Transition of Peace Corps Worldwide Website
I want to thank you for your efforts to enable so many people to share their Peace Corps stories. You…
Marian Haley Beil and I have been writing about changes and developments in the Peace Corps, as well as, noting the publication of articles, essays and books by RPCVs for over 35 years. We have also reported on what the agency and Volunteers are doing worldwide. These are our efforts, we believe, at the heart of the Third Goal — to “bring the world back home.”
Marian Haley Beil (Ethiopia 1962-64)
Who does what
Marian, as the publisher, edits, designs, and distributes the site. In the days of our printed newsletters, she also arranged printing and mailing. Now that we are online she has designed our site (with the great help of her son), and maintains a number of databases including one for 680 Peace Corps experience books, and another for more than 1900 Peace Corps authors.
I am primarily focused on finding out what RPCVs are doing since their tours and using our site to write about their careers and achievements. RPCVs are everywhere and doing everything, from writing books, teaching, creating new businesses, running for Congress and raising families and having children . . . who because of them . . . become PCVs!
Besides supporting the publications of RPCVs and telling the story of the Peace Corps to educate Americans about the world and share our knowledge of what is happening in the developing world, we are attempting to keep RPCVs ‘linked’ by sharing information about their lives since their days of service.
Our history
We began in 1989 publishing a 4-pages newsletter: RPCV Writers. In 1991 we changed the title to RPCV Writers & Readers, and eleven issues were published through 1992 and the number of pages grew. From 1993 to 1998 six 20-page issues were published each year.
Switching to online, the Peace Corps Writers ran from July 1999 to November 2008 — and continues to be available on the Internet. The blog Peace Corps Worldwide has been operating since December 2008 and continues to this day.
Etc., etc
In 1990 we started to present annual awards in a variety of categories.
In 2010 we founded a book publishing imprint with the name Peace Corps Writers to enable PCVs and RPCVs to have their writings – especially their Peace Corps memoirs – published in print and as ebooks. Marian created and manages this imprint.
Neither of us receive any remuneration for working on these newsletters or any other activity relating to these projects. Residuals from voluntary contributions are used to support the awards.
It has been our pleasure for over three decades to devote our time, energy and creativity to promote the Peace Corps. “Labor of love” describes our volunteer work.
It is time now to pass this ‘torch’ to the next generation of RPCVs. Glenn Blumhorst (Guatemala 1988-91) has agreed to take over the project. Marian and I, in the future, will be part-time ‘contributors’ to the online publication. Marian will continue to manage Peace Corps Writers, and I will post an occasional item.
Thank you all for being such faithful readers. Your support has kept Marian and I committed to our task.
John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962-64)
John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962-64)
Thanks to both of you for all the help and information.
Thank you both for the enormous contributions you have made in promoting RPCV projects to the Peace Corps community. Many voices have been heard due to your time and efforts. Thank you so much.
Words cannot begin to adequately express what a tremendous job you both have done over more than thirty years. Thank you so much!
I am happy for you and Marian, and also sad to see you step back. What a community you have built, and what devotion you have shown.
John, thank you for your undying commitment to the PC & shedding light on the wonderful PC volunteers’ records of service to communities during their PC years & after their return to the US, many continuing to fulfill the goals of the PC. You have kept the PC/Kennedy touch alive, which has established a solid foundation on which others can build. We will forever be grateful.🙏
Thank you so much for your years of dedication. I have enjoyed for many of those 30 years how you have shared the third goal.
You have done your job well and are most deserving to pass the torch on.
Suerte con su futuro.
John, Thanks to you and Marian for being part of my morning routine; keeping up with what other RPCVs are doing, PCs response to our changing world, and making my heart sing by publishing reports of newly minted PCVs starting their new lives in host countries. Thank you for bringing much joy to my life and be well, Jim w., Malaya I
I want to join all RPCVs who are truly grateful for what you both have done over the years. Not only have you kept all of us informed about the PC and RPCVs, but you even reviewed a couple of my novels, one of which was set in Tunisia, the country where I served as a TEFL professor. Again, Thank you.
John, you two are national treasures!
Great job John and Marian. I’ve enjoyed these emails over the years. And I have a few books in the pipeline so I am glad somebody will be taking over. Big shoes to fill! Thanks,
Andrew
Dear Marian and John,
Words cannot express the gratitude I feel and the debt all of us in the Peace Corps community owe you for all the incredibly important work you have done in chronicling the history and current state of the Peace Corps and its people.
Thank you both so very much!
And thank you also to Glenn Blumhorst for agreeing to take over this labor of love! This is not an easy undertaking, but a vital one, and Glenn is saving an important treasure for all of us.
Alana
John and Marion, Peace Corps Worldwide, has been a daily major force in my life for decades. “An important treasure” for sure. I always looked to you for the “inside scoop” the real news, the inspiring writing. Seeing you in person through the years at PC events has always been a joy.
I will miss you every day. But you couldn’t find a better person than Glenn to take it over . His dedication to PC is phenomenal, as is yours, John and Marion.
I’ll miss you. We’ll all miss you. But wish you a PEACEFUL retirement at last.
Love, Leita
John — Thanks to you and Marian for all the wonderful work you’ve done through Peace Corps World Wide to fullfil the “Third Goal” and promote the Peace Corps. So glad to hear that Glenn will be continuing your work. Everyone who believes in the Peace Corps and especiily those who were present at the creation are in your and Marian’s debt. Dan Wofford
I look forward to seeing something from “John Coyne” in my inbox everyday! Thanks so much, John and Marian, for all your work and contributions to the Third Goal!
John and Marian, thank you for keeping the Peace Corps spirit alive and well, in and for all of us over the last 35 years, by providing a platform for us to express ourselves in writing, and to read each other’s work. Here’s to 135 more years!
A job well done, John and Marian. And thank you for finding someone to keep it going.
The volunteer spirit lives.
You both have maintained the Peace Corps’ heart and soul and deserve much credit. Choosing Glenn is a great move. We will do all we can support sustaining this important RPCV community communication.
I thankfully agree with Matt and your other contributors, John and Marian, your combined efforts have nourished the third goal and kept many of us RPCVs in touch with why we joined Peace Corps in the first place. Additionally, I hope that with Glenn Blumhorst (Guatemala 1988-91) taking over the project, and you two becoming part-time ‘contributors’, your individual news and views will continue to enrich Peace Corps Worldwide for years to come.
Best wishes for any other activities you choose to devote yourselves to; these causes will be fortunate to have your energy and wisdom to guide them.
Vic Cox
Brasil 1964-66
This is truly the passing of an era. We will miss your constant and consistent vigilance on all things Peace Corps.
Thank you.
Gary
I love you both and appreciate your many decades of service to the RPCV community. Thank you doesn’t seem enough, but know that it is heartfelt. 🌷
John and Marian, Thanks again for your encouragement, help, and good work over the years! Wonderful that you will continue to be involved in a more limited capacity. You are true exemplars of the Third Goal.
You two have been amazing, and have done significant, heartfelt work to make the RPCV community feel like a family. Thank you so much for all that you’ve done. You are loved and appreciated!!
Thank you, John! Thank you, Marian! and Thank you, Glenn! I’m thrilled that John and Marian will continue to be involved, and that Glenn, a master at outreach, will carry on the website.
John and Marian,
You have set a very high bar. Many thanks for all you have done.
Thank you, John and Marian, for your many years of dedication to our community. And to Glenn for continuing the effort!
Dear John — I must add my voice to the chorus of thank-you’s above. I’m so grateful to you and Marion for all that you’ve done for us RPCVs. And I’m especially proud that my PC memoir, HOW TO COOK A CROCODILE, was the “firstborn” in the Peace Corps Writers imprint in 2010. We will miss you! — Bonnie Lee Black (Gabon 1996-98)
John, although we have never met face-to-face … through this blog … seems we have become real buddies. As both former early ’60s PCVs (you Ethiopia 62-64; me Liberia 64-67) and former PC Staff (both of us so many decades ago) … we have much in common. Sincerest thanks to you and Marian for keeping the Kennedy-torch burning so brightly. Also seems like you have said “I’m finished” more than once, so I will continue to look forward to your ‘occasional contributions’! Also look forward to meeting Glenn via this medium. May the gods bless the three of you.
After so many heartfelt thank yous here I diverge a bit to say to John and Marian that your dedication and continued contribution to running the site well over 30 years is an amazing feat that truly realizes the third goal. I always loved the variety of posts and am grateful also for publishing some of my stuff which otherwise may not have found a home. You … two … are … amazing!!! Please do drop in with whatever and on another note my appreciation to Glenn for accepting the torch!!!! Eric Madeen (Gabon 1981-83)
Your work has helped mightily in renewing my appreciation for my two years of long-ago PC service. Our individual experiences were isolated; you two have joined us in a community of shared memories, and I can’t thank you enough for that.
Thank you, thank you! And i do look forward to reading the “occasional” piece. Good luck to the new regime!
Aaaah, what a great run, with you both. I owe my time as a published writer to both of you, from the very beginning when John popped up in my mail thirty years ago, to the end with being edited and published by Peace Corps Writers, with the superlative Marian micromanaging each step. Every writer should have such support…open-minded, brilliant, dedicated, emotionally supportive, and knowledgeable about the ways of the world.
John, keep on writing and sending us those stunning poems!
Marian, get some rest before going on to the next professional endeavor (I know there is one in the offing…you will never rest on your laurels.).
And, Glenn, we’ll all be watching for what exciting ideas you, of endless talents, will bring to this new challenge.
Okay, take away my morning coffee while reading The Washington Post; take away my morning walk around Washington DC; take away my subscription to The New York Review of Books and maybe even The New Yorker; but come on folks, are you really taking away my hits of what everyone calls “Coyne.” It’s going to be hard ‘cause Coyne, as edited and polished to web perfection by Marian, has become a joyous part of the lives of RPCVs for more years than we care to contemplate. Informative, brainy, literate, inspirational. It was all those things. Now we are sure Glen will carry on the tradition. Everyone can be replaced. But we will miss you Coyne and Marian. Thanks so much for everything.
Barry Hillenbrand
Ethiopia 1963-1965
Thank you very much, John and Marian for all your work, devotion, and loyalty over the years to the Peace Corps, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and RPCV writers. I, as a reader, very much appreciated your broad scope of authors and artists. Best wishes to you both and I look forward to future articles from you. Thanks to both of you for keeping one foot on the throttle.
John and Marian,
I am so grateful to you both for all your work these many years! You have kept us informed, given Peace Corps Writers access to an interested audience and provided readers like me with a wonderful resource for finding new authors and enjoying learning about our fellow RPCVs’ experiences. Thank you! I’m so glad Glen is going to continue your fine work. Enjoy your “retirement.”
John & Marian–your unwavering commitment to the Peace Corps third goal has been admirable. PCW has been a great advocate for RPCV writers of all genres and interests. I’m proud that Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond was published by PC Writers and a number of essays as well. I’m pleased to learn that Marian will continue promoting the PC Writers program and look forward to your continued posts and insights.
You’re also to be commended for selecting a strong RPCV leader to move PCW forward in Glenn. He promoted a number of important programs at the NPCA and I had to opportunity to develop some fundraising strategies with him. And it’s nice to have a fellow RPCV/Guatemala on board!
All the Best,
Mark
This sad passing of the responsibility of this site marks the end of any era. John and Mariam have served the Peace Corps writing community for 35 years and now the time has come for them to pass the baton. Very sad, but nothing is forever. Yet, all of us Peace Corps writers are eternally indebted to them. Best wishes for your future endeavors.
John, your commitment and encouragement of Peace Corps writers has been an important part of my life for many years. Somewhere I still have paper copies of the early editions of RPCV Writers and Readers. This morning I looked at ‘Going Upcountry’ the story collection you edited in 1994, thirty years ago. My story in that book is the first thing I ever had published, and you organized the first book talk I ever gave at Barnes and Noble in New York. Kitty Turner reviewed the book in Writers and Readers. She accurately named you as the patron saint of struggling RPCV writers.
To me and many others, patron saint is a pretty accurate assessment.
With deep gratitude
Jeanne DHaem
Thank You John and Marian!
Your commitment and exemplary contributions to keeping our Peace Corps stories flowing will continue to be appreciated for many years to come. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Peace Corps Writers workshop in Maryland during September, 2019.
That workshop provided the motivation for me to complete a book that highlights lifelong lessons learned during my years as a PCV in Bolivia (1962-64) and their impact during the decades that followed!
YET TO BE REVEALED: FINDING PATHS TO MEANING (published in 2023/available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble)
Many thanks to Glenn for stepping into this important leadership role for Peace Corps Writers. I am confident that that we will all benefit!
Geri Marr Burdman (RPCV Bolivia 1962-64)
For everything, thank you, John..
As an occasional reviewer of some pretty amazing books, thank you both for creating and maintaining this system of providing feedback for all to see. Each book reflected the impact the Peace Corps had on the author. Without the Peace Corps, no such stories would exist and with President Kennedy’s eye to the future, our life changing experiences would not have happened and all those we impact would not be impacted! A very different world! The Third Goal has been beautifully manifested through John and Marian! Thank you!
I want to thank you for your efforts to enable so many people to share their Peace Corps stories. You helped build our Peace Corps community. I remember speaking with John in a bookstore so many years ago about his and my connection to Harris Wofford who had an impact on our lives. People change their journey because of others who have faith in them. You both have helped us all continue our Peace Corps life-changing journey.
THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK OVER SO MANY YEARS! SO VALUABLE!
JUDITH GUSKIN