THE CABIN's Story
The Cabin, next to Boise Public Library
In 1996, a deteriorating log cabin in Boise, Idaho, built in 1940 for the Forest Service, was on the verge of being too broken to fix. At the same time, a new literary organization was just getting started on its mission to inspire a love of reading, writing and discourse in Idaho communities.
It was perfect timing. The City of Boise agreed to provide the cabin as a home for Idaho literary arts, if the organization would renovate the structure and make it fully accessible.
The transformation of the old log cabin – from the foundation to the attic – was an excellent metaphor for the power of words and writing. Each requires a solid foundation to build on, respect and discipline for the tools that transform, imagination, and a vision for what can be.
While the cabin took shape, with accessible meeting rooms, an elevator, exterior ramp and fully accessible restrooms, The Cabin, a 501c(3), also evolved and is, today, Idaho’s anchor for literary programs.
With grants from the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and sponsorships and grant awards from dozens of other government and corporate entities, The Cabin offers programs year-round. They include youth education, a Readings & Conversations series that brings internationally acclaimed authors to Idaho, and workshops and seminars that inspire and grow the community’s celebration of words.
Recently, a teacher from Victory Academy, which participates in The Cabin’s Writers in the Schools program, sent us this note:
“Our program accepted a student with a behavior log an inch thick. This student was continually suspended from other schools and programs… Then he decided to take a creative writing class through the WITS program. The student turned out to be a talented poet with a unique voice… That student will be walking the line as a high school graduate in two weeks. He is already registered for college and intends to become a teacher.”
Even more important than renewing the structure of an old log cabin, giving young writers tools to enrich and, in some cases, to rebuild their own lives is the most rewarding part of our on-going community efforts.
It was perfect timing. The City of Boise agreed to provide the cabin as a home for Idaho literary arts, if the organization would renovate the structure and make it fully accessible.
The transformation of the old log cabin – from the foundation to the attic – was an excellent metaphor for the power of words and writing. Each requires a solid foundation to build on, respect and discipline for the tools that transform, imagination, and a vision for what can be.
While the cabin took shape, with accessible meeting rooms, an elevator, exterior ramp and fully accessible restrooms, The Cabin, a 501c(3), also evolved and is, today, Idaho’s anchor for literary programs.
With grants from the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and sponsorships and grant awards from dozens of other government and corporate entities, The Cabin offers programs year-round. They include youth education, a Readings & Conversations series that brings internationally acclaimed authors to Idaho, and workshops and seminars that inspire and grow the community’s celebration of words.
Recently, a teacher from Victory Academy, which participates in The Cabin’s Writers in the Schools program, sent us this note:
“Our program accepted a student with a behavior log an inch thick. This student was continually suspended from other schools and programs… Then he decided to take a creative writing class through the WITS program. The student turned out to be a talented poet with a unique voice… That student will be walking the line as a high school graduate in two weeks. He is already registered for college and intends to become a teacher.”
Even more important than renewing the structure of an old log cabin, giving young writers tools to enrich and, in some cases, to rebuild their own lives is the most rewarding part of our on-going community efforts.
