Preface
The “soul”
of the Heartland Women’s Writers Guild came into being in January 1998 when I
read an article in a St. Louis newspaper about a women’s writers group in
Springfield, IL called Brainchild. That article became the seed that germinated
in my heart and mind, and inspired me to form a similar writers group locally
in May 1998. The poetry, essays,
journal entries, and short fiction in this book represent the fruit of that
seed.
Over
the years, participants in our writers guild have come and gone; but the eleven
women whose writings are included in Orchids in the Cornfield: Collected Writings of the Heartland Women’s
Writers Guild have stayed the course. Their places of birth, backgrounds,
ages, careers, and personalities are as diverse as their writing styles. These incidental differences add
richness and a broad perspective to the work in this book.
The
authors in this anthology were brought together by their passion for writing;
however, it is their shared creative inspiration that sustains a palpable,
high-energy excitement for their craft.
And best of all, along the way, these women have gained the bonus of
becoming good friends.
Orchids
in the Cornfield is divided into twelve chapters representative of
various stages and aspects of life. As you read these chapters, allow your
imagination to roam freely with the words and images written in celebration, in
grief, in love, and in humor. Awaken
your senses to nature as “bird songs bang on the drums of daylight”; color your
perspective of adventure by “eating liver sausage on rye in the middle of the
Mississippi”; gain an appreciation of your memories, and know that you were
“lucky to have been there”; and, in the final analysis, perhaps you will agree
that life is an amazing, unpredictable journey that “cannot be lived or
measured in a straight line.” All these
possibilities are our grateful gifts to you, the readers.
Roselyn
Mathews
September
2005