Those of you who have read my writing probably know that I am both strangely obsessed with and oddly divorced from the notion of community. I have always wanted to start “something”–to lead a group of people to do “something”–and yet I have always been completely petrified when it comes to fulfilling this dream.
Well, over the last few months I have been scheming to start a writing community here in Portland, and for the first time in my life this scheming has led to something, a group of published writers who operate under the moniker PEW!
(PEW! stands for Portland Emerging Writers, despite the fact that most of us emerged quite some time ago. We’re working on a new name for the group…)
The PEW! members include Monica Drake, Cheryl Strayed, Justin Tussing, Ellen Urbani, Paul Neilan, Sara Ryan, Heather Sharfeddin, Kassten Alonzo, and Yours Truly. The group hasn’t done much–we meet once a month over drinks and gossip about the publishing industry–but I am glad that after much pained writing about the yearning for community, I have finally reached out to start one….