“It makes it easy to share writing that you wouldn’t share with anyone else—even family members. Elder Project has given me the courage and the tools.” —MG Thomas, an EP participant, on her first public reading
Dear John, Picture this: The Elder Project reading at Litquake 2021 started late because of a rambunctious crowd. The group was so lively it took program director Kevin Dublin many, many attempts to quiet everyone down. Who was so rowdy? The Elders. Gathered from all three Elder Project community groups for the first time, they were overjoyed to see one another and share the virtual stage.
Literature brings people together and encourages all of us to remember that in a strange world, stories have a unique power to dare us to feel, think, and connect to our common humanity.
Like all things Litquake, this striving to gather people in the warm embrace of books, phonemes, and story is at the heart of our Elder Project. We are all acquainted with isolation now, but most pointedly loneliness is a growing epidemic amongst seniors affected by factors like a lack of access, health issues, and major life changes. By bringing writing and storytelling workshops to retirement communities across the Bay Area, Litquake's Elder Project builds community through literature in this underserved population. Yours, Jack Boulware and Jane Ganahl, Litquake co-founders
PS. A note from an Elder: “I very much love the wonderful teachers, so very humane and accepting of us and our work.” A big year-end thank you to our Elder Project teachers who make this little world go ‘round. Support Elder Project with a donation today.
About Litquake Litquake seeks to foster interest in literature, perpetuate a sense of literary community, and provide a vibrant forum for Bay Area writing as a complement to the city's music, film, and cultural festivals. www.litquake.org
Litquake is grateful for the support of the following funders who help make our programming possible. Institutional Giving: Alta Magazine, Amazon Literary Partnerships, BergDavis Public Affairs, California Arts Council, California College of the Arts, California Humanities, Center for the Art of Translation, City National Bank, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Grants for the Arts, HarperOne, Margaret and William R. Hearst III Foundation, Mary A Crocker Trust, Miner Anderson Family Foundation, Mystery Writers of America, Northern California Chapter, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, The Bernard Osher Foundation, Poetry Foundation, San Francisco Public Library, Swinerton Family Fund, University of San Francisco's MFA Program, Yerba Buena Community Benefit District, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, Zellerbach Foundation. Individual Giving: Jared Bhatti, Lisa Brown and Daniel Handler, Frances Dinkelspiel and Gary Wayne, Margaret and Will Hearst, Scott James and Gerald Cain, Nion McEvoy, Craig Newmark, and Nicole Miner and Robert Mailer Anderson, Ellen Ullman. Media Sponsors: San Francisco Chronicle, 7x7, KQED, Bay Area Reporter, Johnny Funcheap.
