BOOKMONGER
Writing through a pandemic
Seven Seattle women refl ect on
a pandemic-era writers’ group
Seven Seattle writers refl ect on the evolv-
ing condition of these past two years, pen-
ning it all down in “Writing While Masked.”
Pre-pandemic, Mary Ann Gonzales, Tyson
Greer, Wanda Herndon, Laura Delise Lip-
pman, Jane Spalding, Suzanne Tedesko and
Beth Weir met weekly over a cup of coff ee
to discuss their previous week’s writing. All
seven women had retired from professional
careers, and this group was a way for them to
socialize while pursuing new ambitions.
But the pandemic shut the door on their
customary meetings. While they found a
way to continue via Zoom , it simply didn’t
have all the qualities of in-person gather-
ings, but it did keep them traffi cking in ideas
and self-expression. “When a plague swept
through London in 1606 and theaters closed,
Shakespeare locked down and penned ‘King
Lear,’ ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Antony and Cleopa-
tra,’” Greer wrote.
But this wasn’t just a pandemic. The
events of 2020 continued to pile one on top
of another – shelter-in-place was followed by
the killing of George Floyd and a nationwide
reckoning with systemic racism, followed
by the apocalyptic skies of summer wild-
fi res and a high-stakes presidential election.
There was plenty of material to work with.
These writers were engaged in current events
and frequently commented on the issues of
the day, but their primary focus seemed to be
on what was happening within their personal
sphere – and what wasn’t happening.
Gone were the weekly extended fam-
ily gatherings around the dining room table.
Gone were the theater outings and travel
plans to far-fl ung places. So instead they
wrote about sewing masks, baking sour-
dough bread, planting vegetable gardens
and learning ukulele. They were grateful, in
a begrudging kind of way, that at least they
could Zoom with the grandkids. Attending
memorial services via Zoom? Not so much.
As a collection of essays and poems,
these refl ections capture a momentous time
in history as seen through a specifi c lens:
female elders, politically progressive, fairly
comfortable in retirement. The observa-
tions are valuable, but they represent only
a slice of the population. While these writ-
ers certainly contended with social isolation
and other limitations brought on by the pan-
demic, they were able to avoid some of the
truly dire conditions faced by others during
this time.
Nevertheless, these women did dedi-
cate themselves faithfully to the practice of
recording the realities they faced. Ultimately,
Greer noted, “Neither I nor anyone in our
writing group will claim accomplishments of
Shakespeare’s measure, but we did write…
and write… and write.”
“Writing While Masked” sends a valuable
message to the future: We were here. We
experienced this. We were resilient.
The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd
McMichael, who writes this weekly column
focusing on the books, authors and publish-
ers of the Pacifi c Northwest. Contact her at
barbaralmcm@gmail.com.
This week’s book
‘Writing While Masked: Refl ections on
2020 and Beyond’
Basalt Books – 208 pp — $18.95
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