About Devra Hall Levy
Devra Hall Levy, a published journalist and author based in Los Angeles, is a prolific chronicler of jazz luminaries: interviewer for Smithsonian Jazz Oral Histories; author of books Men, Women, and Girl Singers (Beckham Publications Group 2001) and Strollin’ (SnapSizzleBop Media 2008), myriad CD liner notes, articles in Billboard Magazine.
Non-jazz features include Poverty Antidote Goes Global, a profile of social entrepreneur Bill Strickland (Miller-McCune Magazine, January/February, 2009) and A Dogged Determination, a four-page feature about the canine-handler teams trained by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (Miller-McCune Magazine, March/April, 2011). Devra is also the author of a dozen computer trade books.
February 15, 2010 · 4:32 AM
Person-To-Person: for the greater good
Personal stories are powerful tools for educating the public, swaying opinion, and wooing supporters. I am a narrative nonfiction writer working on a series of profiles of individuals whose success stories will provide hope and inspiration to others as well as shine a spotlight on the people and organizations that helped them along the way.
Being a freelancer, I do not yet know where the individual articles will appear, but here’s a sample profile of a man from Pittsburgh who hopes to persuade 200 cities around the world to replicate his arts education and job-training programs. That piece ran in Miller-McCune magazine and you can read it online here.