For those who do not earn their livelihood through writing, it is difficult to convey just how hard it is to stay financially afloat. Paychecks often arrive weeks after an assignment has been turned in and weeks after your creditors hector you for the cash. Sometimes a writer must wait many months even when expecting a check from a prestigious outlet. Even when a writer has received some attention, there are often those times in which he must scrounge under the couch for change or ask his family and friends for help.

Such a life is already fraught with difficulties, but writers stubbornly stick it out. But imagine that you have a family. And imagine that you have been hit hard by that very special avarice that only a HMO knows.

With this in mind, I direct your attention to The World’s Most Literary Rent Party Ever.

I have learned that Charles Bock, author of Beautiful Children, and his family are now facing serious hardship. Bock’s wife, Diana, is now in the hospital with leukemia. They have a two year old daughter. The costs — physical, emotional, and financial — are quite high. Difficult even for a writer who has experienced some success.

In an effort to help the Bock Family out, the literary community has come together for a special benefit that is set to go down on Sunday, February 6, 2011. At PS 122 in the East Village. Tickets are set to go on sale on January 10th.

If you don’t have the green to attend this gala, you can show your support through a PayPal donation. Please spread word around.