Letter
I majored in English writing/journalism at the University of Pittsburgh, and while I didn’t get lucky enough to take a class taught by Jeanne Marie Laskas, I was fortunate that the professors who I did have used her work to teach. More than one journalism or creative nonfiction class taught her work, which was published in Allure magazine, Life and Esquire, to name a few. We would read her stories, dissect them, mark them up, discuss them. And then, we – aspiring journalists and creative writers – would attempt to replicate her ability to weave practically poetic lines into the stories that we chose to write about in class.
I still have a file folder, packed away in a box in an unused room upstairs, full of papers and lessons from my college writing classes – and Jeanne Marie’s pieces are in it. They’re black and white photocopies of magazine pages; I don’t think anything was printed from the internet. Since my graduation in 2003, her career has reached a new level, with works like “Concussion,” “Hidden America” and most recently, last month’s “To Obama,” the story of the letters that the former president received each day from his constituents, and the story of how those letters and those who wrote them shaped his presidency. Like “Concussion,” it started out as a magazine article and grew to much, much more.
Laskas lives in Scenery Hill on a large farm that she’s written about in two of her books (“Fifty Acres and a Poodle” and “The Exact Same Moon: Fifty acres and a family”). She’s still affiliated with my alma mater, serving as a distinguished professor of English and the founding director of the Center for Creativity there. Writer Nicole Barley sat down with her at her home, and got a glimpse into her process, her life and her garden. You can read the piece on page 16.
Back in the city of Washington, you may have noticed that Main Street is beginning to change. New businesses are popping up, like Emerald Valley Artisans, the Washington Brewery, Big Shot Bob’s House of Wings, and they’re collaborating and partnering with businesses that have been on Main Street for years. Part of the reason is the Washington Business District Authority’s new Main Street manager, William Prince. He’s a Mon Valley native with a background in historic preservation, and he’s bringing new ideas and a fresh perspective to downtown Washington. Writer Kristin Emery interviewed him, and you can get to know him better on page 20.
Rounding out the features in this issue is digital media editor Justin Channell’s inside look at a documentary about the late George Romero’s career – and it’s largely set in Washington County, where a number of Romero films were, well, filmed. The 1990 remake of “Night of the Living Dead” was shot entirely in Washington County, and the 1993 Romero adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Dark Half” features Washington & Jefferson College heavily as a backdrop. Horror movie fans, turn to page 26.
Happy reading,