Wordcrafters in Eugene has been awarded over $50,000 from national and state funds to support their work in the literary arts.
Over the last couple weeks, Wordcrafters received funding from the Literary Arts Emergency Fund, the Oregon Arts Commission’s Arts Learning Program and Oregon’s Coronavirus Relief Fund Cultural Support program.
According to Executive Director Daryll Lynne Evans they pay all their writers for their time.
“As the year’s gone on, it’s been getting tighter and tighter. So, kinda standing on the precipice going, well, okay. Which ones are we able to provide or not?” Evans said. “But this allows us to fund the rest of our programs and ensure that we’ll be able to do all of them effectively. And not have to scrimp or shrink them back.”
The majority of the money will go towards funding the Writers in the Schools program. Every year Wordcrafters works with local schools to bring professional writers into classrooms. Especially schools with fewer resources.
The focus for the fall residence will be spoken word poetry. At the end, students are either given a book of their class’s poems or a video of their performances. Classroom teachers are also given additional resources and lesson plans.
