Connect to Community

by Rochelle Melander

“Oppression cannot be fought without the power of community. In order to solve problems, we have to work together. Many youth who are working to end child marriage know this.” —Sonita Alizadeh

Frustrated with economic hardship, unemployment, class struggles, and political extremism, an artist established a union of artists to fight fascism.

This happened in the 1930s, when the painter Cliff Rowe formed the Artists International Association (AIA) to support progressive causes. He joined with creators like Misha Black, James Boswell, James Lucas, James Fitton and Pearl Bindera. Just before WWII, the AIA became instrumental in providing visas and homes for people fleeing Nazi and fascist oppression.

But Rowe wasn’t the only one who believed community could change his art and transform the world.

In 1970s New York, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and thirteen other Black women gathered at poet June Jordan’s apartment to talk about their struggles as artists. The Sisterhood articulated two goals: Get published in current magazines and form their own publishing house. The poet Audre Lorde and Barbara Smith started Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press in 1980.

Many writers have joined together to support one another. Think Virginal Woolf and her Bloomsbury Group, connecting to share writing and support each other’s political views. Or, remember C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. They formed the group, The Inklings, as a sanctuary when they were frustrated by the pressures of teaching and the worries of war.

PEN (originally short for Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists) was founded in 1921 by Catherine Amy Dawson Scott in London to promote community among writers and to defend both literature and free expression. It remains an active organization today.

Whether you’re fighting fascism or just trying to become a better writer, community helps.

We’re living in extraordinarily difficult times. If you’re paying even a little bit of attention to the news, you know that. Just the relentless news cycle and political polarization would be overwhelming. But we’re also witnessing extreme violence, historical revisionism, and the damaging shifts in our understanding of science and medicine.

As writers, we’re facing replacement by artificial intelligence. Organizations are moving to AI to create content. Newspapers and magazines are closing. And while there are more opportunities to self-publish your work, it’s difficult to stand out in a crowded market.

There’s no easy answer to these challenges.

But writing helps.

And connecting with other writers, around shared goals, can be a game changer.

If you’d like to try it out, join my Writing Accountability/Show Up and Write session at no charge this Thursday at 12:00 PM CT. You can sign up HERE.