Female Writers Unite To Share Stories Of Healing And Hope

For three years now, the Ocean City Center for the Arts has celebrated women artists with all-female exhibitions curated by Berlin artist Deborah Rolig. The goal of RISE (an October 2019 show) is to empower women through art, emphasizing women overcoming adversity.

Rolig fills the walls of the Arts Center with a remarkable collection of visual art created by local female artists. And each year, the show gifts the community with a lasting endowment: a literary work that lives on past the exhibition, expanding and celebrating the theme in written words, presented and preserved in book form.

The book of original prose and poetry, Women Writing, Women Rising, is the third edition by the Seaside Scribes — 34 women from the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild and the Ocean City Writers Group. Curated by Kathleen Martens with a collaborative editorial team and published by Berlin’s Salt Water Media, proceeds benefit charities important to women — breast cancer research, healthcare, scholarships and arts programs for women writers.

“For me, it’s about the circle of healing through the arts,” Martens said. “Women are writing their stories about healing and rising up and meeting challenges in life. They are writing about characters who are doing the same. As a result, the readers relate and are inspired. And the money from book sales all goes to charities addressing challenges women face in life.” 

Rolig believes the book is one of the most important facets of the annual exhibition. “I love that the written word is part of our shows. People look forward to it, and it just keeps getting better every year,” she said.

The previous two editions from the Seaside Scribes, The Divine Feminine and She Writes, each took second place in the Delaware Press Association’s statewide contest for quality of writing and editing. Copies of Women Writing, Women Rising are on sale at the Arts Center, Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com for $20.