By William Young, President, Sassafras Literary Society
as originally published in the Pickens County Progress, August 13, 2020
A wee, tiny want ad in the Pickens County Progress is how it all started; the Sassafras Literary Exchange, that is.
You see, Pickens County native Cordia Byers read a book and didn’t like the ending. “I can do better than that!” she said. Somewhere during the writing process, she realized that not only did she not know any writers, she didn’t know anyone who was even interested in writing.
Thus, the advertisement. Including myself, there were five of us who met in her living room. Within a few months, Byers’ dedication and persistence had grown the group into a viable organization.
The recently adopted mission statement explains a lot: “The Sassafras Literary Exchange was formed by writers in 1979. Their goal is to inspire and empower creative writing for the adults and youth of Pickens County.”
Byers later suggested that we come up with a way to give back to the community. A writing contest for the youth of Pickens County was the result. This year will mark the 39th annual Creative Writing for Youth contest. The contest covers grades six through eight and nine through twelve.
It has a steadfast rule that entrants not put their name on the entry, but on a folded and attached entry blank so that none of the judges know the contestant.
Putting on a contest is a lot of work. But it is a shared labor among the members. Year after year, everyone pitches in to make the event happen. Many educators also help out. While it can be somewhat tiring, the ceremony that recognizes the writers is a delight.
The smiling faces of the young writers and the parents beaming with pride is a great reward for the hours expended.
Down through the years, there have been numerous adult contests including last year’s successful and inspiring contest for our military and their families. But it’s not all work and no play for Sassafras members. The club is comprised of seasoned writers and wanna-bees from very diverse backgrounds.
We oftentimes bring samples of our work to be read and viewed by the rest of the club. Writers are often thought of as being a little bit weird to begin with, so our exchange of ideas can be very interesting and illuminating.
The four decades that I’ve spent with the club have been interesting to say the least. I have met some unusual and charming characters. Jimmy Townsend, Elaine Jordan, Harris Green and Alan Gibson are just a few I have had the pleasure of being associated with and know as friends.
Sometimes, Sassafras hosts guest speakers. In the recent past, we’ve heard from the exceedingly funny Caleb Smith (humor columnist for the Progress) and a former girl friend of Elvis.
Forty years in a club is a long time. But it certainly has been interesting.
I’ve been President or Chairman of the club on several occasions. Years back, we had some rather large crowds at our meetings although it seems difficult to gather many in this day and time. It fell my lot, on one occasion to introduce our guest speaker.
I had not prepared properly for the event. As I stumbled along with the details of this lady’s accomplishments, I blurted out, “…and she claims to be an expert.” Although there was a collective groan from the 30 or 40 people in the audience, I didn’t realize my faux pas. Well, nobody’s perfect.
It finally dawned on me when, during her speech she said, “….and I am an expert.”
In recent years the talented and charismatic Maria Boling has kept the organization rolling along. About three years ago, she stepped aside. I jumped in and am once again in the leadership role.
Along with our secretary/treasurer Mary Ellen Johnson, we’ve kept things afloat. But we need help. New members are always welcome. There must be some younger people out there with an interest in the written word who would be willing to join us. We’re a social club with a focus on writing.
Writing can be fun. We support and give feedback on the works of our fellow members.
One might wonder why someone would go to the trouble to come out, once a month to meetings for 40 years. For me, it’s simple. Each time I leave a Sassafras meeting, I feel a bit more like writing than I did when I came.