PACE — The Santa Rosa County Writer’s Workshop comprises 10 published authors and poets who turn their tragedies and observations into literary works with each other's help.
Participants include Glenda Frazier, Walter Reynolds, Jane Hutto, Fred Swope, Dara North, Amanda Moomey, Dawn Quarles, Cheryl Chastain, Adam Burgess, Gene Curtis and Marc Livanos.
Livanos said he, along with the others, formed the group after the Pace Library requested book donations from local authors. He said it's not a club, but rather a place to maximize one's craft.
"If you can't accept criticism, you don't belong here,” he said.
Frazier, Livanos, Reynolds and Curtis recently met at their usual time and location, 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Coffee Break, 4620 Woodbine Road, in Pace. Livanos said some of the others are writers or poets at large, meaning they can't attend meetings but do stay involved by submitting and evaluating work through email.
Here’s a look at some of the members.
MARC LIVANOS
Livanos, the author of “Panhandle Poet” and “Panhandle Poet: Second Helpings,” said his writing has helped him return to the kind of person he used to be.
"I was a nice person in my 20s. Then, for 47 years, I paid Social Security, a mortgage, raised kids. I didn't do anything but go to work and come home,” he said.
The 66-year-old retiree was a project manager at Ecology and Environment Inc., of Pensacola. He said he often became angry. When he realized this, he turned to poetry.
"It builds my confidence … The message is a raw message: my inner journey into what went wrong,” he said.
“Taskmaster” was a poem he wrote because he said he became too controlling with his son. Another was “I've Forgotten How to Love You,” about his wife.
Livanos' two “Panhandle Poet” books are available at Barnes and Noble.
WALTER REYNOLDS
Reynolds said he started life in a "hectic way.” In 1939, he moved from one family member's care to another before returning to his mother, who married a farmer near Lake Hancock, Fla.
He then went through a period of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his stepfather, he said, before running away at 16 years old and joining the Navy at 17.
Reynolds said at one point his stepfather beat him with bailing wire so badly that his shirt stuck to his back. With his head on his desk in school, he told his teacher his back hurt. This caught the school nurse’s attention, then the principal intervened, and so did a juvenile authority, he said.
Reynolds' stepfather didn't beat him with bailing wire again, but did use a closed fist, he said.
Reynolds' description of his book, “Monk's Journey,” says, "You will see him go from hunting alligators at age 10 to having a successful career in the military. ‘Monk's Journey’ is a story that makes you feel as if you were walking along life's trail with him, experiencing his pain and emotions as he travels through his abusive childhood."
GLENDA FRAZIER
Frazier, another Pace author, has been writing over 20 years. She describes her work as inspirational and spiritual.
Her writing, she said, "speaks to the heart of man."
Her book, “Poems that Bleed,” available at Amazon.com, covers topics like incarceration, homelessness, love, abortion and giving one's life to God.
"Each poem can be convicting, but can encourage you to be a better person," she said.
Frazier said her poems "draw tears to a lot of females."
GENE CURTIS
Curtis said he moved next door to Livanos and befriended the author. Livanos offered to let Curtis read a poem of his and offer his opinion, which ultimately led to Curtis joining the workshop as solely a literary critic.
Working with the other authors, Curtis said, "There are no walls or defensiveness. We all make each other better. It's a fun experience; a new experience."
"He critiques, listens and makes suggestions,” Reynolds said.
"He's got that scalpel,” Livanos said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: A place for writers