Ken Ballard is a longtime friend to Write Around Portland. He began as a participant in our writing program nearly 25 years ago and we have been lucky enough to keep in touch with him since then. The following is a statement that Ken shared with us recently about why he continues to support the work that we do.
“I would like to explain why I’m now contributing to Write Around Portland. A long time ago, in either 1998 or 1999, I participated in your group for those with HIV at Project Quest. Over the course of the next year or so, I was in two additional groups before volunteering to become a facilitator.
“While I was probably no more than adequate as one — if that — I did lead a group at FolkTime. As many of your facilitators certainly know, it can be hard to walk away from a group, though my experience may have been somewhat extreme. And in those 12 years, as well as with 10 weeks at New Avenues and CAP, once a week I would bring a different poem to share as an example of good writing.
“The first week at Project Quest, about 25 years ago, [Write Around Portland Co-Founder] Ben Moorad read “The Hug” by Thom Gunn. Later, he suggested I try Seamus Heaney. And from there my list of favorite poets have increased to include Danez Smith, Dorianne Laux, Billy Collins, Ellen Bass, Elizabeth Bishop, Mark Doty, Ross Gay, and many others. All of whom I have shared first with a Lenten Poetry class for St. Stephen’s in Portland back in 2010, then St. Francis in Wilsonville, and lately with St. Paul’s in Palm Springs. And for the last four years I’ve been doing a weekly Zoom Poetry night for St. Stephen’s.
“This morning, I worked on “2024 Pride Poetry,” a book that has 24 poems by 24 LGBTQ poets, which will lead to four hours of Pizza and Poetry to celebrate Pride here in the land of exuberant Pride: Palm Springs. In short, Write Around Portland was a transformative experience that I feel, better late than never, I have to acknowledge in some tangible manner.”