WRITE ON!: SIZE DOESN’T MATTER
By Sunny Frazier

Lemoore Advance, CA
Aug 28 2008

I’ll be blunt.

The Central Valley is considered an agricultural giant. However, many
consider this area a cultural wasteland. Some of those people with
negative impressions don’t live in Los Angeles or San Francisco. They
live right here.

For a writer who believes there is a wealth of possibilities to
write about in this region, the misconception hurts. William Saroyan
renamed Fresno "Ithaca" for "The Human Comedy." He brought Armenians
to literary attention with "My Name Is Aram." John Steinbeck mined
the Dust Bowl experience and a grim time in Valley history in "The
Grapes of Wrath," and walked away with a Pulitzer and Nobel Prize.

Another Valley-grown Pulitzer Prize winner is poet Philip Levine. He
taught for many years at California State University Fresno. Flying
under the radar is essayist Gerald Haslam. "The Other California:
The Great Central Valley In Life and Letters," is a collection about
growing up in Kern County. Sadly enough, when he did a book signing
in Fresno, I was one of the few people who attended.

Love him or hate him, Mark Arax created controversy with "The King of
California: J.G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire." I
was in college journalism with Mark and can only applaud his success,
regardless of his subject matter.

Is that enough proof that we don’t deserve the reputation for being
culturally deprived? Yet, if you look at the major newspaper, The
Fresno Bee, it would seem homegrown authors don’t exist. Canned reviews
of best selling authors show up in the Spotlight section, but little
is mentioned of local authors. We’re out there, and they don’t care.

The Kings County Library has given me the unique opportunity to help
put together a speaker program for 2008-2009. I’m contacting all of
the authors I’ve connected with over the years, and some I hope to
meet for the first time. I already know I have The Advance behind me
for publicity, and I hope the Sentinel shows an interest.

The first program I’ve set up is scheduled for Sept. 18. Virginia
Pilegard is the author of a children’s picture book series which
promotes geometry in a fun, unique way. I asked her as a tie-in with
the Olympics because her books are set in ancient China.

My dilemma is how to entice grade school teachers to show up on a
week night when there are papers to grade? How do I get the public
curious enough to want to hear about her trips to China for research?

If you build it, they will come. Why can’t Kings County be a Field
of Dreams? Nobody else is stepping up to the plate. We don’t need a
half-million unmotivated people to support a cultural crusade. Fresno
had its chance to get their literary on, and it turned its back. Maybe
it’s time for a small town to show what can be accomplished with
motivation and community support.

I have a reason to invest in this endeavor. I’m a writer. I write
about the Valley because it’s what I know and love. What writers really
want is an audience, a chance to show their stuff. The Write Stuff.

My artist-roommate, Che Gilson, is interested in explaining the
Japanese graphic novel craze to teens and their parents. I’ve lured
poet Lee Herrick, a Fresno City College teacher, to do a reading
in November. Two Mafia hitmen have written autobiographies and are
interested in speaking at West Hills and the library (don’t worry,
they’re out of witness protection). Screenwriter Michael Mehas,
a former Hanford boy, wants to talk about the movie "Alpha Dog" and
the novel he wrote based on the murder. Astrologer Hazel Dixon-Cooper
will assure you "You Were Born on a Rotten Day."

The list is long and I hope local interest will be high. These
programs are free. Educational. Fun. If culture is not your thing,
come for the cookies. But come.

Sunny Frazier is a resident of Lemoore and a writer of mystery
novels and short stories. To learn more, visit her Web site at