“An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.”
– Charles de Montesquieu (1689 – 1755)
Hi Writers:
This month I want to take a moment to thank all the writer’s helpers — all the people who make my writing life easier.
I was reminded of how much I depend on these people when I learned that the Rev. James Louis Bosveld died on March 18, 2004. In addition to having had a productive life of his own, Jim was married to a writer. As a writer myself, I know how difficult life would be without my husband or any of the other helpers in my life.
Jim Bosveld was husband to poet and publisher Jennifer Bosveld, Founder/Director of Pudding House Innovative Writers Programs & Library. If you stayed at the bed and breakfast in Johnstown, Ohio, or attended a workshop their or at their new location in Columbus, you probably met Jim. One attendee summed it up, “He was always right there helping out behind the scenes, present and supportive.” The obituary stated, “He was CFO for Pudding House Publications . . .” and “For 16 years they [he and Jennifer] owned Pudding House Writers Center and Bed & Breakfast for Writers.” Sixteen years. Let that not go unnoticed. For the full obiturary see http://www.puddinghouse.com
So in Jim’s honor let me thank my own husband, my mother, my teachers, my friends, my colleagues, my readers, my mail carrier, and every editor who’s ever published me or rejected me. Thanks to the office supply store clerk, the barista at Stauf’s who brings me my decaf coffee in a mug with room for extra cream, and even the oversized golden retriever who so often makes an annoying appearance in the Paranoid Ex-Lawyer’s Release at the end of this newsletter. Let me also thank all the people I’ve forgotten. For without each and every one of these people, remembered or forgotten, my writing life might go on, but that absence would leave a void difficult to fill. We may not find a ton of glory in this writing life, but what glory we find, we need to share with those who help us along the way.
To Jennifer, my sincere condolences. To Jim, thanks for all you did behind the scenes.
Nita(counting my blessings instead of sheep)Sweeney
(c) 2004 by Nita Sweeney
