He glows Alan Shaw

he glows

ALLEN

SHAW

By Barb Sieminski | Photo by Mollie Shutt

Allen Shaw, a Fort Wayne native and troubadour of music and writing, has found blessings in becoming blind.

“I developed Type 1 diabetes at the age of thirty, which has caused Diabetic Retinopathy, Cataracts, Corneal Neuropathy, Scarring of the Cornea and Glaucoma,” said Shaw, a 1976 Elmhurst High School graduate who also earned his degree in Music Education from Fort Wayne Bible College and two Master’s credits at Western Michigan University.

“After losing my sight, I did not do much of anything until a friend invited me to the Fort Wayne Christian Writer’s Guild. I did one of her writing assignments and found it was something I could do quickly and for fun,” he said. “I started writing more stories and poems, and in the fall of 2016, was introduced to FIVERR, a freelance-based platform for anything that can be done on a computer. I have delivered more than 1,000 writing projects in 62 countries, including a script for Norway’s National Parks, a scuba diving company in Taiwan, a counting song in Azerbaijan, and just wrote the lyrics for 9 songs to be sung by a children’s choir in Birmingham, England, who presented the story of Cinderella. It was recorded by the composer in England and we are both thrilled with the outcome.”

Shaw’s first children’s book – “Brainstorm! A Cave, a Stream and a Grandpa that Dreams” – was published in the spring of 2017 and was followed by three more books.

Shaw has an extensive background in music. At Elmhurst, he was very active in choral music and even taught choir and orchestra there from 1982 to 1984. He also was a Minister of Music and Worship at Life Community Missionary Church for 11 years.

“And now I have come full circle and enjoy writing lyrics,” said Shaw. “The Shawmusic5 includes my wife Debra, who is an amazing pianist and plays in churches and accompanies the Summit Middle School choirs, and all three of our children – Brandon, Amber Perry and Allison Ells – who all played instruments in high school.”

The scope of Shaw’s writing has been breathtaking and varied: he wrote part of someone’s doctorial presentation; two marriage proposals; part of a defense for a person being wrongfully accused; a wine label in Australia; poems for pastors’ sermons; and even a prayer for a motorcycle gang in the United Arab Emirates.

“I cannot make up some of the requests I receive, even with my vivid imagination,” concluded Shaw. “None of this would have happened had I not lost most of my sight. And truthfully, there are times when I try to do something I used to do and can no longer do, and I cry. I really should not, since losing sight has opened my eyes to so many amazing adventures in writing.

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