I had the great fortune to attend the celebration of Dr. Jason Courtmanche, UCONN-Storrs and fellow director of CWP, and to head the reflections of love, music, intellect, family, friends, undeniable friendship of a great man. Cancer took him way too young, but his influence on everyone he met was instantaneous. It is still hard for me to believe he was sick so quickly, and gone way too soon.
Dr. Sarah Donovan, Oklahoma State University, fellow writing and YA scholar, and Ethical-ELA extraordinaire asked writers to remember the Armenian people who lost their lives during another world world tragedy of the early 20th century. It's a hard subject, but so is the intentional killing of lives anywhere, whether through war, famine, or genocide.
I write from privileged spaces. I, too, am aware of that.
