Gabrielle's S.F. Reading & Visit

Over thirty years ago, in 1981, I was part of a group of women writers who were contributors to This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color,  edited by the late Gloria Anzaldua and Cherie Moraga. This May 15, with the fourth printing of this African American and women's milestone in literature, there will be a gathering of some of these same women at Stanford University's Bishop Auditorium for a commemorative reading. I would like to be a part of this reading, as well as take a week to job hunt and to visit remaining family and friends, and to see how the Bay Area has changed over 10 years.

Unfortunately, at present, I am an underemployed part-time worker in Madison, WI who also writes. When I heard about the reading in late January, I thought that the lull after Christmas would be temporary; that I would be able to earn the air fare on my own. Coming towards a month before the reading, I have not been able to come up with enough money to pay for a round-trip ticket, much less for money for other transportation and meals despite pleas for more hours, applying for full-time as well as other part-time jobs, and developing a separate scheme to tutor students in their final papers. I am the only one of the group who is living in the Midwest; everyone else lives on either the East or West Coasts. I do not want to give up. I need your help.