To start this fine week, how about I show you some examples of the kinds of writing we’ll be looking for for the RiverSpeak April Creative Challenge: Writing for the River.
As a refresher, the Spokane Riverkeeper is teaming up with RiverSpeak for their April Creative Challenge, a special Earth Month and Spokane river themed writing challenge. The RiverSpeak April Creative Challenge: Writing for the River, asks “What does a clean Spokane River mean to you?” What we’re asking participants to do is to finish one to all five sentence starter fragments, staying conscious of the broad theme which is, “What does a clean Spokane River mean to you?” The hope is that through this exercise, a narrative will unveil itself: an interesting story about the person and about what the Spokane River means to our community.
Earlier this year I sent out similar sentence starters to members of the Spokane boating, environmental and journalism communities in hopes that I could engage them in this exercise. I didn’t get a lot back, but there were some highlights. Below are some examples, in hopes that they will inspire you to participate in the RiverSpeak April Creative Challenge: Writing for the River. If you’d like to participate, please submit your work to: riverspeak.net@gmail.com
Paul Delaney - Northwest Whitewater Association
Paul Delaney – Northwest Whitewater Association
I haven’t had….
A person come off the river with me that was EVER disappointed, nor ever disappointed with what a GREAT piece of water is right in their backyards.
Half the battle is….
Educating people who don’t understand what the river has to offer and how absolutely UNIQUE it is.
I grew up….
In Northwest Spokane just blocks from the river. I never realized it would become a force in my life.
Paul Haeder – local educator, writer and blogger
Paul Haeder
If I left Spokane I’d miss…
Tthe experiment that this town is – hard-edged poor people suffering the cold air of March; so many people suffering post traumatic stress disorder yet finding some nook of belonging; lobotomized middle and upper middle class people right out of Ozzie and Harriet who think they are at the center of the universe. This is one truckload worth of novel fodder city, man.
Spokane could benefit from…
A new community backbone, cross-generational solidarity and a sense of humor from the entrenched minds of bureaucrats and vapid CEOs.
I’ll never forget…
That I am a man. and whatever concerns humanity is of interest to me.
Mike Petersen – Executive Director of The Lands Council
The most powerful….
Force of nature flows right through town in May
You can measure success….
But it’s often only temporary
The biggest obstacle I’ve found is….
fear of changing the status quo
