Plum Life Writers Participate in 'Share a Pair' Initiative

The Life Writers at the Plum Borough Community Library are celebrating National Life Writing Month this November by hosting Share a Pair of Stories—an initiative to pair stories on the same topic in order to share personal and local history with each other.

Share a Pair of Stories invites any pair (cross-generational is preferred, but any pair will do) to share stories with one another on the same topic.  The initiative was inspired by Story Corps, a program hosted by NPR and the Library of Congress, whose motto is "listening is an act of love." 

Elizabeth-Anne Kim of the Life Story Writers said it's a great way to connect.

"We (the Life Story Writers) believe that we really connect with one another when we share our stories," she said. "It allows us to build love and community with one another and also passes on the history of the past as well as an awareness of the present."

Kim said her son AJ, 6, and friend Nancy, 79, both wrote stories about the day they got their first pairs of glasses.

"My son wants to hear her story over and over again," Kim said. "My friend, in turn, was surprised both that kids still get a kick out of the eye charts and that my son actually wanted glasses because he thought they looked cool."

Anyone who wants to participate and write stories can find information at http://shareapair.blogspot.com. Submissions for Share a Pair 2012: A Day to Remember are open and will continue until Nov. 15 (National I Love to Write Day). Stories from the 2012 initiative will begin to be posted on the Share a Pair blog on Nov. 23 (the National Day of Listening).

A write off to help those who would like to participate will be held at the Plum Library on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m.

"When they come, we get settled, bring up possible topics, and then help them get started writing," Kim said. "At the end, we share with one another."

"Not every participant decides to take the further step and share with the community on the blog, which is OK," Kim said. "In the end, the goal is to bring the community closer together and to help one another feel connected."

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