Wyrd Words 2015

Wyrd Words Moonrise 2015 (photo by Stephen H. Segal)

It’s nearly the Autumn Equinox, and I’ve yet to write about so many Summer adventures.

After more than a year of planning and months of drafting, revising, and exchanging manuscripts, the inaugural Wyrd Words Workshop was held in July. We ate, drank, and danced around the kitchen (Well, ok, maybe that was just me); we workshopped brilliant beginnings and provocative plots; we used technowizardry to traverse miles; we strolled under the full moon, and we sauna’d; we talked about creativity and inspiration, punk rock and K-pop, politics and fairy tales. There were bees, rockets, and skeletons in the trees…

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Most importantly, we did good work. I’m so excited to see the books that will eventually make their way into the world from this workshop. Such good stories. Such excellent writers. Such dear friends.

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Writers spend so much time alone at the laptop that in-person connections of quality are a real gift. Thank you to everyone at the workshop and behind the scenes who gave it shape and filled the weekend with such wonderful, wyrd words. 

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I’m going to quote from one of my favorite children’s books, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, because it fits so well for this dear group:

“It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.”

Wyrd Wordians, you are both. Thank you.

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The Importance of Librarians: The Alexandria Still Burns Project

libraryWhen I was growing up, the Chicago Public Library on Narragansett, the West Belmont Branch, was my library. It wasn’t a large branch; I quickly graduated to adult books in my early teens, and then devoured the reference section for anything I had questions about, from ghosts to WWII, mythology to cooking.

As a curious kid, I had a lot of questions, and the librarians were kind and patient, pointing me to the right sections, giving me the space to explore or helping me when I was short on time. They recognized a love of words and a desire for knowledge in a bespectacled, geeky little girl, and they didn’t dismiss it, they helped to nurture it. That is something that people, not the internet or search engines, can do. They can meet our gaze and point us in the right direction.

I’m so grateful. Next to teachers, librarians were my favorite grown-ups because they held the keys to the worlds I wanted to explore, AND they took me and my questions seriously.

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That is one of the many reasons I love the Alexandria Still Burns kickstarter project by Kyle Cassidy. Kyle is a brilliant photographer, and he has a way of finding and telling stories about transformational people and moments, stories that may go unnoticed or discounted. Kyle notices.

He did this with engaging photographs and words in his documentary photo books “Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in their Homes” and “War Paint: Tattoo Culture and the Armed Forces,” as well as with his projects about the women of roller derby, portraits of science fiction and fantasy writers in their writing spaces, and so many others.

Librarians are gatekeepers, and they introduce people to worlds. Kyle wants to introduce the world to them and share their stories and experiences. I’m a proud backer.  If you’d like to help Kyle to share the stories of librarians and why libraries are still important in this world, you can become a kickstarter backer with  $1. There are only a few days left! Every backer will get a link to a digital download  of the short documentary about why libraries are important, narrated by award-winning novelist Neil Gaiman. Check it out: