Write by the Rails, Connecting Local Authors
Write by the Rails is a networking group for writers in the Prince William area that aims “to raise the profile of the local literary community and explore ways we can nurture, cultivate and help that community grow.”
One of the group’s co-founders, Cindy Brookshire, explains that the group uses Facebook, face-to-face meetings, and a blogspot to communicate and share information” and “encourages local writers to join any of five active manuscript groups in the region.” The Write by the Rails calendar lists meetings for these groups and will grow as more are formed or discovered.
Upcoming Write by the Rails events include:
-
New Departures - An anthology of Prince William area writers/poets. See the blog for details about submitting prose, poetry, or art by the August 31st deadline. Publication is scheduled for November 2012.
-
Marketing Your Book - A panel discussion with local members of Write by the Rails to be held on Saturday, September 8, 2012, from 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm at Trinity Episcopal Church
-
Winery at La Grange’s 2nd Annual Fall Arts & Crafts Festival: Write by the Rails will participate at this annual event in Haymarket on October 13th.
In addition to its administrative function, the Write by the Rails blog shares samples of its members’ work. Included here, is a recent Sunday post by another of the group’s founders Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt:
My God Rides the Metro
Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant? Henry David Thoreau
My God rides the Metro.
He watches tunnels blur by
like ages prodded en windowed route,
sudden stops of thought.
He smiles at soft-fingered children
kneeling on orange benches,
eyes and noses conceiving steam
on this miraculous glass.
My God rides the Metro.
He holds his breath as it climbs,
skips in its tracks into sunlight,
plods over passing waters,
those unknowing rowers below.
God smells hard work and damp papers,
notices holes in briefcases and bags,
watches for auras most of us miss
as we wish for the stop at our station.
My God rides the Metro,
but no one ever looks up.
He sighs alongside travelers,
crowds with perspiring eyes.
God sees himself in passengers,
hopes we might seat ourselves near him,
or nod in his general direction,
assure him he’s still alive.
Related Posts
