I was in awe at Mizpah Congregation, hearing Jerry Ellis, a Chattanooga writer who had walked the 900-mile route of the Cherokee Trail of Tears and written a book about his trek. “Walking the Trail, One Man’s Journey along the Cherokee Trail of Tears” was displayed in the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Ellis’ storytelling brilliance has been heard across Asia, Africa, Europe and USA.
Chattanooga has attracted and developed writers for decades. SoLit, formerly known as the Southern Lit Alliance, is a literary arts hub launched with a Ford Foundation grant in 1952. The organization serves 5,000 children and adults annually with author visits, literature festivals, writing workshops, children’s writing contests, as well as reaching out to area jails and youth in underserved communities.
Chattanooga’s Rhyme N Chatt is celebrating its 25th anniversary. You’ll want to check out its new publication: “Commemorative Poetry Anthology.” Its 250 pages are filled with poetry and stories celebrating the 25 years of this interactive poetry organization.
The Chattanooga Writers’ Guild (CWG) was organized in 2001 and became a nonprofit in 2004, partnering with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Library. CWG supports nearly 350 local writers and is expanding. They just published its eighth edition of the CWG Anthology featuring writers who won its 2023 monthly contests. Some of those writers share how Chattanooga’s writers community has inspired them.
One of those writers is Jennafer Barber, a native Chattanoogan. “I was born in Chattanooga and have been raised here all my life. The scenery and people are woven into who I am. In everything you write, there is always a piece of you tied to it, so my time in Chattanooga picturing tense adventures on Lookout Mountain and devastating love on the streets of downtown bleed into everything I write.”
Other winning writers specifically name CWG as their inspiration including L. B. Blackwell and John Mannone, who tells us, “I largely attribute my success as a poet, essayist, and fiction author to CWG where I not only learn but share, teach, and encourage this community, dispelling the myth that a writer’s life is solitary and lonely.”
I’m inspired, too, and passionate about supporting CWG and Rhyme N Chatt. As for SoLit, I was honored to be one of its 2022 Local Distinguished Authors of the Year. I totally agree with SoLit’s words, “… the benefits of reading literature and writing are far-reaching and include improved critical thinking skills, empathy for others, vocabulary, writing ability, imagination, and cultural literacy. Literary arts are vital to our community and have the incomparable power to inspire, connect, and uplift.”
We all know that the internet can make a mess of our ability to read and comprehend. Scanning is the norm. And books are becoming ancient dinosaurs. But it’s my hope that Chattanooga’s writers and literary organizations can, and will, overcome these trends. We can inspire our younger generations to put down their smartphones. Let’s encourage them to read and arrange to mentor them to start writing. This will benefit not only our youth, but the entire community. As they grow and develop, the skills acquired will be invaluable for our future: critical thinking, imagination, cultural literacy, empathy and creativity.
I’ve spoken to many of you and know that becoming a writer is a popular dream. It’s never too late to share your stories, be transformed by the process and transform others with your writing. You’re in the right place for giving it a try. Chattanooga is full of writers who teach, coach and give workshops.
Contact Deborah Levine, an author, trainer/coach and editor of the American Diversity Report, at Deborah@AmericanDiversityReport.com.