Judith Ress: To Ellen

 Dear Ellen,

Now that you have crossed the threshold, you can be our muse twice over. Your spirit has always hovered above the table as we write—demanding discipline, an economy of words, precise, bare-boned. You will allow the poetic venture, even the occasional mystical flaring- forth—but it must be austere, untainted with ego, capable of being recognized by a kindred soul.

I owe my ability to write Sonnets of the Heart to you! Ever since I received a 99 percent in my freshman English class at Central Catholic High, I knew I wanted to be a writer. But life got in the way as I tried to make the world a better place for us who are but “common, pale flesh”. 

I heard about Santiago Writers from a friend. You interviewed me: I told you I had been working on a manuscript forever—a fictionalized version about two nuns killed in El Salvador in 1980. They were my friends: “there but for you, go I”. Clearly you thought I had potential, and I was allowed to join. Then the steep learning curve began—What a midwife you became! I wonder if you ever finished your Memoir, “Lest I Forget” which gave us such tender glimpses into your own soul.

Be assured we Santiago Writers will not forget you, Ellen. You are present in every “jot and tittle” we set down upon the page.

Judith Ress

Santiago, May 13, 2024