The HDCWC Dorothy C. Blakely Memoir Project
Mission of the Dorothy C. Blakely Memoir Project:
"Promote and encourage the written recording of memories of the lives of those age fifty-five or older so that what they have learned from life experience will not be left unsaid. The DCBMP shall pursue this goal by educating young people in the art of discovering story by improving listening and interviewing skills, and to teach them how to capture these stories through the craft of writing."
In the school year of 2013-2014, the High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club created an educational program for 35 Advance Placement students at the Academy for Academic Excellence in Apple Valley, California.
Each of these students was paired with a senior citizen who we called a “Memoir Star.” During a five month program of two hours per month from August through December 2013, the Branch members taught a curriculum of memoir writing in the classroom at the Academy for Academic Excellence. Between August of 2013 and March of 2014, these students wrote a 3,000 to 4,000 word memoir story for their “Memoir Star”, and then submitted it to the HDCWC for review and critique. After rewrites, and some professional editing, the stories were ready for publication.
Two published memoir authors: James Brown (The Los Angeles Diaries and This River) and S. Kay Murphy (Tainted Legacy andThe Dogs Who Saved Me) participated as guest speakers to encourage the students and enhance their knowledge of memoir techniques.
All students received a grade from the Academy for Academic Excellence for their involvement, and the stories were published in an anthology sponsored by the HDCWC titled, Let It Be Recorded... a Collection of Memoirs, edited by HDCWC member, Jenny Margotta, and published by author/member Roberta L. Smith. Our contact/partner at the Academy for Academic Excellence was Charlotte Wilmeth-Street.
The Branch's goal was to publish an anthology of the best of these students’ stories to (1) memorialize the lives of those senior citizens and (2) educate the students in the craft of writing and give them the opportunity to publish their work. Any proceeds went to the HDCWC to help with the sustainability of this program.
The members of the HDCWC provided all the labor on a volunteer basis which amounted to a value of thousands of dollars. The school provided in-kind donations consisting of meeting rooms, copies, and other material considerably adding to the value of the project.
The HDCWC was committed to seeing through this remarkable project in memory of our late enthusiast and encourager, Dorothy C. Blakely, who passed away on August 30, 2011. Much of the funding came from the generosity of the California Writers Club Central Board and the Southern California Region of the CWC, which helped to provide scholarships for the top student writers.
Publication date for the anthology was May 15, 2014. Honors and scholarships were presented at an Awards Ceremony at the Academy for Academic Excellence on June 8, 2014.
The California Writers Club agreed to support another year of the Dorothy C. Blakely Memoir Project for the Class of 2015, and the HDCWC members, led by Project Director Mary Langer Thompson, produced another anthology, All Our Yesterdays, again edited and published by Jenny Margotta and Roberta Smith.
The California Writers Club has agreed to support another year of the Dorothy C. Blakely Memoir Project for the Class of 2017, and the HDCWC members are currently moving forward to do the project again.
See the linked news article here about this project.
"Promote and encourage the written recording of memories of the lives of those age fifty-five or older so that what they have learned from life experience will not be left unsaid. The DCBMP shall pursue this goal by educating young people in the art of discovering story by improving listening and interviewing skills, and to teach them how to capture these stories through the craft of writing."
In the school year of 2013-2014, the High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club created an educational program for 35 Advance Placement students at the Academy for Academic Excellence in Apple Valley, California.
Each of these students was paired with a senior citizen who we called a “Memoir Star.” During a five month program of two hours per month from August through December 2013, the Branch members taught a curriculum of memoir writing in the classroom at the Academy for Academic Excellence. Between August of 2013 and March of 2014, these students wrote a 3,000 to 4,000 word memoir story for their “Memoir Star”, and then submitted it to the HDCWC for review and critique. After rewrites, and some professional editing, the stories were ready for publication.
Two published memoir authors: James Brown (The Los Angeles Diaries and This River) and S. Kay Murphy (Tainted Legacy andThe Dogs Who Saved Me) participated as guest speakers to encourage the students and enhance their knowledge of memoir techniques.
All students received a grade from the Academy for Academic Excellence for their involvement, and the stories were published in an anthology sponsored by the HDCWC titled, Let It Be Recorded... a Collection of Memoirs, edited by HDCWC member, Jenny Margotta, and published by author/member Roberta L. Smith. Our contact/partner at the Academy for Academic Excellence was Charlotte Wilmeth-Street.
The Branch's goal was to publish an anthology of the best of these students’ stories to (1) memorialize the lives of those senior citizens and (2) educate the students in the craft of writing and give them the opportunity to publish their work. Any proceeds went to the HDCWC to help with the sustainability of this program.
The members of the HDCWC provided all the labor on a volunteer basis which amounted to a value of thousands of dollars. The school provided in-kind donations consisting of meeting rooms, copies, and other material considerably adding to the value of the project.
The HDCWC was committed to seeing through this remarkable project in memory of our late enthusiast and encourager, Dorothy C. Blakely, who passed away on August 30, 2011. Much of the funding came from the generosity of the California Writers Club Central Board and the Southern California Region of the CWC, which helped to provide scholarships for the top student writers.
Publication date for the anthology was May 15, 2014. Honors and scholarships were presented at an Awards Ceremony at the Academy for Academic Excellence on June 8, 2014.
The California Writers Club agreed to support another year of the Dorothy C. Blakely Memoir Project for the Class of 2015, and the HDCWC members, led by Project Director Mary Langer Thompson, produced another anthology, All Our Yesterdays, again edited and published by Jenny Margotta and Roberta Smith.
The California Writers Club has agreed to support another year of the Dorothy C. Blakely Memoir Project for the Class of 2017, and the HDCWC members are currently moving forward to do the project again.
See the linked news article here about this project.