FLORIDA WRITERS FOUNDATION PROMOTES LITERACY

According to Discover, “Reading fiction can show us different viewpoints–and shape how we relate to each other.” Have you ever identified with a character in a novel? Did an author ever transport you into another place and/or into the main character’s mind? Through reading fiction, we can experience from a perspective other than our own.

I accepted the invitation to be the Florida Writers Foundation President because I believe reading improves our lives and makes us kinder. Right now we may all need to be kinder. I’m not Black, but like former First Lady, Michelle Obama, I’m exhausted–exhausted by chaos in the streets, exhausted by violence and brutality, exhausted by the endless pandemic, and exhausted by my own grumpiness. 

It’s time to read. Reading makes us empathetic, but it does more. Reading relaxes us, improves our memory, helps us solve problems, expands our knowledge, and according to a study published in the Economic Journal increases earnings. For those reasons and more, I’m pleased to be a part of an organization that supports literacy. 

The Florida Writers Foundation provided a grant that helped a group of young mothers from the Chiles Academy in Daytona Beach publish the poetry and stories they wrote under the tutelage of Florida Writers Association Regional Group Leader, Veronica Hart. The cover of the book brightens this blog.

FWF would love to give a grant to a Florida group promoting literacy. Please go to the FWF website to learn how to apply for a grant.