If you came to our Fall Conference—or you’ve just been paying attention—then you can guess why I felt a recent urge to re-read Charles Frazier’s debut novel, Cold Mountain.
One of the best reasons to re-read a book is to see what sticks this time, and wonder why. Last week, I was struck by a passage I barely remembered from my first go-round. When Ruby Thewes tells Mrs. McKennet what little she knows of “the northern country,†with whom North Carolina’s at war, she concludes by saying:
They had, as well, invented a holiday called Thanksgiving, which Ruby had only recently got news of, but from what she gathered its features to be, she found it to contain the mark of a tainted culture. To be thankful on just the one day.
Last week, we celebrated that one day, which means that tomorrow, by popular acclaim, is Giving Tuesday.
On this matter, I might just hold with Ruby, that setting aside “just the one day†for giving is “the mark of a tainted culture.†But while the North Carolina Writers’ Network is fortunate to have supporters who give to us near about every day through the year, we do hope you’ll spare a moment tomorrow (or today) to make a donation to the Network.
Your gift, in any amount, will make a difference to the literary community we nurture and serve. You will help a deserving writer get scholarship aid to one of our conferences. You will help spread the unique satisfactions of creative writing through NCWN programs like Prison Writers Outreach. You’ll help a novice writer find instruction and inspiration, an emerging writer find an agent or a publisher, and writers at all stages and levels find excellence, opportunity, and community.
Please donate to the North Carolina Writers’ Network—on Giving Tuesday, or any other day that suits you. Whatever you give, whenever you give, we will be grateful for your support of the Network and the writers we serve.
Sincerely yours,
Ed Southern
Executive Director
North Carolina Writers’ Network