Featured Writers

Trevor Beam and Jim Mathis

Writing Workshop Participants with Legacy Emanuel Burn Concern for burn, wound and trauma survivors and their families.

Trevor is 19 years old. He graduated from Mark Morris High School in Longview, Washington and is currently taking vocational classes. He has two older sisters and four nieces and nephews. He has a 200 pound English mastiff named Harley that likes to eat soccer balls and be taken on walks. Trevor’s favorite thing to do is to be active, which includes mowing the lawn. He has been attending Legacy Emanuel Hospital’s support group for burn victims called Burn Concern for six years now. Burn Concern introduced Trevor and Jim to Write Around Portland. Trevor also likes to fish, and he fishes better than his dad, Jim.

Jim is 60 years old and is a veteran of the Vietnam era, and is a retired police officer with 21 years of service in Cowlitz County, Washington. He has been married to Trevor’s mom for 15 years and met Trevor when he was just 3 years old. Jim also has an older son who is 34 years old.

Their writing, which will be featured in our 25th anthology, and an interview with Trevor and Jim about their experience writing in community follows.

What I Remember Is

by Trevor Beam

When I went out to my Dad’s house, the girlfriend gave me a lighter and told me to go burn some garbage. There was a lot of garbage in a small can. My friend and I lit some paper, it only smoked. We decided to get some gas because I thought it would burn faster, but it didn’t, it blew up in my face and I caught on fire. I ran into the house on fire. The girlfriend told me to go outside and she threw rocks on me because she didn’t know what to do. I pull my clothes off and walked into the tub. I think the water was cold. The ambulance took me up the road to a big field. The helicopter was waiting. They put me on a gurney and took me to Legacy Emanuel. They gave me a sponge on a stick dipped in water to wet my mouth. They scrubbed my skin to get the dead skin off. I met Doctor Polito, what a wonderful man he was. When I was in the Burn Unit, I met this guy who, fell asleep with a cigarette in his mouth. They had a school inside the hospital because I was getting to miss school at Cascade. I liked the hospital beds because they had hydraulics where you could go up and down. This was better than going to school. I went to physical therapy everyday to learn to do it all over again, like getting in the bath tub. I haven’t been able to write about my burn accident until the writing workshop. Sara helped me learn how to write and Helen made it possible.

Have You Ever

by James D. Mathis

Have you heard,

White caps lapping,

or waves a crashing?

Rain, in pounding torrents?

The winds rustling of leaves,

or growling fearsome howl?

A brittle branch or two snap,

under the mighty wind’s force?

A bird’s nested egg cracking?

Have you smelled,

The coming of rain,

or the salt of sea air?

Dust kicked up by a herd of wild horses,

or the pig’s pen out by the barn?

Have you seen,

Hypnotic endless ocean waves,

or waves of heat rising in mid-summer?

A little down covered baby bird,

or the beauty of a new born child?

Have you ever felt,

The feel of brail,

An aid to those without sight?

Mother nature’s power,

Given to us by God’s grace?

All these gifts blend senses,

sound, touch, smells, tastes and sights,

just to amaze us, or temp our imaginations.

Perfect in every measure,

like a concerto, orchestrated by masters of music and emotion.

Interview with featured writers Trevor Beam and Jim Mathis

Biography Writer and Interviewer: Jenny Chu

Write Around Portland Intern

How has your involvement with Write Around Portland affected you?

Jim: After Trevor’s accident, therapists and teachers worked with him but couldn’t get him to express himself, until he went through the workshop at Write Around Portland. For me, since I retired from police work due to a stress related disability, I told Sara [the Write Around Portland workshop facilitator] when I first joined the workshop group that my writing was locked in chronological, factual and non-emotional police report type writing.

Someone once told me that to be a good writer you had to write what you know, but that just kept me in the same box, writing what I knew didn’t help my depression. Sara helped me by telling me to write about what I felt about what I knew, and it blossomed from there.

Tell us about your experience in a Write Around Portland Workshop:

Trevor: I hadn’t really had any writing classes until Sara and the writing workshop plugged me in. It helped me immensely in how I feel. Write Around Portland offered me writing skills that my high school didn’t offer me.

Have you both continued to write outside the workshop setting?

Jim: I’ve been writing for a long time but didn’t learn how to use my senses until Write Around Portland came along. I write how I feel now. Sara taught us that you can find prompts anywhere; if you just look around.

Trevor: I pick [writing] prompts and also come up with my own and write about them.

How was your experience writing in a group?

Trevor: Kind of hard, difficult. I would have it in my mind but couldn’t put it on paper really fast.

Jim: It really helped that Trevor could take the prompts from the workshop home and write about them, it gave him enough time. For me, it was a wonderful experience; I had the group to draw off from and to hear their critiques.

And sharing with others?

Trevor: I liked it. I liked expressing myself in front of the group.

Jim: Sara helped our group feel very bonded. It was a very comfortable setting. Normally, I don’t talk about certain things with certain people but writing has helped me share.

How was hearing other people’s stories?

Jim: Not only was I able to hear other people’s mannerisms in their writing, I also learned from other’s in the group and their use of metaphors, analogies and parallelisms in their writing that helped me to learn how to use them, too. I also learned how to use my senses. There was a lot of talent and potential in the group.

What did the workshop help you to learn about yourself as a writer?

Trevor: Just by going to Write Around Portland and listening to some of the prompts and writing about them I learned that I could write.

Jim: I learned to be more versatile. I learned that I didn’t have to stick to one type of writing.

Is there anything that you would like to tell your readers about your writing?

Jim: I’d like readers to understand that what I’m trying to say is that I’m ensuring one moment out of a life time. If only we could express ourselves to one another then it would be a better world.

Would you recommend Write Around Portland workshops to others?

Trevor: Yes!

Jim: Absolutely yes! I wonder how it can be offered to more people, because so many people would benefit from this.


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TAKE A Writing Workshop SIGN UP for Write Around Portland News WRITING RESOURCES	Publications & Writers Featured Writers Trevor Beam and Jim Mathis Writing Workshop Participants with Legacy Emanuel Burn Concern for burn, wound and trauma survivors and their families. Trevor is 19 years old. He graduated from Mark Morris High School in Longview, Washington and is currently taking vocational classes. He has two older sisters and four nieces and nephews. He has a 200 pound English mastiff named Harley that likes to eat soccer balls and be taken on walks. Trevor’s favorite thing to do is to be active, which includes mowing the lawn. He has been attending Legacy Emanuel Hospital’s support group for burn victims called Burn Concern for six years now. Burn Concern introduced Trevor and Jim to Write Around Portland. Trevor also likes to fish, and he fishes better than his dad, Jim. Jim is 60 years old and is a veteran of the Vietnam era, and is a retired police officer with 21 years of service in Cowlitz County, Washington. He has been married to Trevor’s mom for 15 years and met Trevor when he was just 3 years old. Jim also has an older son who is 34 years old. Their writing, which will be featured in our 25th anthology, and an interview with Trevor and Jim about their experience writing in community follows. What I Remember Is by Trevor Beam When I went out to my Dad’s house, the girlfriend gave me a lighter and told me to go burn some garbage. There was a lot of garbage in a small can. My friend and I lit some paper, it only smoked. We decided to get some gas because I thought it would burn faster, but it didn’t, it blew up in my face and I caught on fire. I ran into the house on fire. The girlfriend told me to go outside and she threw rocks on me because she didn’t know what to do. I pull my clothes off and walked into the tub. I think the water was cold. The ambulance took me up the road to a big field. The helicopter was waiting. They put me on a gurney and took me to Legacy Emanuel. They gave me a sponge on a stick dipped in water to wet my mouth. They scrubbed my skin to get the dead skin off. I met Doctor Polito, what a wonderful man he was. When I was in the Burn Unit, I met this guy who, fell asleep with a cigarette in his mouth. They had a school inside the hospital because I was getting to miss school at Cascade. I liked the hospital beds because they had hydraulics where you could go up and down. This was better than going to school. I went to physical therapy everyday to learn to do it all over again, like getting in the bath tub. I haven’t been able to write about my burn accident until the writing workshop. Sara helped me learn how to write and Helen made it possible. Have You Ever by James D. Mathis Have you heard, White caps lapping, or waves a crashing? Rain, in pounding torrents? The winds rustling of leaves, or growling fearsome howl? A brittle branch or two snap, under the mighty wind’s force? A bird’s nested egg cracking? Have you smelled, The coming of rain, or the salt of sea air? Dust kicked up by a herd of wild horses, or the pig’s pen out by the barn? Have you seen, Hypnotic endless ocean waves, or waves of heat rising in mid-summer? A little down covered baby bird, or the beauty of a new born child? Have you ever felt, The feel of brail, An aid to those without sight? Mother nature’s power, Given to us by God’s grace? All these gifts blend senses, sound, touch, smells, tastes and sights, just to amaze us, or temp our imaginations. Perfect in every measure, like a concerto, orchestrated by masters of music and emotion. © Trevor Beam, James D. Mathis and Write Around Portland Interview with featured writers Trevor Beam and Jim Mathis Biography Writer and Interviewer: Jenny Chu Write Around Portland Intern *How has your involvement with Write Around Portland affected you?* Jim: After Trevor’s accident, therapists and teachers worked with him but couldn’t get him to express himself, until he went through the workshop at Write Around Portland. For me, since I retired from police work due to a stress related disability, I told Sara [the Write Around Portland workshop facilitator] when I first joined the workshop group that my writing was locked in chronological, factual and non-emotional police report type writing. Someone once told me that to be a good writer you had to write what you know, but that just kept me in the same box, writing what I knew didn’t help my depression. Sara helped me by telling me to write about what I felt about what I knew, and it blossomed from there. *Tell us about your experience in a Write Around Portland Workshop:* Trevor: I hadn’t really had any writing classes until Sara and the writing workshop plugged me in. It helped me immensely in how I feel. Write Around Portland offered me writing skills that my high school didn’t offer me. *Have you both continued to write outside the workshop setting?* Jim: I’ve been writing for a long time but didn’t learn how to use my senses until Write Around Portland came along. I write how I feel now. Sara taught us that you can find prompts anywhere; if you just look around. Trevor: I pick [writing] prompts and also come up with my own and write about them. *How was your experience writing in a group?* Trevor: Kind of hard, difficult. I would have it in my mind but couldn’t put it on paper really fast. Jim: It really helped that Trevor could take the prompts from the workshop home and write about them, it gave him enough time. For me, it was a wonderful experience; I had the group to draw off from and to hear their critiques. *And sharing with others?* Trevor: I liked it. I liked expressing myself in front of the group. Jim: Sara helped our group feel very bonded. It was a very comfortable setting. Normally, I don’t talk about certain things with certain people but writing has helped me share. *How was hearing other people’s stories?* Jim: Not only was I able to hear other people’s mannerisms in their writing, I also learned from other’s in the group and their use of metaphors, analogies and parallelisms in their writing that helped me to learn how to use them, too. I also learned how to use my senses. There was a lot of talent and potential in the group. *What did the workshop help you to learn about yourself as a writer?* Trevor: Just by going to Write Around Portland and listening to some of the prompts and writing about them I learned that I could write. Jim: I learned to be more versatile. I learned that I didn’t have to stick to one type of writing. *Is there anything that you would like to tell your readers about your writing?* Jim: I’d like readers to understand that what I’m trying to say is that I’m ensuring one moment out of a life time. If only we could express ourselves to one another then it would be a better world. *Would you recommend Write Around Portland workshops to others?* Trevor: Yes! Jim: Absolutely yes! I wonder how it can be offered to more people, because so many people would benefit from this.	"I just believe in myself more." Write Around Portland Participant Provide a writer with a journal, pen, bus tickets, and Anthology. Featured Writers Trevor Beam and Jim Mathis Click here to read about past featured writers.
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