According to Chad Gurley, staffers at the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs believe "it is important to give a voice to the writing community, to hear their thoughts, guidance and words of hope regarding the covid-19 pandemic." So Gurley, who is colony coordinator, will host a special, daily edition of "Write Now at The Writers' Colony." Each podcast will be a short conversation with a writer (held over the phone) regarding their work and how the current situation is affecting their lives and their writing. Featured writers will include local and regional writers as well as Writers' Colony alumni from across the country.
The first three podcasts will feature Eureka Springs author Charles L. Templeton, who has a new book out, "Boot: a Sorta Novel of Vietnam"; Crescent Dragonwagon, prolific author, teacher and founder of The Writers' Colony; and Philip Cioffari, award-winning author and filmmaker and instructor of the "Structuring the Novel" workshop at WCDH in August. Explaining his motivation for the series, Gurley says:, "It is so important for artists to call out to one another right now just as the birds do. To be able to hear another's voice is a gift, and in a world of texting and emails, it is easy to take it for granted. Calling out and really listening is an important way of connecting in our present world of social isolation. It can help provide sanity and deepen our experience of life, opening our minds and our hearts."
Creating a Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow podcast was the brainchild of Templeton, a board member, who made the effort possible by donating the equipment and software required. The first "Write Now at the Writers' Colony" podcast was released on Dec. 5, 2019. Since then, the series has released a total of seven 30- to 40-minute podcasts, at least one per month. The regular series podcasts feature readings and interviews with writers, poets and community advocates.
"Write Now at the Writers' Colony" podcasts can be found at writerscolony.org/podcast, or through Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
NAN What's Up on 04/03/2020