Earlier this year, I was sitting in at 186 Carpenter Street waiting for the beginning of one of the Frequency faculty readings. I was feeling jittery and distractible in a way all out of proportion to the occasion when Frequency’s Director, Seth Tourjee, took the floor and began the announcements and introductions. Of course, Seth was in no way a stranger to me—we had already been working together for two years or more as part of the administrative backbone of our cherished creative writing community, Frequency Writers. Still, I was struck with Seth’s calm, deliberate, and sometimes wry command of the room as if seeing it with fresh eyes. It was clear to me then and now that one of the most valuable gifts a writer can possess is the gift of calm attention—a gift Seth brought to their leadership of Frequency and to their own practice of writing and teaching.
Seth lead Frequency always committed to the idea of building bridging between the arts. They actively collaborated with musicians and dancers and brought the spirit of collaboration into the classroom and into the Writing Sounds Lounge, Frequency once-monthly open write forum where writers have the opportunity to respond to live musicians. During their time with Frequency, Seth also did the largely invisible and under sung work of securing several grants which supported Frequency’s summer youth class, the Missing Providence anthology, and Frequency’s overall growth and development.
Of course, we are not entirely losing our friend and advocate. We hope Seth will return to teach with Frequency again soon, and the Writing Sounds Lounge will continue to run. Thank you so much, Seth, for your dedication to the Frequency Writing community and all the time and energy you have devoted to it.
Frequency Writers 