Message from the President

 ON THE FOURTH OF JULY

We skipped this week's Summer Series because it fell on July 4th. Nonetheless, around lunchtime I found myself pondering what others were doing for the holiday.
 
Had they found a pool to sit around and cool off in? Had they attended a picnic for hamburgers and watermelon? Had they planned to write something commemorating the day?
 
On Twitter, the people I followed repeated these immortal words:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
 
Arguably the most important words written in the course of human history, establishing the purpose for an act of defiance — treason — they are a foundational philosophy, the expression of deeply-held values.
 
The words are Thomas Jefferson's and he wrote them in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. July 4th was our country's birthday, the day we remember Jefferson's bold assertion "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…"
 
In commemoration, we eat hot dogs and set off fireworks, play John Philip Souza tunes and wear star-spangled T-shirts. We wave flags, congratulate each other on living in the greatest country in the world, and in general feel a sense of national pride.
 
I hope you had a chance to write yesterday, or if not to put fingers-to-keyboard, then a chance to at least observe the language we use to describe ourselves and each other. We are the home of the free and the brave. We are tried and true. We are a continuing experiment in self-governance. Imperfect but ever striving to achieve the dream of our founders:
 
"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
 
Happy Independence Day!

Kasie Whitener
President, SCWA Board of Directors

THE WORK OF WRITERS AND STORYTELLERS
  
The week before Memorial Day I went on a walking tour of the University of South Carolina’s Columbia campus led by the Office of Veterans Affairs. The tour highlighted fallen Gamecocks – erstwhile students who had joined various war efforts from Gettysburg to Bagram. One of our last stops was at the World War Memorial, dedicated on May 30, 1935, and so named because they didn’t know it would only be the first World War.
 
Inside the memorial is a sanctuary and a stone inscription hangs on the wall, flanked by flags. It read, in part, “Soldiers of South Carolina this is your peoples’ tribute to the spirit that made you patriots ….” Several other lines espousing the nobility of the fallen finished with “God rest your souls and may He help the living to be worthy to reap in the fields of honor where you have sown.”
 
The inscription was written by Ambrose Elliot Gonzales, one of two brothers who founded The State newspaper (more info here). I couldn’t find the full inscription anywhere online but if you’d like to read it in its entirety, send me an email (kasie@clemsonroad.com) and I’ll share it with you.
 
It is often the work of writers, journalists, authors and storytellers, to propel the lessons and hopes of previous generations to those who follow. When we read historic documents and experience the intentions of their authors, we accept the responsibility to fulfill the promise of our collective future. One that will, hopefully, far surpass the past.
 
I hope you were each able to mark Memorial Day in some meaningful way. And yes, hot dogs with neighbors qualifies. Let our gratitude be a shared grace and our hope for the future a unifying passion.

Kasie Whitener
President, SCWA Board of Directors

It's that time of year when we are encouraged to resolve to do better in the upcoming year. I have never resolved anything as a result of a New Year, but I have set new goals. Each January, I try to envision what the upcoming year might bring and attempt to put myself on a track for success.
 
I call them New Year's Renewals. I think of them as recommitting to excellence, not a rebuke for falling off the wagon. Football season gets us all, amiright?
 
My renewals last year included being present – fully connected on Zoom, fully in the room with the people I'm with, focused on the task at hand. It made such a big difference for me that I'm recommitting to PRESENCE in 2023. I'm also recommitting to a higher volume of writing (more blogging! more short stories!) since last year I did a lot of revision.
 
If one of your New Year's Renewals is to participate more in SCWA, I'd encourage you to consider joining a committee. Here are a few of them and their missions:

• Membership, led by Reagan Teller, focuses on attracting and retaining members by creating an inviting and enriching experience for existing and prospective members.
• Events and Education, led by Paul Davis, provides ongoing education on the craft of writing and the professionalism of publishing through virtual and in-person workshops.
• Conference Committee, led by Paul Davis and Brad Land, will organize our fall conference, including finding sponsors, speakers and locations.
• Finance and Fundraising, led by Lynn Volkenant, will find and pursue grants and other efforts at fundraising.
• The Petigru Review, led in 2022 by Maria Picone and Yvette Murray, is published annually and will need readers for a fresh batch of submissions this summer.
• Marketing is a new committee, currently being led by yours truly, and could benefit from you social-media-savvy, publicity and marketing gurus.
• Diversity is an audit committee, led by Yvette Murray, to help us keep our commitment to diversity in everything we do.

WHAT I HEARD 

I give my students an assignment called "What I Heard." They're meant to watch a video, attend a talk or listen to a podcast that is relevant to what we’re studying and report to the class how it helped them to learn and grow.
 
SCWA presented two incredible opportunities last month. Our virtual conference had 50 registrants and took on issues like whether to pursue self, hybrid, indie or traditional publication. What I heard there was a community glad for the expertise being offered to help further their craft and career.
 
Our Pawley's Island annual conference had 95 attendees and included the classic Slushfest where panelists offered honest feedback on some hopeful authors' first pages. The event also featured the youngest and only Black female poet laureate of Alabama, Ashley M. Jones, whose Sunday keynote included moving passages from her poems and received a standing ovation. 
 
What I heard at Pawley's Island was how excited people were to be back in person, sharing their ideas, sharing the same spaces, learning craft and practice and professionalism. 
 
What I heard in October was a community reunited around our shared passion: writing.
 
When we go into community, we are fully human, and as humans, we are tasked with trying to make sense of the world around us. As writers, we do that sense-making on the page. We write our way through confusion, questioning, learning, feeling, understanding, contextualizing, and catharsis. Many of us come to the page to rage, or weep, to dream, hope, or ponder. 
 
As writers, we do our sense-making with words and words have power. 
 
I hope we'll each consider the terms and sentiments we use when describing ourselves and others. I hope we'll reach for love. I hope that we'll be glad for the chance to read, hear, learn, empathize, and maybe even change when presented with opportunities. 
 
What I heard this month was that we are here, in SCWA, to learn. And learning will change us, it should change us. For the better.
 
Kasie Whitener
President, SCWA Board of Directors