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in Montgomery. Keller was visiting at the home of her sister on Felder Avenue. Jeanie described her serendipitous revelation: “A dramatic event happened just blocks from where I was living at the time I read the book, and I felt as if the universe was pointing me toward this material of Helen’s adult life.” Thompson composed lines pulsing with musicality throughout the thirty-four poems cycling the life of Helen Keller. The collection is written as if through the eyes and voice of the world-renowned celebrity herself. As if Helen Keller were sharing life events in her own words. “The Myth of Water” was selected as a finalist for the prestigious “Foreward Indie Book Awards.” And it is the same book from which she gave readings throughout the state for the Alabama 200 Bicentennial “Read Alabama” series. All this sounds exhausting, and yet it doesn’t even begin to in- clude the poet’s professional day job! Jeanie is passionate about her full-time work heading the Ala- bama Writers’ Forum. She believes in action and being hands-on. There is no time to waste. She will tell you straight-away, her mission is “helping every child in Alabama get the chance to be the best writer he or she could be.” The director worries about those in rural, underserved areas. The inequities of life weigh on her. In one program, “Writing Our Stories,” Jeanie has seen young men “appear to mature, grow and become more self-aware.” The nine-month program, within the Department of Youth Services, teaches incarcerated youth through a curriculum of poetry and fiction. It allows each one the chance to be published in the yearly publication, “Open the Door.” The writing program gives them a skill which can translate to many job opportunities. Thompson said it also gives them “tremen- dous hope and encouragement that they can go back to their homes or to wherever they’re going to live and be productive citi- zens.” Incarcerated adults, and those returning to society, admit being thankful that AWF literary arts programs kept them sane while inside. Jeanie states: “It’s very hard to keep joy front and center these days, and poetry can help salve the wounds of all the strife in the world today. That’s not a cliché but a statement of fact.” “We are not an academic association,” she would have you know. Her vision is for Alabama, and the rest of the world, to know the community of writers we have. “People all over the world know about Harper Lee, Truman Capote, Winston Groom and others, but we have so many talented writers yet to be known and I’m always interested in finding them.” Jeanie’s work can be stressful and constant, but she is proud that, “Ultimately, we know we have made a difference in many writers’ and readers’ lives.” For more information contact the Alabama Writers’ Forum at: writersforum@bellsouth.net , or 334-265-7728. n Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 19 ..................................................................................................................................................................... LADS SA 2 OF & ZAS NDWI $ PIZ SA F ENT OREM CHES RÉE 167-116-298 DE: any with edus be annot Ne ed list at valid er Off FO ONLINE 334.74 er Ent 2664 EPO 594.092 daoRnhgua YEMOGT R 5 OC OMO PR Cy. uit atgr and ue. alV ashCNo ORDER .433 V0887 NOM 10/31/202 es Expir ounts. cdis or ers off other axt udes cl Ex ck. che per er off One y. onl wks’ DELIVER | CURBSIDE R 9.0011 Drive epris AIL 4.035.60 Byeslttih 555 BMULOC 5 W e 7 K 0 ACTLESS |Y CONT 454 0291#.vl SU 4595.128.433 teetSyaG. 043 NRUBUA S r d NG ORDERI
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