“Reading and writing, like everything else, improve with practice. And, of course, if there are no young readers and writers, there will shortly be no older ones. Literacy will be dead, and democracy—which many believe goes hand in hand with it—will be dead as well.” —Margaret Atwood
Dear Friends,
Like Margaret Atwood, I believe in the power of writing. It is the link between the scientific and the creative. The link between the real and the imagined. The link between the present and the possible. As an educator, a writer, and the Chair of the Humanities Tennessee Board of Directors, I cannot imagine a more important skill. For these reasons, I want to encourage people, especially young people, to write, and I hope that you do as well.
Each summer Humanities Tennessee sponsors two Young Writers’ Workshops, bringing together student writers from throughout the state to hone their craft in a rich environment. The students don’t need to have a lot of experience writing; they only have to have the desire to write well. I have found that writing skills blend from genre to genre, and a student who writes poetry or fiction well, will write well in school and in business.
Your support ensures that financial need does not prevent any student from participating. As one student noted, “Often times these programs get forgotten or canceled due to lack of funds. It is only because of people like you that they continue on.” Your donation allows us to include talented students who cannot afford to attend without assistance.
The generosity of our donors makes the Young Writers’ Workshops and the experiences they produce possible. I am asking for your help in sustaining the workshops. Gifts at any level are vital and greatly appreciated. With your support, we will continue to help students cultivate the skills that will serve them well in their academic, personal, and civic lives.
Please consider a contribution this year to the Appalachian and Tennessee Young Writers’ Workshops. Every gift makes a difference in helping young Tennesseans find their literary voices.
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