Writers panel hosts four Baltimore writers

The Writing Department hosted four writers Friday afternoon in McGuire Hall as part of this year's Humanities Symposium. Dutifully following Loyola's Year of the City initiative the topic of the panel's discussion focused on "the challenges, responsibilities, pleasures, dangers, and far-reaching impact of writing about a large, and complex American city like Baltimore."

First up was longtime Baltimore Sun columnist Gregory Kane, who spoke briefly on some of the challenges facing him as a hard-news, investigative journalist. His Sun column tackles issues of crime, education, government, sports, and popular culture, with a "distinctly Baltimore perspective," according to Loyola's director of Composition Peggy O'Neill, who introduced the panelists.

"Journalists are supposed to tell the truth," said Kane, "but it doesn't always work that way." As an example Kane cited the case of New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, who Kane said "punk'd the press" after being found guilty of plagiarizing and fabricating numerous stories during his three years at the Times.

Kane then segued into some of his own reporting travails, interviewing public officials, who tend not to be the most accessible people. And when Kane has a question for one of Baltimore's government leaders, answers were not always forthcoming. Kane often resorted to pestering, hounding and threatening to elicit the answers he desired. "If you are within driving distance of the Baltimore Sun, I will come. I will find you and I will pound on your door," half joked Kane.

Officials will sometimes use the term 'investigating" as a guise when they don't want to tell the truth or give straight answers on a certain incident. This is evident in the case of David McGuinn, a correctional officer who was allegedly stabbed to death by two inmates at a maximum security prison last summer, said Kane. Details on McGuinn's death and questions of how to punish his killers have not been addressed by officials who have been "investigating" the incident for seven months. Kane has threatened to write about McGuinn's story every month in his weekly column until the officials take accountability.

Children's author Jane Conly read two excerpts from her famed children's novels describing street life in Baltimore. She spoke about how she got her start in the city, volunteering and working in the Waverly neighborhood while a grad student at Johns Hopkins University. The area she lived, just a few blocks south of the CVS on York Rd., was racially and economically diverse and inspired many of the themes addressed in her novels. Conly recounted how she met the title character of her 1994 Newberry award winner, Crazy Lady!, through volunteer work in the community.

Chezia Thompson Cager, a poet, essayist and professor at Maryland Institute College of Art, performed one of her narrative poems about city life in Baltimore. In the poem, which was part-spoken part-sung, Cager reflected back on her life as a "country girl" and examined emotions and events that impacted her decision to lead a "city life." She recounted a laundry list of things, both positive and negative, about life in downtown Baltimore, at one point asking "who needs city life…double digit murders, teenage prostitution, traffic, rats?" only to reply "I guess I do," in an ultimately uplifting, albeit raw, testament to the urban life.

She advised student writers to "know your process - be able to turn it on to do what you want when you want it." No matter if you are writing for an assignment or just for fun, the simple practice of writing is beneficial for the brain, according to Cager, who lauded writing as a "cognitive development strategy."

Urbanite editor-in-chief and urban regeneration expert Elizabeth Evitts stressed the importance of quality communication between the Baltimore community and city planners. Using an example drawn from a book by Jane Jacobs, author of this year's common text, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Evitts explained why writers must look critically at situations, letting the voice of the subject tell the story.

When asked what areas of Baltimore she thought needed to be rejuvenated, Evitts spoke of the sections "off the spine" of Charles and St. Paul streets. She called for the basics to be built -- grocery stores, coffee shops, places for people to gather, "and then maybe those neighborhoods can start to thrive," said Evitts.

As far as advice for aspiring writers, Evitts said basic skills and professionalism go a long way. "If you meet your deadlines on time with accurate reporting, you will set yourself apart."