We are in the business of writing and publishing
Watchman, What Do You See?
Throughout history, writers have played a crucial role in shaping societies, challenging injustices, and preserving truth. I’ve been writing most of my life, since at least the second grade, when my teacher prompted me to write a poem about love. Somehow, my eight-year-old brain managed to tap into the spirituality of life, love, and belonging. Mrs. Betty Calloway could not wait to share this little poem with my mother, a high school history teacher.
At the end of 2019, I set upon an ambitious course, and boldly announced I would win a book award for my memoir “Freaknik Lawyer: A Memoir on the Craft of Resistance.” I had a full schedule of speaking engagements and book signings that would take me into early summer.
On February 20, 2020, I was invited to speak on an author’s program hosted by the Washington Memorial Library in my hometown, the same library that had refused to issue a library card to me at age ten when I went in to check out a book on Willie Mays. It was a wet, blustery evening, but a sizable crowd turned out to see their native son.
A Review
Larry Fennelly is a veteran columnist for The Telegraph (Macon). He was writing entertaining stories for The Telegraph back in the early 1980s when I left Macon for Atlanta, Georgia, to enroll in law school. We did not meet, but Fennelly worked under Tethel White, now Brown, at what was then The Macon Telegraph.
Many people have written to me in private inquiring about how I am spending my time during the shutdown. So I shot a brief video to update my public on the past 30 days living during COVID-19.
I have attached the link below that will take you to this video and as you will see I am busy working at the writer’s trade.
I believe the sheltering in place edict has made me a more productive, if not a more creative, writer. Maynard Eaton, a fellow journalist, remarked to me the other day that I have been very productive and innovative in the past few weeks. It dawns on me that he is right. I have cranked out an article a day for the past sixteen days.
Times are unusual. The current worldwide crisis has affected every profession that employs workers. From bartenders, stockbrokers, lawyers, women working the oldest trade, and writers sitting in their offices or homes churning out stories that entertain and enlighten us, all have to rethink how they do what they do.