Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/370174
SEPTEMBER 2014 | Washington Athletic Club Magazine | 29 Artists Three members. Three art forms. Endless inspiration. WRITTEN BY ALI BASYE PHOTOGRAPHY BY BARBARA KINNEY Timothy Egan, W R I T E R TIMOTHY EGAN seeks out stories of hope. Consider the spirit of endurance that permeates the storylines of the seven books the Seward Park–based writer has produced over the past 24 years, including the 2006 National Book Award–winner The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. A feisty temperament also drives the weekly editorial column he pens for The New York Times. Timothy typically homes in on issues of social justice, offering shrewd critique of current affairs while highlighting the achievements of the underdogs and the overlooked. "I am always attracted to the triumph of spirit," Timothy says. "I like to write about people who have achieved great things despite of or because of enduring tough times. There is often a parallel story in there about how we live today that hopefully provides reflection and inspiration." In The Worst Hard Time, 59-year-old Timothy recounts individual experiences of the people who lived through the worst manmade environmental disaster in U.S. history. He calls Edward Curtis, the Seattle-based photographer and the subject of his 2013 book, Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, "Indiana Jones with a camera," and traces his effort to document Native American populations at the turn of the 20th century. This ambition cost Edward his family, friends, and health. The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America, published in 2009, tells the stories of the lives lost and saved during the nation's largest wildfire and how it shifted attitudes regarding conservation. Timothy's books engage through research that requires dedication and lots of travel, given the author's insistence on face-to-face interviews for his stories. "People ask how I could Creative personalities abound at the WAC, where great thinkers gather every day to work out, of course, but also to converse, socialize, innovate, and brainstorm. So it's no surprise that our Club attracts members who make their livings in the pursuit of creative excellence. Writer Timothy Egan, jazz vocalist Courtney Fortune, and artist Judith Kindler share a passion for the arts—and the WAC. AMONG US