[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 42 (Tuesday, April 16, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 IN HONOR OF GENEVIEVE KRUEGER, RECIPIENT OF THE 2002 McGROARTY POETRY 
                                 AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 16, 2002

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Genevieve 
Krueger, who will receive the 2002 McGroarty Poetry Award at the 
Shouting Coyote Poetry Festival on April 20, 2002 at Verdugo Hills High 
School in Sunland Tujunga, in California's 27th Congressional District. 
Each year, this award is given to an individual who demonstrates 
extraordinary community service and tireless efforts toward the 
advancement of the literary arts.
  Twenty-four years ago, Ms. Krueger began an out-of-print book search 
business. She knew that her love of reading and literature would serve 
her customers well as she searched the country for great works of art 
no longer in print. In doing so, she set herself out as a devotee of 
the process of good writing and the need to share that writing with the 
world. She is also an avid book collector, with a personal collection 
of more than 15,000 volumes, and volunteers her time with the Friends 
of the Library.
  In 1984, she befriended a group enrolled in a poetry workshop at the 
McGroarty Arts Center in Sunland Tujunga, California. The class 
disbanded after several sessions, and, recognizing the need for writer 
collaboration, Ms. Krueger invited the group to her home. What began as 
a workshop became a weekly writers group and for sixteen years now, 
writers have been welcome at Ms. Krueger's home to share their thoughts 
and their work.
  The group named themselves the Chuparosa Writers after the private 
home, Rancho Chupa Rosa, of California Poet Laureate, Congressman, 
dramatist, Los Angeles Times columnist, and historian John Steven 
McGroarty (1862-1944) and his wife Ida. Today, the private home is the 
McGroarty Arts Center and the annual McGroarty Poetry Award honors the 
legacy of John Steven McGroarty, a legacy that lives on in the work of 
the Chuparosa Writers and of Genevieve Krueger.
  The Chuparosa Writers meet each Wednesday to share their work and 
foster the works of an ever-changing group of writers and poetry 
lovers. They have helped sponsor poetry contests for elementary 
schools, performed numerous poetry readings as individuals and as a 
group, taught poetry classes to schoolchildren, assisted in creating 
the Poet Laureate position for Sunland Tujunga and supported countless 
community endeavors.
  Ms. Krueger eloquently states the purpose of the group: ``We meet to 
share new discoveries, and work-in-progress. Through our meetings we 
stimulate new ideas and growth, and we hope to spread the message that 
writing is an important and enriching activity.'' For-her commitment to 
bringing the arts to a wider audience, to the literary tradition of the 
Foothills and to new discoveries, I ask all Members of Congress to join 
me in congratulating Genevieve Krueger upon receiving the 2002 
McGroarty Poetry Award.

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