From Postcards to Novels, New Biz creates safe space for writers, all writers
Need help with that term paper, story or poem?
Sarah Cook has you covered.
By Tom Peterson
“I am going on an adventure,” said Sarah Cook.
The 34-year old is melding her career of advocacy and her expertise in literature and writing to offer locals a chance to refine their writing - any writing.
All people have an ignition switch - a voice inside that is fascinating and interesting. Why not share it?
Sarah aims to put a flame to that pilot light to get your prose burning a hot blue flame.
And it doesn’t have to hurt.
She approaches it as coaching, advocating for the exploration of your ideas and your willingness to embrace being creative and playful in your work.
Writing does not have to be a struggle, she said.
“I’m not interested in reinforcing the myth that creativity must revolve around suffering, that art can’t be well done, challenging and joyful all at once,” she said. “Creative writing can be a safe space to explore difficult things, including hard feelings, embarrassment, ugliness and trauma. But it’s about claiming that space and owning it for the joy of the process, too.”
So, maybe 2022 is your year to get that novel completed, that short story written - Sarah can help you to the finish line - ###.
Some of you may know Sarah from her work around town: she spent the last few years at Mid-Columbia Center for Living as a housing advocate and case manager. Her previous roles were youth-based, running the Oregon Trail Transitional House at The Next Door and working closely with homeless teens at the Y.E.S. House. One of her biggest takeaways from these jobs, she says, has been the importance of “modeling self-advocacy as a way to support people with meeting their basic needs while honoring their dignity,” no matter their circumstances in life.
What you may not know is that she has her Master’s in English Literature from the University of Maine, her Bachelor’s from Southern Oregon University and that she left academia behind to follow her passion of advocacy in social justice work.
This has led to a strong background in teaching people to be their own advocates.
As you might imagine, she is a pretty positive person to be around. She’s also pretty fun.
Oh, the name of her new business?
Simple.
Cook said she is open to coaching and editing essay writers, students wanting to score on a term paper, and poets and creative writers who want a greater impact on their readers. She operates anywhere between prose and postcards, though she gets especially excited about writing that is “lyrical,” curious, and hard to define or categorize. She believes that everyone can benefit from a willingness to write–and think, and live–“a little more like a poet.”
While she is a sharp editor, she is equally interested in how a piece of work generates new, playful ideas, for both the reader and writer.
Prices start at $120 for a single session that would, say, see a 15-page term paper come to completion. She also offers a $600, 3-month package that includes six sessions for a larger project - maybe the completion of a chapbook of short stories?
Her website is pretty fun, listing services as:
Writing
Telling lousy jokes
Giving all her attention to one mediumish idea at a time
Naming all the things she loves about your poem, and talking with you about how to make more of those things
Sending postcards
Zooming way in
Sarah Comes by this ‘adventure’ rightly.
After graduating from Southern Oregon, she applied to 10 different graduate programs and was accepted into 9. She landed at the University of Maine where she rekindled a friendship and eventual relationship with Mo Burford, who also attended Southern Oregon.
Their ending up in Maine at the same time was “a coincidence…sort of,” says Cook.
His family lived in Maupin before moving to The Dalles, which is why the couple landed here post-graduation. He is now the Assistant Director at the Hood River County Library, and Cook’s most supportive reader and editor.
And that’s how Sarah made it from her hometown of Central Point, Oregon to The Dalles. She and Mo have been here seven years.
As Sarah builds her creative business, she hopes to resume working with youth and teens. “I am passionate about working with young people,” she said. “And I’m super interested in advocacy-based work, encouraging emotional development, and teaching folks to be their own best advocates.”
She is coupling these coaching skills with her creativity and editing skills in order to give people a leg up on their own writing.
“I want to bring a strengths-based perspective to the work of writing, to be a sensitive and close reader, and to encourage anyone’s relationship with their own creativity to blossom,” she said.
Sarah is Poetry Editor for Neon Door, and writes a monthly newsletter called For the Birds.
Prospective clients are encouraged to fill out this short inquiry form, found on my website, or else they can email me at sarah.teresa.cook@gmail.com.
