Internationally celebrated writer of groundbreaking books on the business practices, traditions, and languages of China,
Japan, Korea, and Mexico, Boye Lafayette De Mente founded the Arizona Authors Association in 1978 and became its
first president. He established a monthly newsletter and brought famous authors, agents, editors, publishers, and book
distributors from around the country to Arizona to lead spring and fall writers’ seminars under the AAA banner. Within one
year, De Mente had recruited over 400 members into the AAA. The following year, he created the annual Arizona Literary
Contest and the Arizona Literary Magazine. While leading the AAA for the next seven years, De Mente continued as a
prolific writer and small press publisher, becoming an approved vendor for leading U.S. bookstores, and shipping books to
Australia, Japan, Europe, and South Africa.Current AAA member Rodo Sofranac was brought into the AAA by De Mente during the early years of the
organization. He kindly offers his memories of those crucial first years, and his ideas for the future of the organization.
Rodo: In the early 80s Boye came to address a creative writing workshop I had enrolled in at Paradise Valley Community
College. He was forthright, unpretentious; he advised us to write from the heart, and not to look for fame and fortune. These
admonitions were exactly what I had needed to hear—I had wanted to write children’s books, and my wife had joked that I
shouldn’t leave my day job!
Boye expressed his belief that you don’t achieve anything all by yourself; he advised us not to hesitate to call on
others for advice. At the time he was trying to get the AAA going as a collaborative organization, where writers could share
ideas, share successes and defeats, prop each other up. He felt that the meaning of life is in building relationships, that one’s
life is defined by building relationships. That was Boye’s philosophy for AAA.
A great highlight of the early years was the acknowledgment that Arizona wasn’t just a hick state with dirt and
cacti, that its diversity in geology, plants, and animals extended to its people—especially regarding thought and philosophy.
Boye brought widely diverse people together to share each other’s work. One suddenly felt not so alone as a writer. The
communal feeling among the members was the big highlight of those early years.
About eight years ago the organization felt a bit like parents going through a divorce. But through the strength and
resilience of the group, we snapped back and continued to be there for each other. As Boye had originally intended, the
organization offers mutuality and relationships. I find it easy to recommend AAA to other writers—it’s financially economic
to join, and there are lots of activities to participate in, lots of opportunities to learn and to teach, to pass on knowledge.
That’s what distinguishes people from animals: the proclivity to pass on learning.
There’s so much talent in Arizona. I’d like to see relationships develop with Amazon and B&N, where local authors
are celebrated and promoted. I’d like to see the independent community bookstores feature events with local authors. Maybe
AAA could do more along those lines, could do a bit more to promote the purchase of books from local authors. I’d like to
see AAA develop relationships with the schools, creating opportunities for speakers/readers, who would make presentations
for minimum stipends and create markets for their books. AAA could help organize that.
With a degree in psychology from Cornell University, Phoenix resident Rodo
Sofranac also has a teacher certification from Cleveland State and an MBA
from ASU. Born in Montenegro—formerly Yugoslavia—Rodo fled with his
family to Austria, later immigrating to the US. A writer, teacher, trainer, and
translator, he has over 45 years of business, education, and community
experiences. He was executive director of Phoenix Habitat for Humanity, and
has chaired various local, state, and national organizations. For eight years
Rodo was the program director for AZ Leader Force, bringing together
political, business, faith, and other community stakeholders around Quality
of Life issues. As a private sector volunteer, he has been involved in policy
research and formation in the area of workforce development. Elected
National Chair, he worked closely with the National Governors’ Association,
Departments of Labor and Education, Congress members, public and private
economic development organizations, and workforce development and
education agencies from the local to the international levels. See
https://rodowrites.com
