January 2021
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SouthWest Sage The Voice of SouthWest Writers Vol. 37 No. 01 January 2021 Punctuated by renowned 1987 to 2019. The documents individuals, stellar events, a r c h iv e were scanned and placed in a and even a flood, the his- (computer) folder, by year,” Ptory of SouthWest Writers UNEARTHEDSW said Camille. With Rose re- deserves notice. t r e a s u r e s viewing the paper documents, Camille Singaraju joined Camille scanning and ReVaH SWW in June 2019 “to learn to W Loring, SWW Office Man- write.” In an email interview, ager, setting up the comput- Camille said that her writing goal er systems, the folders containing had been “to prove that our forefa- scanned documents have now been thers provided a vision that all peo- organized into an Excel directory. ple have inalienable rights and gave Once the paper documents were se- us the tools to implement them.” curely entered, most of them were Coming from the position of having shredded. “A few were saved and worked in healthcare professions for placed back in the file cabinet,” said more than 40 years, Camille knew SWW Historian Camille Singaraju, left, and volunteer Camille. “An Excel file that lists vol- what she wanted to write about. Heidi marshall have been busy preserving the organi- unteers and their positions for each “This includes the right to health- zation’s historic records and photographs. year was also made.” care, clean air and water,” she said. Another Excel file keeps track of So, how did Camille end up as the SWW Historian, a the contents and storage locations of dozens of cassette position where she volunteers many hours each week to tape recordings of SWW speakers and conferences from the preservation of the organization’s history? For that, 1988 to 2002. she credits (or blames) SWW President Rose Marie Kern. In 2019, another member, Heidi Marshall, also volun- “Rose asked me to help with cataloging documents in the teered to help with the history project. “I removed about SWW office,” Camille said. 700 photo prints from albums and scanned them, at the That’s how an organizational tidying up began. It same time doing some basic cropping and adjustments,” soon turned into a massive archiving project. she said. “Most of the photos were of past SWW confer- “From August 2019, to December 18, 2020, I worked ences, and most of them were unidentified other than on scanning and cataloging the paper documents from cont’d. on page 9 Whether you’re a seasoned judge, the idea has Call For Writing Contest Judges never entered your mind, or you get sweaty palms Dan Wetmore, SWW Contest Chair for 2021, is at the mere thought, consider this unique opportu- revving up the writing contest engine, starting with nity to give back to your writing community. If your the call for judges. concerns haven’t been addressed and all fears allayed Judges are needed to evaluate submissions (of after the two hours of training, walk away with our 3,500 words or less) during April and May of 2021. thanks for your time and a toolkit of skills immedi- The only pre-requisite is that you must attend one ately applicable to your next critique group session of the free training sessions being offered in Febru- or the editing of your own work. ary or March via Zoom. No other qualifications re- To sign up, contact Jacqueline Loring and Su-Ellen quired! You don’t need experience as a judge and you Lierz at: [email protected] don’t have to have been published. Judges may enter the contest, but not in a category they are judging. CONTENTS a r c h iv e UNEARTHEDSW t r e a s u r e s The SAGE starts a new month- W The Sage Writing ly series. See some of the ar- Challenge AND WWWinning! 1chived SWW treasures discovered by 2020 Historian 13 Members’ Writing Successes Camille Singaraju. Stan Rhine Meet Your 202114 Board - of Directors 3 SouthWest Writers Loses a Friend 17 DEPARTMENTS 2021: Lineup of Speakers and Workshops You Won’t Want to Miss 6 PLUS - Set Your Own Membership Renewal Date President’s Corner .................................................. 3 Meetings/Workshops/Classes......................... 4, 5 Contests and Opportunities........................ 17, 18 What Writing Books Don’t Tell You Look Who Joined ................................................ 10 7by Kirt Hickman Minutes of the Board Meeting .......................... 19 SouthWest Sage Published monthly by the Board of Directors of Do You Know What You Are Writing? SouthWest Writers, 11 by Rose Marie Kern a nonprofit, tax exempt 501 (c) (3) organization. Articles and stories are copyrighted by the author. Send- ing them to the Sage implies that the Sage has permission Church Ladies With Typewriters to print. Facts, views and opinions expressed are those of Examples of Writers Who Needed Editors the authors and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints 12 or opinions of the SouthWest Writers organization. SWW does not necessarily endorse the advertisers. digging through dusty boxes of paper, photographs and What’s Inside? I saw it cassette tapes, Historian Camille Singaraju and Your new Board of Directors in the SAGE! volunteer Heidi Marshall have unearthed some of (pages 14-17) is not officially a that SWW history while also creating a reasonable working body until this month, but system for keeping track of future events as they they’re an eager bunch. They’ve already filled occur. The two of them shared several years of doc- up the 2021 calendar with an astounding array of meet- uments and photos with the SAGE, which we will ing and workshop speakers (page 6). No doubt, you’ll publish in a new feature throughout 2021. We start with recognize a few of the best-selling authors among them. some treasures from the year 1989 (article on page 1, The 2021 Writing Contest Committee is also already photos on pages 9 and 10). calling for volunteers to serve as judges (page 1). Without It’s likely that many of you knew Stan Rhine, and just enough judges, there won’t be much of a contest. Speak- as likely that you did not. Stan passed away suddenly in ing as a former judge myself, judging is pretty fun. This early December (page 3). He attended most all SWW year’s committee chair Dan Wetmore intends to make meetings, but, a quiet soul, Stan was not much for the sure that whoever volunteers as a judge, also recieves meet-and-greet. He was first introduced to me more some value-added training. Even if a volunteer decides than two years ago. He’d been a SAGE proofreader for along the way that being a judge isn’t for them, they get Rose Marie Kern, the previous editor, and agreed to to leave with a whole lot of useful information about the continue when I took over the job. As I write this, I’m way contests are judged. Once there are enough judges, still not sure how it will properly come together without the date can be set for the contest to open for entries. him, but I’m giving it my best shot, because Stan would Contests and conferences have played a large part expect nothing less. throughout the history of SWW. After more than a year of Kathy Louise Schuit -Editor 2 down all the things you’ve hated about 2020 and all the President’s Corner bad feelings it has caused. Then, that evening as the sun goes down, light a candle. Look at each one, remember- I think we need to bring more ing how it made you feel, burn it and drop the ashes into magic into the world. a bowl. The next day throw them all away, bury them, or Think about it. For nearly a year toss the ash into the wind. we have dealt with a crisis, which Now make some magic. We need to break out of the means we have had to be stoic, prac- rut of waking up, eating the same thing every morning, tical, and focused on doing all those doing the same things over and over until we forget that things, large and small, needed to keep us physically safe. there can be more than just cereal, computers and televi- But, in doing so, many of us find that being practical sion. Walk away—do something different at least once a 24/7 tends to make us feel boxed in and, well, mundane. week. Do things that change your surroundings and give In the movie The Martian, producers made a big your mind a different path to follow instead of wallowing point to show the extremely nutritious blocks of pro- in sameness. cessed foods that Matt Damon’s character is required to • Move your computer desk to another wall of the consume for years. No taste, but it keeps you alive. The room and re-arrange the space completely. rules we currently live by are like that. I don’t want to • Go through your wardrobe and send 10 percent fight those rules even though I really want to meet peo- to goodwill and maybe 10 percent to the rag bag. ple in person again, but I do want to suggest that while • Paint at least one wall of your home a different participating in the medical community/government’s color. policies of “social distancing” we need to use every re- • Put some seedlings in a south window or plan source at our command to reverse the feelings of help- your spring garden lessness and depression that come with it.