Hello in There

By Harriet Riley

A few tables and chairs litter the room. The walls are unadorned. Along with coffee, cake and brownies, this room contains lives.

Each Wednesday morning when I arrive at the community center, the students sit in a circle singing along with a mandolin-player. When she finishes, we all push the tables into the middle and arrange the chairs so everyone has a place. I pass out lined paper and pencils. We are now here to write.

As a creative writing teacher, I’ve written ...