​We’re getting together on Tuesday, September 15, from 5:30 to 7 PM at the Heine Brothers in Shepherdsville.

​This entire event is an excuse to drink some great coffee, make some artsy, local friends, and hang out. Bring whatever you’re currently working on—whether that’s knitting, sketching, or journaling—or engage in light, easy to learn games. Pull up a chair, and chinwag! No pressure, no rigid structure, just a fun way to spend a couple of hours.

​Grab your current project (or just yourself) and drop in whenever you can, for as long as you’d like. Let us know in the comments if you think you can make it!

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This milestone strengthens our ability to pursue our mission of using the arts to empower individuals, especially those navigating recovery and reentry. We are working to create an inclusive, sober creative community where people can find connection, opportunity, and a sense of belonging in Bullitt County and beyond.

We are grateful to the members of our founding Board of Directors for their leadership:

• Randy Johnson, Chair

• Paul Campion, Vice Chair

• Lynn Tincher, Treasurer

• Evie Reed, Secretary

• Dennis Shaffner, Member at Large

Our work is already underway through several foundational programs:

• Quarterly Artists’ Socials: creating opportunities for artists and creatives to connect, collaborate, and build community.

• Youth Artist Fellowship: a $1,000 award supporting an emerging young artist. Applications are currently open to teen artists ages 16 to 19 through August 31. Click here for more information and to apply.

• Youth Arts & Mindfulness Camp: providing young people with opportunities to explore creativity, mindfulness, and connection.

• Sand & Silt: a new literary magazine featuring creative work from Bullitt County and beyond, launching this fall.

Our next Artists’ Social is November 5, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at From the Ground Up Books in Shepherdsville, where we’ll celebrate the launch of Sand & Silt. In addition to featured readings by Kentucky Poet Laureate Kathleen Driskell and spoken-word artist Kenny Fresh of Louisville, Ky., we will have an open mic, giveaways, and light refreshments.

There’s a lot coming down the pike, and we’re just getting started. We hope you’ll be a part of it. For more information, contact us at saltriverlocalarts@gmail.com.

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If you’ve been meaning to send us your work but haven’t quite found the time, we hope you’ll take these extra two weeks to polish that poem, finish that essay, revise that story, or photograph your artwork.

Sand & Silt, the literary magazine of Salt River Local Arts Collaborative, will publish its first print, digital, and audio editions this fall, featuring writers and artists whose work reflects community, recovery, survival, resilience, and grit. We welcome both emerging and established voices.

While our roots are in Kentucky’s Salt River region, submissions are open to creators everywhere. We’re especially interested in work shaped by recovery, rural life, incarceration, trauma, poverty, caregiving, labor, mental health, and the many forms of community that help people endure. We encourage submissions from LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive creators, Black, Brown, and ethnically diverse voices, and anyone whose stories have too often been overlooked.

Young creators are encouraged to submit as well. Our Riverbed section will feature writing and artwork by contributors ages 13–18, because we believe the next generation deserves a place alongside established voices.

Contributors selected for publication will appear in our inaugural print, digital, and audio editions and will receive a complimentary copy of the print journal.

Click here for the full submission guidelines and to submit your work. Please help us spread the word by sharing this announcement with the writers, artists, photographers, and storytellers in your life.

The official launch of Sand & Silt will take place during SLAC’s fourth quarter Artists’ Social. Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 5, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at From the Ground Up Books, 1325 Highway 44 East in Shepherdsville.

Special thanks to the Kentucky Foundation for Women for helping to make this inaugural issue possible.

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We welcome both emerging and established voices. While our roots are in Kentucky’s Salt River region, submissions are open to creators everywhere. We are especially interested in work shaped by recovery, rural life, incarceration, trauma, poverty, caregiving, labor, mental health, and the many forms of community that help people endure. We encourage submissions from LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive creators, Black, Brown, and ethnically diverse voices, and anyone whose stories have too often been overlooked.

We also encourage submissions from young people. Our Riverbed section will feature writing and art by contributors ages 13 to 18.

Selected contributors will be featured in our inaugural print, digital, and audio editions and will receive a complimentary copy of the print journal.

Click here for the full submission guidelines and to submit your work. Please share and help spread the word.

The official launch of Sand & Silt will take place during our fourth quarter Artists’ Social in early November. Stay tuned for date, venue, and other details.

We’re grateful to the Kentucky Foundation for Women, whose support helped make this inaugural issue possible.

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The fellowship is open to Bullitt County youth ages 16-19 who are passionate about writing, visual art, music, theater, dance, photography, digital media, or another creative discipline. The selected fellow will receive a $1,000 fellowship award, one-on-one mentorship with an experienced artist or educator, leadership development opportunities, and the chance to make a lasting impact on the local arts scene.

Throughout the year, the youth artist fellow will develop their own creative practice while participating in SLAC events and completing a youth-centered capstone project. They’ll also have the chance to share their work with the community and help lead activities at our Youth Arts and Mindfulness (YAM) Camp.

SLAC's 2025-26 Youth Artist Fellow, Finley Byers, said the experience "helped me sharpen my leadership skills and make connections with people in the art scene that will definitely help me as I move forward and start new projects."

At SLAC, we believe creativity helps people connect, heal, grow, and build stronger communities. We encourage all eligible young artists to apply, whether you’re already sharing your work publicly or just beginning to discover your creative voice.

Application deadline: Monday, August 31, 2026.

Before applying, please review full program details and expectations here.

Click here to apply for the fellowship.

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The new date is Sunday, July 19, from 3 to 5 PM at Heine Brothers Coffee in Shepherdsville. The event is free and open to everyone—artists, writers, musicians, and community members alike.

In addition to our featured guest, Miss Play 2026 Breanna Burns, SLAC member and drag artist The Salty Sparrow (a.k.a. Sam Holcomb) will MC the event. We’ll have our regular $50 prize for the open mic, with a second place prize of $25 and a third place prize of $15 sponsored by SLAC member Stacey Thompson and her Sudsy Budsy handmade soaps. We’re grateful to Sam and Stacey for coordinating this gathering.

The Pride event is one of four quarterly Artists’ Socials hosted by Salt River Local Arts Collaborative. We’ve intentionally designed these events to fit a modest budget while still creating meaningful opportunities for artists, writers, performers, and supporters of the arts in Bullitt County and surrounding areas.

‘Sand & Silt’ Lit Mag Now Open for Submissions

Sand & Silt, the literary magazine of Salt River Local Arts Collaborative, is accepting submissions for its inaugural issue through July 31. This fall, we’ll publish our first digital, print, and audio editions, featuring writers and artists whose work reflects resilience, place, and the complicated beauty of being human. We're grateful to the Kentucky Foundation for Women, whose support helped make this inaugural issue possible.

We welcome both emerging and established voices. While our roots are in Kentucky’s Salt River region, submissions are open to creators everywhere. We are especially interested in work shaped by recovery, rural life, incarceration, trauma, poverty, caregiving, labor, mental health, and the many forms of community that help people endure. We encourage submissions from LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive creators, Black, Brown, and ethnically diverse voices, and anyone whose stories have too often been overlooked.

We also encourage submissions from young people. Our Riverbed section will feature writing and art by contributors ages 13 to 18.

Selected contributors will be featured in our inaugural print, digital, and audio editions and will receive a complimentary copy of the print journal.

Click here for the full submission guidelines and to submit your work.

The official launch of Sand & Silt will take place during our fourth quarter Artists’ Social in early November. Stay tuned for date, venue, and other details.

Thank you to the Kentucky Foundation for Women for helping make the literary magazine a reality.

YAM Camp is a hit!

We held our first-ever Summer Youth Arts & Mindfulness Camp (YAM Camp) last week at the Bullitt County Public Library’s Central Library in Shepherdsville. Offered in partnership with the library, the weeklong camp gave local teenagers a chance to explore their creativity while discovering how the arts can support emotional well-being and self-expression.

Throughout the week, campers participated in writing, visual arts, music, movement, and mindfulness workshops designed to help them slow down, tune in, and express themselves in new ways.

Campers arrived each day eager to continue the conversations and projects they had started together. They left with tangible reminders of their experience, including wire sculptures, handmade drums and mallets, and a collection of creative exercises and reflections from the workshops.

One camper commented, “I look forward to being here every day with the new friends I’ve made.”

For a first-year program, that simple comment may have been the clearest sign that YAM Camp succeeded in creating what we hoped for: a welcoming space where young people could make art, make connections, and feel seen.

A big “Thank you” to DJ Campos, event planner at the library, and all our workshop leaders, including: Cole Alexander, Finley Byers, Lance “Mr. SpreadLove” Newman II, Evie Reid, Shylayna Southard, and Velena Zurschmeide.

Thank you also to the James Baker Hall Foundation for providing the funds to make the camp a reality.

SLAC’s New Website

Thanks to SLAC member Cory Reid, the collaborative has a new website up and running at saltriverlocalarts.org. Like many of our members, Cory has generously volunteered countless hours to bring the site to life and will continue refining it in the months ahead. We're deeply grateful for his creativity and technical expertise, which have given SLAC a welcoming online home that will grow alongside our work.

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Emergency officials in Spencer and Bullitt counties are asking drivers to stay off the roads because of flash flooding.

We are working with Heine Brothers to reschedule the Pride event and will announce the new date as soon as it’s confirmed.

Please stay safe, avoid flooded roadways, and we’ll celebrate together soon!

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At least, that’s how Cole Alexander sees it.

A heart-centered artist and guide whose work blends embodiment, creativity, and deep connection to the natural world, Cole will lead an immersive drum-making and meditative rhythm workshop as part of Salt River Local Arts Collaborative’s Youth Arts & Mindfulness Camp June 22-26 at Central Library in Shepherdsville.

Cole’s approach invites teen campers to slow down, build with intention, and listen closely—to themselves and to the world around them. His workshop will be among the daily hands-on activities that show young people how to use writing and art for mental health and well-being.

At the end of the week, campers will take home a handcrafted drum, a handmade chapbook anthology of their original writing, and practical mindfulness tools they can use long after camp ends.

YAM Camp is free and offered in partnership with the Bullitt County Public Library.

About YAM Camp

• June 22-26, from 12 PM to 3 PM, at Central Library in Shepherdsville

• For ages 13-19

• Light snacks provided daily

Space is limited, and registration is required. Use the link here to sign up.

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The pastor of our little country Baptist church preached against women’s rights. He preached against Black people. He preached against gay people.

And yet my memories of that church are more complicated than that.

That same church let our youth group turn the annex into a haunted house one year for Halloween. The same congregation welcomed the baby I had at 17—”out of wedlock,” as people said back then. The same church was filled with people who made cakes for Saturday night gospel singing, visited folks in the nursing home, and took part in the jail ministry.

And it was where I became friends with Randy Johnson.

Randy was gay.

At the time, I don’t know that I would have used that word. In rural Kentucky in the 1970s and 1980s, people often spoke around such things rather than about them. But Randy was my friend. We went to church together. We rode the bus together. We shared the ordinary experiences that make someone part of your life.

Looking back, I realize Randy changed me in ways I didn’t understand at the time.

It’s difficult to hold tightly to ideas about who belongs and who doesn’t when someone you know and love is standing on the other side of that line.

Today, through Salt River Local Arts Collaborative, I find myself once again surrounded by people who don’t fit neatly into society’s boxes.

Some are LGBTQ+. Some are recovering from addiction. Some struggle with mental illness. Some are carrying grief. Some are simply trying to find the courage to call themselves artists.

Two of our writers, Finley and Rey, are transgender. They are also talented writers, generous volunteers, and important members of our community.

The older I get, the less interested I am in deciding who belongs and who doesn’t. Life has taught me that most of us are carrying burdens that others can’t see. Most of us are looking for acceptance. We need community. We are relational creatures.

Randy recently told me something that surprised me. He said he had admired me when we were teenagers—not because I was particularly accomplished, but because I seemed comfortable being myself.

At first I laughed. Randy had had a successful career as a nurse, rising to a leadership position with the VA before retiring. I had spent years admiring him too. He and his husband Paul Campion were trailblazers in the 1990s, becoming the first gay couple to adopt children in Kentucky.

They spent decades fighting for recognition as a family and later became plaintiffs in Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark Supreme Court case that made marriage equality the law of the land. I helped them write their memoir, Higher Love: The Miraculous Story of a Family, published in 2016.

Randy and Paul were also featured guests at our Pride social last year—our most well-attended gathering of the year, with more than 40 attendees. They read from their memoir and answered questions about their lives and advocacy, offering a kind of grounded testimony that held both history and hope in the same room.

It was in that spirit of service and community that Randy and Paul recently stepped into leadership with SLAC, becoming chair and vice chair of our board. They are, in many ways, the rightful trailblazers to help guide this arts organization forward—highly creative, deeply connected, and with a clear understanding of what community can make possible when people show up for one another. Their leadership feels like a continuation of the same work they’ve always done: building spaces where people can be seen, heard, and valued.

Perhaps that’s why Pride feels so compatible with the mission of an arts organization.

Art begins with the belief that every person’s story matters.

Community begins there too.

If this vision of community resonates with you, I hope you’ll join us for SLAC’s Pride Artists’ Social on Saturday, June 27, from 4 to 6 PM at Heine Brothers Coffee in Shepherdsville. The event is free and open to everyone—artists, writers, musicians, and community members alike. Come share your work, meet new people, or simply enjoy good conversation and connection.

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Lance is a writer, poet, actor, and visual artist with over two decades of creative work. Known for his dynamic spoken word performances and powerful presence as a regional poetry host, Lance helps young artists do one thing: step fully into their voice.

YAM Camp blends mindfulness and art each day through:

• Journaling & reflection

• Drum-making & meditative rhythm

• Rotating creative sessions (spoken word, EFT tapping, sculpture, and more)

By the end of the week, campers take home a handcrafted drum, original writing, and tools for grounding, expression, and creativity that last far beyond camp. YAM Camp is for ages 13-19. Light snacks will be provided daily, and all materials are included! This camp is offered in partnership with the Bullitt County Public Library. Registration is required. Use the link here to sign up.

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If you’ve been looking for an excuse to pull out that guitar in the corner, dust off your dulcimer, or finally try playing along with other people, here is your chance.

SLAC’s spring social will feature live music, a discussion on songwriting, and a community jam session, and everyone is invited to take part. This free event will be held Sunday, March 29, from 1 to 3 PM at Cedar Grove Coffee House in Shepherdsville.

Bring an instrument if you play, or just come to listen, clap along, and enjoy the energy of live music in a cozy, welcoming space. All skill levels are welcome, from beginners to seasoned performers.

Featured Guests: Trickster Sister

We’re thrilled to welcome Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Marion Halliday and her sister Jane Halliday, the violinist behind the duo Trickster Sister.

Marion has been singing her whole life and began writing her own original music in 2016. Her debut album Rings Around Saturn landed at #3 on U.S. and international folk radio charts and was named one of the Top Albums of 2019 by Folk Alliance International. Marion’s songs blend bluegrass and folk with rich storytelling and a touch of Kentucky bourbon spirit.

Her sister Jane brings a whole other musical dimension. A versatile violinist who performs everything from classical to jazz, Jane has appeared with orchestras backing artists such as Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban, and Smokey Robinson. She teaches violin and coaches ensembles at Bellarmine University and is also a standout jazz player specializing in “gypsy jazz,” the lively swing style made famous by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli.

Songwriting Talk + Community Jam

After their performance, Marion and Jane will lead a conversation about songwriting—how songs begin, where inspiration comes from, and how lived experience turns into music.

Then we’ll open things up for a community jam session.

Bring a song or a chord progression. Bring a beat to lead us, or just jump in when the music starts rolling. The idea is simple: make music together. And if you’ve ever done anything like this before, you know how empowering and magical this process can be.

Why We Do These Gatherings

SLAC’s Artists’ Socials are about creating welcoming, alcohol-free spaces where creativity brings people together. Musicians, writers, painters, neighbors—everyone belongs here.

Sometimes that looks like a workshop or guest artist. Sometimes it looks like a room full of instruments, voices, and people willing to play. Hope you’ll come be a part of it!

More updates about SLAC events and our growing local arts community can be found by subscribing to our newsletter at bobbibuchanan.substack.com

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If you believe art should reach everyone—including those who can’t easily leave their homes—I hope you’ll consider joining us.

This idea has been quietly forming for a while.

Last summer, I learned that a local writer I’ve known for years is now homebound due to health issues. It was the same case with my oldest sister Mary, who had moved in with her son and daughter-in-law when her health began to fail. Jimmy and Mandy took beautiful care of her, but she lost much of her independence after her stroke.

Mary was a retired hairdresser, a lifelong maker of things, and a professional storyteller at her beauty shop, Head South Hair and Tanning. She died in November, and since then I’ve been thinking of ways to honor her life and legacy.

As part of the Mary Alberico Homebound Artists’ Social, we would visit homebound folks in private homes, nursing homes, assisted living facilities—anywhere someone wants connection. There would be poetry, prose, music, performance. But just as important, there would be space for the folks we’re visiting to share their own stories or creative work, if they want to.

We might do a short writing prompt, a simple craft, or a music activity— something hands-on and low pressure. This wouldn’t be about polished performances. It would be about presence. About sitting at the kitchen table. About listening.

When I told my sister, poet Cecilia Woloch, about the idea, she burst out laughing and said, “That sounds like Arts and Craps.”

That’s what Mary used to call the things she loved to make.

And she made everything. Dolls and pillows. Purses. Flowers cut from old two-liter bottles. Whimsical creatures assembled with glue and paint and whatever was within reach. Even when she was cutting hair, she was creating works of art.

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“Arts and Craps” has stuck with me because it captures exactly the spirit I’m hoping for: unpretentious, handmade, and full of heart. Not high art descending from on high, just people showing up with what they’ve got.

You don’t need to be famous.

You don’t need to be perfect.

You just need to be willing to show up.

If you’d like to participate, help organize, sponsor, or support this effort in any way, please reach out. You can message me here on Substack bobbibuchanan.substack.com or email me at bobbibuch at gmail.com.

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QUEER KENTUCKY

The news site for Queer Kentucky is seeking writers to report on how federal policies and enforcement are affecting LGBTQ+ people across Kentucky.⁠ This is a paid opportunity. The deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 3.

The site is looking specifically for stories that “mimic an atypical article (this is the federal issue; this is how it’s impacting this group of people) instead of a first-person essay,” said Executive Director Missy Spears.

Here are the details:

⁠We’re looking for grounded, reported stories that show how national decisions play out locally—from health care access and insurance changes to immigration enforcement, Medicaid rules, and economic impacts on queer and trans communities. This can include, but is not limited to, coverage of recent federal legislation, ICE activity, and the ripple effects on LGBTQ+ Kentuckians and their families.⁠

We’re especially interested in stories that center on lived experience and voices from across the state, including rural communities. Pitches from LGBTQ+ writers, trans writers, immigrants, people of color, and writers outside major metro areas are strongly encouraged.⁠

Details:⁠

• 500–1,200 words⁠

• $150-250 per story⁠

• Open to pitches⁠

If you have a story idea—or want to talk one through—we want to hear from you. Email your story idea to spencer@queerkentucky.com and cc missy@queerkentucky.com. If you haven’t written for us before, include a writing sample.

Spears said Queer Kentucky also accept submissions year-round for a number of topics. Regular submissions are typically unpaid. More details can be found by clicking here.

ACTION, SPECTACLE

The literary magazine Action, Spectacle is accepting no-fee submissions in prose, poetry, comics, music, and art, through March 1. Here’s some information about what the magazine publishes:

Action, Spectacle is a biannual magazine based in Louisville, KY and Brooklyn. The magazine exists at the intersection of the socio-political, the cultural, and the arts—a public space for discussion and engagement. We put a spectrum of voices in conversation dialogue online, and at public events, publishing art, comics, commentary, fiction, interviews, memoir, music, poetry, [and] reportage.

We seek both debut and established writers and thinkers creating intriguing and original work, whether relatively conventional or extremely experimental, and we don’t shy away from the idea of a text that might be “difficult.” We employ the broadest possible aesthetic when considering submission via Submittable, including translations and hybrid and collaborative work.

​To submit your creative work fee-free to Action, Spectacle, click here. Please be sure to read through the submission guidelines for each category.

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Participants in the ALP will also help launch the Salt River Local Arts Collaborative’s literary magazine coming this summer.

WHO CAN APPLY

The program is open to writers, artists, performers, and other creatives at all skill levels, especially those in recovery from addiction or trauma, and those living with or loving someone in addiction or recovery. You don’t need to have it all figured out—just a willingness to show up, make art, and grow in community.

You must be at least 18 years old, have reliable transportation, commit to attend a monthly meeting for six months, and dedicate 4-5 hours to work with a mentor between January and June.

Participants receive mentoring in their craft from master writers and artists, including Lance Newman II, Claudia Love Mair, Tony Crunk, Dennis Shaffner, Lynn Tincher, Donna Caudill, and Steve Davis, along with other guest mentors.

NEW DEADLINE

The application deadline has been extended to February 1, 2026. Although the program will kick off January 24, new candidates will be accepted through February to ensure a full cohort of participants.

HOW TO APPLY

Click here to submit your application.

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In November, I lost my oldest sister, Mary. Writing that still doesn’t feel real. Since then, the sadness hasn’t moved in a straight line, but rather seismic shifts rumble within me, and tears erupt like a tidal wave.

On top of that, this month marks five years since Honey, my dog muse, died—the companion who inspired my writing and brought me closer to the natural world. Her death not only disrupted my routine but my writing practice itself, which has never quite recovered.

There’s also the ongoing work of managing my mental health—therapy, reflection, the inner work of understanding decades of depression and anxiety. Add to that the relentless demands of teaching, juggling multiple grant projects, and keeping an old farmhouse functioning amid a steady stream of repairs.

Each sentence I write here feels like an exhale. Like I’ve been holding my breath too long.

And then last week, the world delivered another blow. Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old poet, mother, and writer in Minneapolis, was fatally shot by ICE. Her death was like another weight I didn’t have the strength to carry. I felt myself slipping, the ground giving way beneath me.

Amidst this overwhelm, I found a small anchor in my email. A poem my sister, Cecilia Woloch, shared with me landed in my body before it landed in my mind. I loved it so much I shared it with five friends. It didn’t erase the grief, the anxiety, the exhaustion. But it reminded me of something I’ve always known: art is the antidote.

Not a luxury, not a hobby. Art is essential to my well-being. It’s how I process the chaos of the world, and it reminds me that I’m human, that I’m not alone.

I don’t have a neat ending here. I’m still grieving my sister Mary, still mourning Honey, still trying to find my rhythm and reclaim my writing life.

But I do know this: when everything else feels too much, I can always find solace in art.

If art has ever held you through something hard—grief, fear, uncertainty—I’d love to hear about it. A poem, a song, a book, a painting, or anything that has been a lifeline to you. Please share in the comments.

And, if you’re interested, here’s the poem that carried me back to solid ground: “Mothers” by Justin Bigos, published in Rattle.

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If you’re a writer, visual artist, musician, or crafter who’s been wanting to deepen your craft, work alongside other committed creatives, and be part of something meaningful from the ground up, here’s an opportunity for you.

The Arts Leadership Program (ALP) is a hands-on, mentor-supported experience designed to help artists grow both creatively and as cultural leaders. The program is funded by a special grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and centers artists who are using creative work as a tool for healing, connection, and recovery.

Participants in the ALP will help support and shape the launch of the Salt River Local Arts Collaborative’s literary publication coming this summer.

WHO CAN APPLY

We especially encourage applications from folks who are in recovery from addiction or trauma, or those living with or loving someone in addiction or recovery. You don’t need to have it all figured out—just a willingness to show up, make art, and grow in community.

You must be at least 18 years old, have reliable transportation, commit to attend six monthly meetings, and dedicate 4-5 hours to work with a mentor between January and June.

Participants receive mentoring in their craft from master writers and artists, including Lance Newman II, Claudia Love Mair, Tony Crunk, Dennis Shaffner, Lynn Tincher, Donna Caudill, and Steve Davis, along with other guest mentors.

HOW TO APPLY

Click here to submit your application.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Application deadline: February 1, 2026

• Applicants notified: February 7, 2026

• Program kicks off: February 21, 2026

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“We are relational beings,” I often repeated in those gray, windowless classrooms where we sat in drab metal folding chairs arranged in a circle. “We need to be with each other in real time—not only to thrive, but also simply to survive.”

I cited research. I talked about stress, immunity, mental health. I talked about how isolation literally shortens our lives.

The inmates would nod in agreement, understanding this primal instinct of belonging perhaps better than the wisest civilians living on the outside. One time, a female inmate in the jail’s Substance Abuse Program responded with, “We are better together.” The rest of the women chimed in, backing her up with stories from their own lives about being part of a community—a family, a tribe, a support group.

Some of the most profound conversations I’ve ever had took place inside the cinderblock walls of the Bullitt County Detention Center. There’s something about confinement that strips life down to what matters. In that place, connection wasn’t abstract or aspirational—it was oxygen.

Out here, in the so-called free world, we seem to be forgetting that.

We live in a time when more and more of our lives are mediated through screens. We scroll, we post, we react. We “connect” without ever sitting across from one another, without hearing a real laugh or watching someone’s face change as they speak their truth out loud.

Research backs up what those incarcerated women already knew: in-person social interaction is a powerful antidote to the growing epidemic of loneliness. Real-time connection boosts immunity, reduces stress, and lowers the risk of depression and disease. As Summer Allen writes in Greater Good, a science-based publication from UC Berkeley, “Relationships are key to our health and happiness and likely were essential for the survival of our ancestors.”

As a high school English teacher, I’ve railed pretty hard against social media. I’ve called online connections “fake,” dismissing technology as a poor substitute for the real thing. But through my students, I’ve come to realize that digital spaces can help people—especially young people—find one another. However, I still believe that online realms are meant to be bridges, not destinations.

What actually heals us happens in rooms. In circles. In shared physical spaces.

Right now, there are about 20 of us actively involved in or supporting the Salt River Local Arts Collaborative. Writers. Musicians. Visual artists. People who make things, people who are trying to make things, people who need a place where that part of them is welcomed and fed.

We’re doing this radical thing: we’re getting together in person to talk about our art, share our art, and encourage one another.

Someone recently said, “Kind of like church.” And I said, “Yeah, except our gospel is art instead of Christ.”

I’ve come to believe that gatherings like the Artists’ Socials aren’t luxuries. They’re essential. Especially now. Especially here. Especially for people trying to stay sober, stay creative, stay human in a world that keeps pulling us apart.

So if you’re longing for real connection, if you miss being in a room with other people who care about words, music, images, and stories, I hope you’ll join us from 3 to 5 PM on Saturday, December 27, at From the Ground Up Books, 160 Frank E. Simon Ave. in Shepherdsville, Ky.

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Artists’ Social
Saturday, December 27
3–5 PM
From the Ground Up Books

We will have refreshments and an open mic with a $50 cash prize drawing. Our emcee will be Michael Parker, with assistance from Samuel Holcomb, a.k.a., The Salty Sparrow.

Come as you are. Bring a piece to share, or just bring yourself. We’ll save you a chair.

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It had only been successful for me once before, 20 years earlier, when I had lapsed into a frighteningly deep state of depression for no apparent reason and left my job one cold February morning in a fit of tears.

Just packed up my things—what I could grab—marched to the stairwell and down, then barreled out the doors so fast, I probably would’ve tackled anybody who happened to be coming in.

With the support of a terrific therapist, and the love and presence of my best friend, I was able to find my way out of that darkness. From three years in therapy, I developed a self-care regimen that included time to write and time in nature. These have become the keystones to my mental health and wellbeing.

So when I started therapy in January 2024, I knew what I needed to do to get better.

I had undergone therapy during the Covid pandemic—by then I had become a public school teacher—and again the following year, but I didn’t vibe with either therapist, and so our work together ended with the Employee Assistance Program’s six allotted sessions.

This time, though, I walked in knowing myself a little better. I knew I needed to write. I knew I needed quiet, reflective time if I was going to steady my mind. I’d heard a mental health expert on the radio describe a simple journaling template—three lines: what I will let go of, what I’m grateful for, and what I’ll focus on—and I tried it immediately. It’s helped more than I expected.

My new therapist helps by steering me back toward my own keystones: nature, creativity, and a new one—community. The truth is, I started SLAC because I needed a circle of artists and writers, people who believe in making something out of the mess.

And now, when folks show up at the open mics, or volunteer to help at the behind-the-scenes meetings, I feel something settle in me that I can only call gratitude.

Gratitude for Crystal Miller, who shows up with an open hand and an open heart; for Michael Troutman, whose artistry inspires all of us; for Evie and Cory Reid, who steadily invest their time and care into this community; for Sam Holcomb, who carries creativity like a lantern; and for Cheryl Butler, who takes real risks to make important things happen..

These are some of the people shaping the light around us. I’m grateful to them, and to so many others.

And to you—dear reader, dear listener, dear witness—thanks to you for being part of this moment.

This is the community that reminds me why we create, why we gather, and why we keep coming back. Gratitude. Always, gratitude.

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In fact, From the Ground Up Bookstore co-owner Eric Calvert extended the store’s closing time to allow us enough time for the art of conversation and the therapeutic practice of writing and storytelling.

Author T. Crunk was our featured guest, reading from his latest collection Hopkinsville and sharing his illuminating perspective on the vitality of creativity while recovering. Writing in recovery is a prominent theme of the Salt River Local Arts Collaborative, or SLAC, a new arts organization that aims to provide safe and sober spaces for all people to create and share their work.

Growth can occur with or without healing, Mr. Crunk explained. We, as humans, are always creating, he said. In today’s society, not unlike those that have come and gone before, we tend to create profits for businesses at the expense of the people behind us.

Mr. Crunk posited that, after recovery, many addicts are treated as a previously broken part in a machine that is now “fixed.” Rehabilitated for what? you might ask. To simply perform as another cog in a machine in a sick and systemically addictive society that profits from addiction?

There’s a wider perspective that doesn’t dehumanize addiction, but takes that shadowy side and transmutes darkness into light. From this process of recovery, we must rediscover our range of human experience and not be self-limited by defining ourselves based on any demographic, occupation, status, or title.

In essence, Mr. Crunk suggested that an addict is an artist with a passion that was hijacked. The same habitual actions of repetition and consumption that create addicts can also create higher modes of functioning. The destructive streak of addiction is the flip-side force of creativity that could help instead of harm, unite instead of divide, and bring beauty from the ugliest of experiences.

As we grow, we want to learn, to find significance, to make meaning. So we reach higher to gain a greater perspective of our problems—some of which do not need to be solved but simply acknowledged and understood. The arts, and the surgical precision of writing, in particular, can cull together our tangled webs of life experiences and weave them into a tapestry of transcendence. Communal strength can carve out a cave for communication and rehabilitation.

Mr. Crunk was a good, gentle, and genuine guide who led us in a creative writing exercise to work our way through our own webs of relationships to discover what is uniquely us, stripped away of any caste system or superficial societal standard. Equality adheres to no hierarchy.

After the writing exercise, we had an open mic where the songbird The Salty Sparrow, a.k.a. Sam Holcomb, seasoned us with sweet salt. Sam played a catchy acoustic guitar melody with an unbitter, whimsical lyric and catchy acoustic guitar melody in which he sang about not singing a song (like watching the watcher or thinking of your thoughts). The indirection became the direction and freedom followed, so he went with it. It was an existential awareness of how a lack of inspiration can be the inspiration to ignite an ignition, or that it’s more about the journey than the destination; so, wherever you go, have fun getting there.

In addition to the open mic, the winners of SLAC’s Ripple Effect Writing Contest were announced. Congratulations to our winners, and thanks to all who participated.

If you missed the magic this month, there’s always the December 27 Artists’ Social. It will be held from 3 to 5 PM at From the Ground Up Bookstore. Mark your calendar.

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• Featured guest is poet Tony Crunk, who will read from his new collection Hopkinsville.

• Tony will also lead us in a writing activity.

• We will announce the winners of the Ripple Effect Writing Contest; the winner will share his winning entry!

• Bring your stories, poems, songs, etc., for the open mic. A $50 prize will go to one open-mic participant.

  

  ​Click here for all the details!

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