What an incredible fall writing series! In our rural northwestern Wisconsin county, we had 84 total participants across generations and from all walks of life–teachers, a Peace Corps worker, doctors, a therapist, an architect, a farmer, a nurse, a minister, an engineer, administrators, mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, and other vocations and professions. The four-week writing series “Bringing in the Harvest” covered four kinds of first-person writing – autobiography, family history, memoir, and personal essay. Every session included lectures, practice, and small-group pre-writing conversations.
Everyone has a story to tell, and these stories have universal elements. We all overcome obstacles, experience loss and joy, have turning points that change us, and stand on the shoulders of those who come before us, among many other themes. In the small act of sharing our stories, we find we have much more in common than what divides us.
Big thank you to the Saint Croix Falls Library, Friends of the Saint Croix Falls Library, Operation Round-up, and everyone who showed up!
