Barbara Shoup, Indianapolis, an Indiana author reads an excerpt from “An American Tune,” a story about a couple who take their daughter to college. The mother, who has changed her name, hears her former name being called. This erupts in memories of earlier days at the same location. Shoup was the keynote speaker for the annual Operation Read Authors Dinner Thursday, Oct. 10.

Text and Photos
By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Barbara Shoup, Indianapolis, an author of nine books, was the keynote speaker for the annual Operation Read Author Dinner Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds. Her topic ranged from being an Indiana author, fiction writing and reading.

Additionally, the evening recognized four individuals with the Literacy Laurels presentation and an opportunity for guests to be the first to sign up for the new 1994 Club to leave a legacy of literacy.

Kosciusko County Community Foundation, a supporter of the program for 30 years; Greg Giczi, PBS Michiana WNIT, a new supporter; Bev Huffer, donor and volunteer; and Cheryl Avery, board president, were recipients of the Literacy Laurels Award.

Shoup’s address touched on how as a writer, “who is grounded in Indiana and a writer who stayed, as opposed to a writer who left.” He pointed out where a person lives and where they are from is what makes them who they are.

Kosciusko County Community Foundation was presented the Literacy Laurels award for its continued support over the past 30 years. DeeAnna Muraski, chief executive officer, left, presented the award to Stephanie Overbey, the foundation’s chief ecexutive officer.

She noted a psychological metaphor used for everyone, but especially writers, when they are making characters. She noted everyone is born with a clear lens, and that lens is grinded throughout life and that is the way a person sees the world.

Everybody sees the world through a completely different lens, Shoup said.

“I will always see through a lens that was shaped in Indiana … no matter where you’re from, writing is about trying to understand what home was in that place,” said Shoup.

She noted her experience growing up in Hammond, going to Bloomington and returning.

”A lot of things I write is about Indiana. It’s also about what happens to you in that place, the family issues, your experience, your school, religion, love, hate, betrayals and emotional affects on you; the place where you’re from is in your work.”

She stated when she wrote about 17th- century Holland, the Indiana person in her was writing that.

As a fiction writer, she stated writers are addressing the unanswerable questions in your upbringing, things you may have observed over the years.

“Sometimes they come at you with glasses and a nose … that’s your material. The things you can’t answer. But yet they never go away. They are so interesting to you, you can write about them sideways, about them straight on. But there they are.”

Shoup stated life is shaped by the books read.

“Mine certainly was. My life is always being shaped by books. I’m constantly being changed,” she said.

She noted getting books from the library and reading novels. She’s at 100 already this year.

Noting the importance of Operation Read not only making literacy possible, but helping them to learn skills to navigate the world, it’s also bringing people to the steps of the public library where they can discover the joy of reading for pleasure.

Greg Giczi with PBS Michiana WNIT, right ,was presented the Literacy Laurels Award for their support of the organization .Giczi has also provided time to assist and mentor DeeAnna Muraski, who is shown on the left,

For her that pleasure is fiction.

“It opens the doors to worlds beyond our own,” she stated.

She noted you can travel by way of fiction, you can be somebody else for a little while.

“You can win battles that you may have lost in your own life. The most important thing fiction brings, I think of as emotional literacy,” she said.

Shoup said good fiction does what nothing else can do.

“It gives you the privilege of being inside someone’s head that is not you …” When you’re reading fiction, you are inside somebody’s head … if honest with ourselves the way we present to the world … is not the same person we are inside … if we are reading fiction and privy to the idea that there are things going on inside people’s heads, we’ve never thought about before, we might think about that in the real people that we meet …tempted to dig a little bit deeper and see what is really going on. I think it makes you a better person,” Shoup said.

She stated a growing amount of research has found people who read fiction tend to better understand and share in the feelings of others.

DeeAnna Muraski, chief executive officer of Operation Read, left, is shown with Bev Huffer, right, who was one of the recipients of the Literacy Laurels Award. Huffer, one of the first donors of the program, continues to give of her time and money, including coming once a month to label and arrange books.

“I think reading makes you curious … if you are curious it is almost impossible to hate. They cancel each other other out. If you’re curious, you’re going to find out something that’s not going to make you able to hate. It’s going to make you want to know more. To know why … it gives you empathy, understanding that you wouldn’t necessarily have otherwise and you can do it in private …”

She concluded that as a fiction writer you have to love your characters.

“You cannot hate your characters. You cannot write for revenge. You cannot write to prove a point. You can only write well by being trying to figure out who your characters are — the parts, bad parts, how they play off each other, how they contradict one another and gosh, don’t we all now need that now more than anything — the ability to understand each other better?”

“Books make us feel like we’re not alone. They make us think what I’ve done may be a problem, but I’m not the only one … so I think that it’s important for all of us to read books for that reason alone … literacy is a huge gift. You gift people that you tutor a better life. you also gift them the opportunity to read stories that will enrich their imaginations and open their hearts. Thank you for making this happen in your community. The work that you are doing just, wow, it’s so good. Keep doing that.”

To learn more about Operation Read’s programs and the 1994 Club, visit operationreadusa.org.