SLP's 4th Annual Celebration Success!
Dear Simpsonistas,
Many of us exuberantly gathered on a balmy Sunday evening, 20 September, for the annual celebration of the Simpson Literary Project. 50 of us gathered outdoors in the California Shakespeare Theater's beautiful 500-seat amphitheater, with plenty of room to social distance and sport our SLP-designed masks.
The event coincided with the culmination of Rosh Hashana, a high holy day of reflection and reaffirmation—the new year. Shana Tova! And it also coincided with the autumnal equinox, when night and day are perfectly balanced, and therefore also a time to look back and forward. We do that continually with the Project.
We shared a delicious and beautifully presented meal from Market Hall. We also honored Daniel Mason, winner of our 2020 Joyce Carol Oates Prize, as well as Michael Krasny, as you can see below. In addition, it was especially moving to call out some students from the Simpson Workshops, who performed so memorably. And we all were highly entertained and educated by our Pandemic Popup Players, who illuminated Shakespeare’s plays in the dramatic context of the plague. A very full night, in other words.
We have not been in existence for very long, but in that time we have given to writers and teachers and students $346,000, every penny of which comes from our dedicated supporters, like you.
We will be sharing with you video in time. But in the meantime, thank you for all you do to advance our efforts to celebrate marvelous storytelling and to educate our younger writers.
Keep in touch!
All for now,
Diane & Joe
diane@newliteraryproject.org
jdp@newliteraryproject.org
Socially distanced dining on the beautiful Calshakes grounds.
Photos by Jim Baldocchi.