This is the email I sent to Pi Beta Phi

On the subject of Arrowmont,

We think of literacy as having only to do with the written word and forget that the first written language was in the form of knotted string, and the word text is derived from the Latin textus, referring to woven cloth.

You may have heard the term "narrative" in relation to crafts, a term which acknowledges that each thing uniquely crafted by the human hand tells a unique story; the story of that maker and the culture, tools and materials through which we have crafted our human existence.

You might make the mistake that literacy is only the reading from books or blogs, but in actuality it involves so much more, and in the crafting of objects, we find voice to express and share our essential humanity.

I just wanted you to know these things in case for some reason you have come to the illogical conclusion that supporting a school for arts and crafts is inconsistent with your noble mission of literacy.