My co-teacher, the lovely and talented Whitney Reed, sent me these photographs today, which reminded me of something truly terrible — I have yet to post about the Sharing the Spotlight reading, the culminating event of the Art of Writing Program Whitney and I taught this spring!  The program, incidentally, was made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities at Auburn University, the Sun Belt Writing Project at Auburn University, and the Alabama Writers’ Forum — all wonderful organizations that do a great deal of good for a great deal of people in Alabama and beyond.

The reading, which took place on May 21, served as the official release for the anthology of poems by the students in the program, titled The Amber Moment and gorgeously designed and produced by Russell Helms and co. at Absnth Publishing, Inc (seriously — the book is amazing, and Russell was a dream to work with — if you ever need a professional publishing service, he’s the man to call).  Nine young writers read their poems, and I was amazed and awed not only by the strength, beauty, and clarity of their work, but also by their phenomenal readings — they did a wonderful job bringing their poems to life!  I was inspired by hearing them read in a way that I’m rarely inspired — it was incredible to hear these poems they’d work so hard crafting, which spoke so honestly, beautifully, and movingly of their experiences and emotions, their hopes and dreams.  Our guest speaker, the always-incredible Chantel Acevedo, gave a rousing speech which encouraged the students to believe in themselves, their writing, and their experiences.  Sage advice, and advice I hope they follow!

Here are the girls gathered before the reading, with Whitney Reed (in the red dress on the far right), myself (with new bangs and odd expression on my face), and the city of Valley, Alabama’s Mayor Arnold Leak, who was wonderful enough to join us — thank you, Mayor Leak!

After the reading, the girls had a book signing — they’re superstars!  I can’t even express how proud I am of them and the work that they did this spring, nor can I express how grateful I am to them, for how much they’ve taught me, and how much they’ve inspired me.  Thank you, everyone, for an unbelievable semester!