Timberland Reads campaign features South Sound authors

A collection of short fiction by southwest Washington writers is the focal point of this year’s regional reading program.

Timberland Regional Library solicited the works — short stories that reflect optimism — and compiled them into “Timberland Writes Together” for an iteration of its annual community reading program. It’s the focus of this year’s reading program, Timberland Reads Together.

Readers can meet the authors at a variety of events in October, hosted at local libraries. The kickoff event was Thursday evening in Olympia.

Thurston County authors were grateful for the opportunity to publish their work and, more importantly, to interact with readers.

“It’s great to talk to readers about storymaking and why that’s important and what that means about being a human,” said author Meagan Macvie of Littlerock. “I am so thrilled about that, you have no idea.”

Macvie’s story, “Going Without,” is about the death of a child. Because the Timberland contest required a “sense of optimism,” Macvie revised the story, which she’d been working on for some time.

“It made me go back to it and dig a little deeper and figure out what was happening with this woman. I feel like the glimmer of optimism in a deep grief is the human ability to survive and to cope,” she said.

“I did do significant revision that I wouldn’t have done without that requirement,” she said. “(The original version) honestly wasn’t as good.”

Another Thurston County author, Keith Eisner, teaches writing. “One of my favorite quotes that I tell every student is from Natalie Goldberg (who wrote ‘Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life’). It’s “be everlastingly kind to yourself.”

He advises students to post it where they can see it as they write.

“We all have this internal censor, internal editor who says that’s not good enough, you’ll never be a writer. That editor can serve you later, but when you’re beginning a story or a poem, you just need to feel free, and make mistakes and make a big mess,” Eisner said.

His contribution, “Christmas 1957,” is a tale of childhood friends and enemies. It’s one he’d been working on for years.

The first story in the anthology is by Pam Anderson. It tells of the life and challenges of a young Afghani girl. Anderson taught overseas, including in Pakistan, and the story, “Heart’s Delight,” is part of a larger historical story she has worked on since 1993.

“’Heart’s Delight’ is one chapter taken out of that unfinished novel. Dilkha grows up and is my female protagonist,” she said.

The anthology can be checked out in print and as an eBook from all 27 Timberland libraries; it is also available at retail booksellers.

“Together” is the key word in the Timberland Reads and Writes Together campaign. The project is a community effort to promote local writers and encourage others to write.

For people considering joining those ranks, Eisner has some advice.

“Your life’s going to change if you’re serious — it takes a big chunk out of your life,” he said.

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 6:09 AM with the headline "Timberland Reads campaign features South Sound authors."