Salt and Pepper
This is the web version of the official newsletter of authors, Gene Key and Fannie Hawkins.
Who We Are
Gene Key (right) and friends at "Fingers of Fire" book signing
LIFE'S JOURNEY
Tough Years Offer Substance for Writer's Poetry and Prose
By Gina Velkly
Gene Key's life has provided many
obstacles and adventures. The writer uses her life challenges to reach out to
others through her poetry and short stories.
Key didn't receive a lot of encouragement during her
youth. "I was the one predicted to never be anything," the 76-year-old
writer said.
The daughter of Arkansas sharecroppers, Key found
contentment and acceptance at school. However, she was unable to continue her
education after eighth grade because she and her siblings were needed to help
work in the cotton fields.
The lack of intellectual stimulation caused Key to grow
up with low self-esteem. It also caused her to make decisions that would have a
lasting affect on her life. She married another sharecropper, and spent the
first years of adulthood traveling from state to state in search of field
work.
The family wound up in South Haven in 1951 to help in
the blueberry fields. Key liked the area and wanted to stay, but the family
returned to Arkansas at the end of the season.
Placed back in a poverty situation, Key took it upon
herself to contact the South Haven farmer to learn what kind of work was
available during the winter and spring. The farmer sent the family $35 for
transportation, and in early 1952 they were on their way back to what would
become their permanent home in Michigan.
"We came with our family in the front seat, our
friends' family in the back seat, and all that we owned in the trunk. The
Beverly Hillbillies had nothing on us," Key recalled.
By 1965, Key had become a single parent, responsible
for raising seven children. Initially, she and the children continued to pick
berries to survive. But in 1969, Key moved to Holland and began seeing her
lifestyle change. She started a new job as a welder at the General Electric
plant, and bought her family its first permanent home.
She also realized her most treasured dream. Nearly 40
years after leaving school, Key began taking classes to earn her high school
diploma. She graduated in 1978 at the head of her class.
Throughout the years, she'd made a habit of scribbling
down her thoughts and lines of poetry she'd made up. And after high school, she
taught herself to type and began to fill page after page with prose. However,
until six years ago, she hadn't thought about sharing the personal writings with
others. Key's writing career began to blossom as a result of a doctor's advice.
While she was at an orthopedic appointment for a
shoulder injury, she'd shared some of her life's stories with Dr. Earl Rhind, as
he continued his examination. He asked Key if she'd ever considered writing her
stories down for others to enjoy.
"He told me to go home and write, and if I brought
it back, my payment would be in a deducted payment for the office call,"
Key recalled.
Following Rhind's advice, she wrote about the day her
brother came to tell her that he had cancer and only six months to live. Key
took the story back to the doctor and was rewarded with a $40 credit to her
account. Key's next success came after reading about a poetry contest in
Writer's Digest magazine. Her poem, "A Journey," was published in the
1994 Quill Books anthology titled "Dusting Off Dreams." The poem tells
of Key's personal relationship with God, and how her faith has changed her
life.
Being recognized in a national competition lifted Key's
confidence in her ability to write. "When I get a little attention, it goes
to my head. I get a little sassy about it," Key said. "I peddled (the
book) like it was precious goods," she added.
Since breaking into the market, Key's work has been
featured in numerous publications.
She writes only about things she knows.
"Remembering Michael" tells about her first meeting with her 3-day-old
grandson. "A Cat Named Dawg" describes the antics of the black cat
that shares her home. She's even written a poem about the colorful suits worn by
the pastor of her church.
The poet has self-published a book of poetry, and is
working on a second edition. The new volume will include more short
stories.
The writer enjoys using words to add color to a white
sheet of paper. "I would like to be able to picture the Grand Canyon in
words, but you know that is totally impossible," she said.
Key retired from G.E. in 1983, and spends most of her
days at the typewriter. She's also written her autobiography, which she hopes to
have published within the next year.
WHO: Gene Key of Holland.
CURRENTLY: Her poetry has just been published in a new Quill Books
anthology, titled "Promises to Keep - Volume IV," and in Sparrowgrass
Poetry Forum's "Treasured Poems of America '98."
CREDITS: Won the 1997 Editor's Choice Award from the National Library of
Poetry. Self-published a book of poems in 1997 titled "A Bit of My
Heart." Her work was featured often in the "Senior Times"
newspaper, and was published in the 1994, 1995 and 1996 Quill Books anthologies,
the 1996 National Poets Association book, the 1996 National Library of Poetry
volumes, and "Treasured Poems of America '97" by Sparrowgrass Poetry
Forum. She is a member of the "Fingers of Fire" writing ministry at
Faith Christian Center in Holland, and a monthly writer's group in Grandville.
INFLUENCES: Poets Edgar Allan Poe, William Cullen Bryant, Elizabeth Barrett
Browning and Robert Frost.
QUOTE: "My life was simple, but now I put (those experiences) into
stories and it's like a patchwork quilt."
Reprinted here with permission from The Grand Rapids Press.