February 22, 2005: Headlines: COS - Ethiopia: Writing - Ethiopia: The Berkshire Eagle: Dick Lipez originally came to Berkshire County in 1968 after a stint in the Peace Corps -- not to write, but to work in an anti-poverty program in Pittsfield

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Ethiopia: Peace Corps Ethiopia : The Peace Corps in Ethiopia: February 22, 2005: Headlines: COS - Ethiopia: Writing - Ethiopia: The Berkshire Eagle: Dick Lipez originally came to Berkshire County in 1968 after a stint in the Peace Corps -- not to write, but to work in an anti-poverty program in Pittsfield

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Dick Lipez originally came to Berkshire County in 1968 after a stint in the Peace Corps -- not to write, but to work in an anti-poverty program in Pittsfield

Dick Lipez originally came to Berkshire County in 1968 after a stint in the Peace Corps -- not to write, but to work in an anti-poverty program in Pittsfield

Dick Lipez originally came to Berkshire County in 1968 after a stint in the Peace Corps -- not to write, but to work in an anti-poverty program in Pittsfield

The Berkshires: Just right for writers

By Special to The Eagle

By Bill Shein

When Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the Berkshires' best-known 19th-century writers, said that "easy reading is damn hard writing," he neatly summed up the writer's lament: That our most beloved books, stories and poems enter the world not by luck or accident, but only thanks to the grinding, unglamorous, often frustrating daily work of putting pen to paper -- or, today, by replacing empty white pixels with creativity-laden black ones.

And contrary to some imaginary F.-Scott-and-Zelda-at-party-after-party version of the literary life, most of today's successful writers travel a solitary, even lonely path through a mountain range of emotionally intense peaks, separated -- and often made possible by -- the quiet, serene valleys below.

Perhaps that metaphor explains why the hills and valleys of the Berkshires have, for generations, been attractive to writers of all stripes. Novelist Elizabeth Brundage, whose well-received first novel, "The Doctor's Wife" was published by Viking last year, says the Berkshires provides a quiet life, free from distractions, that enables her to cultivate the rich, creative inner life she needs for fiction writing.

[Excerpt]

Mystery novelist Dick Lipez of Becket, has lived in the area for nearly 40 years. "Writers, unless they're masochists, want a good quality of life in all ways, and you can get that here," he says. Lipez originally came to Berkshire County in 1968 after a stint in the Peace Corps -- not to write, but to work in an anti-poverty program in Pittsfield. He says his writing career was "a happy coincidence," because being around other writers "makes you think hey, maybe I can do that too."

Last year his novel "Third Man Out," part of his successful series of Donald Strachey mysteries written under the pen name Richard Stevenson, was acquired by the here! television channel, a new premium gay and lesbian cable network. A mini-series based on the book will air on here! this summer, and will be directed by Ron Oliver ("Queer as Folk").

"There's a kind of creative burbling around here that is good for anybody that has to get up in the morning and think of something original to say or do," Lipez says. Compared to the area's more solitary scribes, he does socialize with other local writers, noting wryly that it helps a writer to "be around people you can commiserate with -- or plagiarize."





When this story was posted in February 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Date: February 7 2005 No: 438 The Peace Corps Library
Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

Make a call for the Peace Corps Date: February 19 2005 No: 453 Make a call for the Peace Corps
PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.
Peace Corps Calendar:Tempest in a Teapot? Date: February 17 2005 No: 445 Peace Corps Calendar:Tempest in a Teapot?
Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments.

February 19, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Date: February 19 2005 No: 449 February 19, 2005: This Week's Top Stories
NPCA Board positions are open for nomination 17 Feb
Mike Tidwell on trial for climate action protest 17 Feb
Katie Dyer is co-owner of Cadeaux du Monde 16 Feb
Cyclone misses Tonga and Samoa PCVs 16 Feb
Phil Hardberger in debate for Mayor of San Antonio 16 Feb
Edmund Hull is Princeton Diplomat-In-Residence 16 Feb
Bruce Greenlee is longtime friend of Latino community 15 Feb
Mike Honda new vice chairman at DNC 15 Feb
Jospeh Opala documents slave crossing from Sierra Leone 14 Feb
Dear Dr. Brothers: Aren't PCVs Hippies? 14 Feb
Joseph Lanning founded the World Education Fund 14 Feb
Stanley Levine draws Marine and Peace Corps similarities 14 Feb
Speaking Out: JFK envisioned millions of RPCVs 13 Feb
Chris Aquino visits mother's homeland of Vietnam 12 Feb
Is PCOL blocking users from posting messages? 12 Feb
JFK Library opens Sargent Shriver Collection 1 Feb
RPCV responds to Bulgaria Calendar concerns 28 Jan

WWII participants became RPCVs Date: February 13 2005 No: 442 WWII participants became RPCVs
Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.
Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps Date: February 7 2005 No: 436 Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps
The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.
RPCVs mobilize support for Countries of Service Date: January 30 2005 No: 405 RPCVs mobilize support for Countries of Service
RPCV Groups mobilize to support their Countries of Service. Over 200 RPCVS have already applied to the Crisis Corps to provide Tsunami Recovery aid, RPCVs have written a letter urging President Bush and Congress to aid Democracy in Ukraine, and RPCVs are writing NBC about a recent episode of the "West Wing" and asking them to get their facts right about Turkey.
RPCVs contend for Academy Awards  Date: January 31 2005 No: 416 RPCVs contend for Academy Awards
Bolivia RPCV Taylor Hackford's film "Ray" is up for awards in six categories including best picture, best actor and best director. "Autism Is a World" co-produced by Sierra Leone RPCV Douglas Biklen and nominated for best Documentary Short Subject, seeks to increase awareness of developmental disabilities. Colombian film "El Rey," previously in the running for the foreign-language award, includes the urban legend that PCVs teamed up with El Rey to bring cocaine to U.S. soil.
Ask Not Date: January 18 2005 No: 388 Ask Not
As our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

Read the stories and leave your comments.






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Story Source: The Berkshire Eagle

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ethiopia; Writing - Ethiopia

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