You’ve already heard from me about how to support creativity and literacy by supporting awesome non-profits working hard to change the world.
Now it’s time to talk about supporting other writers.
Too many good writers barely make a living, and far too many throughout history have died in poverty. And it’s not just writers. Artists of all kinds often suffer the same fate, dying in miserable squalor despite the amazing contributions they’ve made to our culture and history.
Creating amazing art of any kind doesn’t necessarily equal earning a fortune. J. K. Rowling might be one of the richest people in the world, but there are plenty of talented authors who struggle to eat.
There are many grants available for writers to work on a specific project, but the Canadian Writer’s Foundation focuses on the writers many people like to ignore: senior Canadian writers struggling to make ends meet.
why is taking care of older writers so important?
I could rant for hours about how North American society needs to rethink its treatment of old people and the amount of resources available for the aging people responsible for the wonderful era we live in. There are, however, many political bloggers who already discuss that and other topics at length, and this is a writing blog, so I won’t.
There are two very important reasons why, as a writer who’s still able to find work fairly easily and still able to call myself something along the lines of “healthy”, I think it’s important to support senior writers–Canadian or otherwise.
The first reason we need to support these writers is because they’ve made great contributions to our culture and our history. Some of them will have books taught in schools for generations to come, shaping our future by influencing how our young people think. Others have simply written classics that will be enjoyed for decades or even centuries, if only by a select few.
As people who have actively shaped and changed Canadian culture and history, these writers deserve to be honoured. They deserve to die with happiness and dignity, not in squalor and misery.
The other reason why I believe it’s important to support senior writers is because someday–barring accident or disease–I’m going to be a senior writer. While I’m confident I’ll be able to make a living as a writer for a large portion of my life and even confident I’ll be comfortable in my old age, there are no guarantees.
I’d really like to think that someday when I am a senior writer, if I am in desperate need of help to keep my home or live comfortably, an organization like the Canadian Writer’s Foundation will be there to help me out.
These organizations won’t continue forever without people there to back them up. You can either make a donation or simply spread the word, but if you want to support elder Canadian writers, you’ll want to support the Canadian Writer’s Foundation.
Not from Canada? If you can find a similar non-profit/charity in your area, I’d love to feature it on The Dabbler.
Are you enjoying this series of posts? Thinking about how you can contribute to these non-profits? Let me know what you’re thinking in the comments section below.