Journalists Do Not Write Solo

By Eylan Martinez

Some people view writing as an individual enterprise where the self is its means and its end. However, Hannah More’s life teaches us that writing is never a solo project.

Her poem “Slavery” only had her name on the cover. Nonetheless, William Wilberforce’s enthusiasm, John Newton’s religious influence and Charles and Margaret Middleton’s social awareness, nurtured its words and message. In the poem, More wrote about the wounds “which reason’s force may heal,” healed by reason of the captain’s “Amazing Grace” and clergyman Ramsay’s alarming stories. She needed to read the words conceived in water, before she wrote her earth-birthed ones.

Furthermore, writing is never a solo project, because it is a character-building endeavor. Hannah’s colleagues not only nurtured the perspectives she needed to pursue her calling, but they also strengthened her persona. Wilberforce impressed on her an urgency to advocate for the disadvantaged, and exemplified through his behavior that dignified words can only proceed from a dignified person. “That young man’s character is one of the most extraordinary I have ever known for talent, virtue and piety,” said More, referring to Wilberforce. As she navigated life in London, she encountered courageous minds as well as depraved souls and learned from both. Her friendships affirmed that More’s lemma was not to avoid acquaintances who failed to reflect her worldview, but to discern the level of influence others had on her. Even friends More disagreed with, like the poet Horace Walpole, helped her embrace with greater determination what she wanted to become, by identifying what she wanted to avoid.

Additionally, writing becomes a collective exercise because of the writer’s duty to give. Hannah’s life demonstrates her two-fold identity as a receiver and a giver. As she filled her mind with stories from West Africa and literary instruction from colleagues, Hannah also filled her notebook with sentences and verses, to help her readers see the world better. She served as a confluence, where a thousand rivers converged, including her own. Consistently, More became a donor of human-dignifying ideas to a society immersed in brokenness. In his book “7 Woman” Eric Metaxas writes, “She helped the average Briton see the humanity of the African slaves for the first time—as mothers, fathers, and children little different from their white, British counterparts.” The conversations at the Garricks’ dinner table, the letters to John Newton and her discussions with Dr. Samuel Johnson, all were in public service to 18th century England and 21st century America.

Nonetheless, offering a counter-cultural perspective required courage. In 1782, when More proposed to use literature to share biblical truth, she faced opposition, even from friends. “Sacred Damas” dismantled an often-obscured reality: those sitting on the same bench might be cheering for the opposite team. Conservative leaders criticized More’s evangelizing attempts through literature. The elite class, which possessed greater access to education, was the hardest to submit under the concept of human equality. In the face of these antagonistic groups, More had to arm herself with valor, and neglect the temptation of being just a receiver, and subsequently, half a writer.

More’s life is a demonstration that the one that embarks on a writing project, is embarking on a group enterprise. Journalists, as writers, need collaborators to nourish their perspectives, help them understand people and events better and build their character. Those who pursue journalism ought to remember they are never the last recipient of someone else’s knowledge. They are donors of a compilation of experiences, stories and ideas of quiet and loud voices, that have shaped their life’s journey, including their own.

[This essay by Eylan Martinez won an honorable mention in the WJI Essay Competition hosted by WJI Network.]