proudly donated what I can afford to “pay it forward” for all the new voices and visions that simply need a home to nurture and empower them into being. This community has been here for me, and now I am here for them.

LISTEN UP

We currently live in a time where book bans are being led by special interests in our public schools in direct opposition to the goals of our own First Amendment.

Meanwhile, attacks on the freedoms of public libraries to provide the most diverse selection of books for all to enjoy and learn from deny those words, voices, and visions of our polycultural nation.

This is not what a democracy promises. Speech (and that includes writing) is free to all… or should be.

Books matter, and so does supporting their writers and the programs that support them.

In 2024, assisting writers and literature, to ensure they are heard and seen in the world, is nothing short of a revolutionary act.

Please consider donating however you are able to protect creative expression through the writing of literature (poems, stories, novels, essays, journalism, filmmaking, audiobooks… every kind of storytelling).

Remember, stories throughout human history have changed the world and bound us to one another for the sake of community. This is a sacred right. Please help support this critical aspect of a living, breathing democracy.

https://centrum.org/writersfund/