by guest writer, Charity Heller Hogge

Imagine if you were unable to read this sentence. How less wonderful would the world be if the opportunity of learning to read had passed you by?

Though our society is structured around literacy, editors, publishers, and writers are doubly invested. Literacy is to our advantage: we need people who can read to buy books. But we must do more than create young consumers of books. We have a duty to extend ourselves beyond the workplace and share our bibliophilic passion.

Maybe this means volunteering for S.M.A.R.T. (Start Making a Reader Today), Oregon’s volunteer-based elementary school literacy project. Maybe it means donating a few pro bono hours of editing time to writers who can’t otherwise afford the service. No time? Consider donating children’s books to one of the many organizations who pass them along to underserved public schools: Women in Portland Publishing’s summer book drive, Willamette Writer’s “Books for Kids” program (http://www.willamettewriters.com/1/books-for-kids.php), or S.M.A.R.T.’s book collection program (http://www.getsmartoregon.org/), to name just a few.

We lovers of the written word take a lot of pleasure from the significant books in our lives. Let’s spread the love!

Charity Heller Hogge teaches the upcoming “Business of Editing” class, to be held Saturday, August 16. She owns The Mighty Pen, LLC (http://www.mightypenediting.com/), a book-editing company.