In Praise of Fathers Supporting the Young Writers in Their Lives

 

My dad and I at a poetry event in San Francisco

 

This Father’s Day, my kids and I will be celebrating their dad. As for me, my dad has been gone for eleven years, but I will still be thinking about him too. My dad and I may have had some complications, but there is one thing that I will always remember about him: He supported my writing.

 

As a young adult, my dad helped me to understand contracts I received for getting books and my writing published. He also offered pointers on the query letters I sent through the mail. (This was before sending queries through email became standard.) He asked to read my stories and he was supportive when I wanted to buy writing magazines. He bought me an electronic typewriter (a step up from the traditional typewriter I used!) and also tackled printer problems when I was trying to print out my work on the computer.

 

It was my dad and one of my sisters who went with me to San Francisco to attend a poetry event. And my dad often shared about my writing when people visited at our home.

 

Both of my parents were very supportive of my writing and I am grateful that my dad would show that same support too. In fact, they agreed to allow me to host meetings of a poetry club that I ran inside of their home.

 

The support of my parents is something that meant a lot to me. I’m glad they were so supportive of my writing when I was growing up, especially my dad.

 

This is the kind of thing that lingers in the mind and heart of a young writer. And as an adult, these are the kinds of memories that I cherish.

 

I’m grateful to my dad for being supportive of my writing and even helping out when he needed to.

 

I think a father supporting a young writer, or fathers who are writers supporting their kids who take to writing, play a very pivotal role in that young writer’s life. This kind of support from a parent tells the young writer, “I see you. I value you. I support you.”

 

This kind of support not only encourages the young writer to keep writing, but it also tells the young writer that maybe they are doing something right.