A few weeks ago I received an unexpected email message from Barbara (Bay) Yager, the President of the Charlotte Writers Club, informing me that I had been “selected to receive an award from the Charlotte Writers Club” in recognition of my “contributions to both our organization and the greater literary community.” She asked me if I could attend one of their upcoming events in order to accept the award in person, and of course I agreed to do so. Last week, Bay presented me with the club’s inaugural Advocate Award during their May meeting, and she gave me an opportunity to share a few remarks. In my comments, I talked about how my work in Charlotte’s literary community has much in common with the work of the Charlotte Writers Club.
During her presentation, Bay mentioned that I have been involved in Charlotte’s writing community for over 40 years, but that’s not nearly as long as the history of the Charlotte Writers Club. Adelia Kimball founded the Charlotte Writers Club in 1922, which was a golden year in literary circles. James Joyce’s Ulysses and T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land both came out in 1922. Two classic works of children’s literature—The Velveteen Rabbit by Margert Williams and Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting—also appeared in print in 1922. The Harlem Renaissance was in full swing in 1922, which was when Harcourt, Brace and Company published Claude McKay’s poetry collection titled Harlem Shadows. William Faulkner’s The Great Gatsby didn’t come out until 1925, but the novel is set in the summer of 1922. Given the importance of 1922 in the history of literature, it was an auspicious year for Adelia Kimball to start a club for Charlotte’s burgeoning community of writers.
Throughout its long history, the Charlotte Writers Club has fostered a sense of community among its members. Part of this sense of community is tied to place. The club has always celebrated its connections to Charlotte. It has frequently partnered with other Charlotte organizations, such as the public library. In fact, the club’s first meetings took place in what was then called the Carnegie Library, now known as the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.
The club’s commitment to community transcends geography. From its very beginnings, the club has provided its members with a supportive environment to share drafts of stories, poems and essays. Through its sponsorship of contests, the club has created opportunities for members celebrate each other’s creative endeavors. By bringing in accomplished writers as speakers and workshop leaders, the club has facilitated the sharing of writing and publishing tips, which members can use in order to achieve their own successes as writers. For over a century, the Charlotte Writing Club has shown how writers can work together to build a community and in the process, support and promote each other.
When Bay presented me with their Advocate Award, she handed me a plaque that includes the following phrase: “For supporting, uplifting, and advocating for writers and the literary arts.” Well, as I see it, these words also apply to Adelia Kimball and all of the other people who have made the Charlotte Writers Club such a Storied Charlotte institution.