Gina Barger’s amplified voice rang out through the assembly room during Women Writing for (a) Change’s (WWf(a)C) 20th-anniversary celebration, “A Harvest of Voices” from 4-6 p.m., Oct. 20.
Due to a speech impediment, Barger’s reading took longer than other writers, but the audience was rapt throughout. When she concluded with the words “you’re not giving up,” the audience gave her a standing ovation.
Barger has participated in one of WWf(a)C’s writing circles since 2016, when WWf(a)C began holding events at Stone Belt, a Bloomington nonprofit supporting people with disabilities.
“I wanted to change other people’s lives,” Barger said. “And I feel like I have changed other people’s lives.”
One way Barger said she had done that was by giving a voice to her roommate Lisa, who is unable to speak.
“I like to talk for her because she’s a sweet one, and I love her like a sister,” Barger said.
This focus on amplifying the voices of people who might otherwise go unheard is the goal of WWf(a)C.
“We offer programs for all genders, with a particular focus on women and girls, people whose voices are not often heard or encouraged,” Mary Beth O’Brien, creative director of WWf(a)C, said.
Representatives from various programs read their work at the event, which took place at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington. WWf(a)C hosts writing circles at the Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship high school, Stone Belt and the Monroe County Correctional Center (MCCC). There are also summer camps for youth and 13-week semester programs for women.
The fact that writing circles are held in many places helped inspire the name for the 20th anniversary gathering.
“A harvest often brings to mind the bounty and the abundance of this time of year,” O’Brien said. “What harvest also represents is hard work and cooperation, the effort it takes to bring forth the abundance.”
That teamwork was on display when Mary Peckham shared a poem co-written by women incarcerated at the MCCC. Their perspectives wove in and out, giving details specific to the writers along with motifs they held in common. For example, “I may be locked up, but that doesn’t mean you know about me.”
The featured guest authors — Indiana Poet Laureate and Purdue University Fort Wayne professor Curtis Crisler and IU associate professor Angela Jackson-Brown — spoke of the importance of individual expression and of community.
“I’m always trying to tell my students: You have a voice,” Crisler said. “You have a voice as you go through life.”
Crisler read a selection of his poems, some inspired by past writers and another by a family member.
In an introductory poem, Jackson-Brown spelled out some facets of her identity. The one that was given the most weight was both individual and corporate.
“Most of all, I am a storyteller tied to generations of other storytellers,” Jackson-Brown said.
Brown remarked while writing is often assumed to be a solitary action, community is critical.
Kim Evans, the board chair for WWf(a)C, agreed with Brown’s remark.
“I have experienced firsthand how the act of writing in community transforms lives,” Evans said.
Laura Lasuertmer, outreach coordinator for WWf(a)C, said the writing circles held for 40 minutes at the Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship high school every week are magical.
Isabella Carey, who has participated in the program since she was 15 years old, emphasized this special feeling. Carey said the writing circles allowed people to connect and build a strong community.
“People aren’t very open in their daily life, so it’s hard, and the world feels really soulless a lot of the time,” Carey said. “But in the circle, people open up and they share their words and their inner thoughts and feelings, and you start building a bond together. It’s really beautiful.”
