11 Comments

You write better than any other living journalist. (I know two with Knight-Ridder who were just as good, but they both died, along with K-R, great losses.) I would subscribe to any newsletter you offer.

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Thank you so much, Phyllis. I also knew a lot of fantastic journalists with Knight-Ridder. It was a honor to work for that place.

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Long-time fan here - just wanted to let you know that although I received your former weekly emails for quite some time, I did not automatically get this new substack. I of course, I knew of the change and was watching for it. I saw your post on FB and immediately signed up, but otherwise it might have taken me a while to realize I was not getting it. Don’t know if there's something there you need to tweak. Your fans will find you eventually.

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Yay to your new venture! I just subscribed and am so excited 😊. Hope you and Alix are well. Marylou Iantosca(aka Emmie)

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Marylou! Thanks so much. So good to hear from you again.

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Tommy, are you familiar with the Clarence Jordan, the writer and farmer from Americus?

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Greg, the name rings a bell but I can't put a story to it.

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I thought of him in connection because of his old writing shack on the farm there. The writing shed is still there, and the farm still operates. Clarence and a small, integrated group started a multi-racial farming commune called Koinonia Farms a few miles outside of Americus in the 1940s. Clarence was a Bible scholar who wrote lots of stuff, including a New Testament translation that set the story in Georgia rather than ancient Palestine. One of the saints of the 20th century.

There's a fair amount of work out there about it - Briars in the Cotton Patch is a book, and I believe there is a documentary by the same name.

One of the works that grew out of Koinoinia was Habitat for Humanity.

I think you'd appreciate Clarence's storytelling style and humor.

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I did know of Koinoinia but didn’t attach his name to it. I’ll go track down some of this!

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So excited to read my first email from The Writing Shack!😍

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Thank you, Constance! I sure do miss seeing you.

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