Writers Group Was ‘Infiltrated’ by Ignorance

In his essay “What About the Plan?” (Voices, May 22), Randy Holland states: “The city was not only neglected but sabotaged, either consciously or unconsciously, by the system. In some ways it was conscious, like the out-and-out sabotage of cultural organizations like the Watts Writers Workshop, which started in the wake of the ’65 riots . . . which was infiltrated by the FBI and the LAPD.” Wrong.

At the age of 19, I was briefly a member of the Watts Writers Workshop. I left in an outrage because the workshop was “infiltrated” by a “system” of ignorance, bluster and silliness.

What started out as a serious effort rapidly devolved into a boisterous kaffeeklatsch. After attending several sessions, I was disappointed to discover that while male participants were lauded and praised for virtually every word they wrote, the women writers were dumped on, unfairly criticized and belittled. There was also an unhealthy undercurrent of liberal do-goodism--the exploitation of blacks for the sake of photo opportunities.

That no work of solid literary merit came of that workshop speaks for itself. In order to learn the critical lessons I needed to become a writer, I had to seek out other mentors and workshops like the defunct Fiction Writers West and a fledgling workshop in Venice Beach called Beyond Baroque that had just opened its doors.

WANDA COLEMAN, author

Hollywood