We Believe

Openings

I opened trees and wood came out.
I opened wood and lead came out.
I opened lead and paper came out.
I opened paper and writing came out.
I opened writing and everything came out.

 

— Jenny Mandell, grade 6

 

Jenny wrote those words during The Cabin’s first writing camp, the summer of 1996, and they retain their pull and their strength now, over a decade later. To provide opportunity for young writers to make the discovery Jenny made is part of why we come to work every morning.

 

More broadly, we come because writing matters, because reading matters. Because we believe writing and reading are not just for the few, but an elemental part of everyone's life. Books, magazines, newspapers, movies, and the Web all help us discover meaning in our lives, honor our history and fashion our future. Writing and reading matter because they give us joy—and because they are the skills we need most for success in life.

 

The Cabin is a center for writing and reading, one of only a few dozen across the country. It is a place to engage the art of language, to meet novelists and poets and essayists, to take a class or workshop honing particular skills in the art of writing, a place to find one’s voice.  The Cabin offers educational programs, presents our nation’s most acclaimed writers in conversation about their work, fosters dialogue about issues central to our lives and supports writers growing into their careers.

 

But the heart of The Cabin’s offerings is the simple fact of our presence on Capitol Boulevard, Idaho’s main street. As a beacon and statement to residents, to visitors and to young people, our presence says that here, in this building and this community, writing and reading are supported—that writing and reading matter. It is a rare kind of cultural traction, blending educational offerings in two of the three R’s with access to the very best authors and poets, and it’s part of what we mean when we say Words Work Wonders.