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Rehoboth writers release ‘Dispatches from a Pandemic’

May 25, 2020

Rehoboth Beach Writers’ Guild members have compiled a book of essays capturing what life is like in the new world created by COVID-19.

RBWG Executive Director Maribeth Fischer said, “As a community, let’s each write, polish and submit a beautifully written, very short dispatch (be it funny or sad or wise or resigned) that captures something of our life now. Some of us live in assisted living facilities on lockdown. Some of us have had children and grandchildren move in with us...and then there are the funny happenstances...I had to replace my husband’s tooth filling when it fell out. Another guild member, who lives alone, dressed up the other day – dress pants, collared shirt, argyle socks and loafers – just to feel human again.”

A similar piece in the New Yorker magazine gave Fischer the idea for the group to create one.

The result of this challenge is “Dispatches from a Pandemic,” a document featuring 58 writers with Sussex County ties sharing experiences of this strange new world.

The essay was published May 15 on the guild website. It’s divided into five sections, and each captures a different aspect of the pandemic to offer community portraits with a wide range of responses to this event. The writing is at times sad, at times funny, and more often than not, about resilience. One woman’s son had to postpone his April wedding for a year. Another writer describes the near-miss of a 10-cart pileup in a grocery store. Others detail such moments as a drive-by birthday party, dancing every night or the newfound joy in an unscheduled life.

“Dispatches From a Pandemic” is free and available to download from the Rehoboth Beach Writers’ Guild website; go to www.rehobothbeachwritersguild.com.

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