[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 204 (Thursday, December 14, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1710-E1711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING BERTHA ROGERS AND BRIGHT HILL PRESS & LITERARY CENTER OF THE 
                               CATSKILLS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN J. FASO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 14, 2017

  Mr. FASO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great respect and admiration that I 
rise today to recognize the illustrious career of Bertha Rogers, the 
Founding Director of Bright Hill Press & Literary Center of the 
Catskills, on the occasion of her retirement and the twenty-fifth 
anniversary of Bright Hill Press. With her husband, Ernest M. Fishman, 
Bertha co-founded Bright Hill Press in 1992. Since then, through her 
dedicated work as an educator, mentor and an artist, Bright Hill has 
become an epicenter of free thinking and creativity, and a haven for 
writers both young and old.

[[Page E1711]]

  Bertha is gifted with remarkable literary talent. Her work has 
appeared in hundreds of literary journals and in several collections, 
and her translation of Beowulf was published in 2000. She has been the 
recipient several NYSCA and NYFA grants and residency fellowships to 
the McDowell Colony, the Millay Artists Colony, Jentel, Caldera, 
Saltonstall, Hedgebrook, and Hawthornden International Writers 
Residence (Scotland). Using this talent, Bertha has left a permanent 
mark on the Treadwell community through her work at Bright Hill.
  What started as weekly poetry readings, Bright Hill has grown to 
become an established and respected literary organization, attracting 
authors and poets both locally and worldwide. Largely the result of 
Bertha's time and efforts, Bright Hill now offers youth and adult 
writing workshops, reading series, small press publishing, and boasts 
an impressive literary library. Bertha's excitement for literature and 
poetry, combined with an authentic passion for teaching, has fostered 
an increased appreciation for writing and the arts in the Catskills.
  It is an honor to recognize Bertha and Bright Hill for their 
distinctive milestones. Leaving behind an organization marked by 
ingenuity, creativity, and passion, Bertha has given Bright Hill a 
buildable legacy which will grow in future years. I wish Bertha every 
happiness as she embarks on this new chapter, and I am confident that 
even in retirement she will continue to be an advocate for the literary 
arts. The 19th District and New York State are a better place because 
of Bertha and Bright Hill Press. I thank them for helping to make the 
Catskills a cultural center.

                          ____________________