Photo
Courtesy of Maxine Ledford
Rosemary
Calkins, left, reads a story by 6-year-old Hailey Ledford in October at The
Bookstore in Glen Ellyn. Calkins organized a summer writing workshop for
Carol Stream-area children and bound their stories into a literary magazine.
Carol
Stream woman has a nose for prose
By
Jack Komperda | Daily
Herald Staff
Writing
has always been a not-so-secret passion for Rosemary Calkins.
The
English teacher and co-founder of the DuPage Writers Group organizes regular
seminars and round-table discussions for budding wordsmiths in a local
library.
A
few years ago, she helped organize the formation of an arts group in the
community.
And
this past summer, the Carol Stream woman extended that outreach effort to some
of Carol Stream's younger residents, organizing a writer's workshop for kids
in her home.
For
several days nearly two dozen kids met to churn out short stories, poetry and
essays that Calkins eventually bound into a literary magazine titled Kid's
Possibilities.
A
few still too young to jot down their thoughts on paper had a ghost writer at
their disposal.
"It
was kind of scary because I didn't know how it'd turn out," Calkins said.
"But it was a leap of faith that kind of evolved day by day."
Calkins
took her new venture a step further, organizing a reading of the material in
October by the pint-sized authors at The Bookstore in Glen Ellyn. Following
the reading, the kids got a chance to play famous author for a day, signing
their creation for the adoring audience of moms and dads.
"The
best part was planting that seed of loving to write," Calkins said.
"Hopefully, we could do it again next year."
Published:
11/22/200 12:18 AM