Upcoming WordPlay

THE HEALING POWER OF WORDS 

(Writing As a Healing Process) 

What benefits can writing provide - physically, mentally, spiritually? Are some ways of writing more healing than others? And can we create quality literary work as we heal? In this workshop that incorporates Dr. James Pennebaker's ground-breaking ideas, we'll discuss and implement ways to use writing as a transformational tool. And, if you're looking, you'll find the genesis of new poetry, creative non-fiction, and/or fiction. Warning: Laughter likely. Inspiration guaranteed. This workshop is offered FREE!

WHERE: Scaleybark Regional Library, 101 Scaleybark Road, Charlotte, NC 28209
WHEN: Tuesday, June 3, 6:00 to 7:45 pm
TO REGISTER: Call (704) 416-6400 or register online here.

FINDING THE POETRY IN YOUR LIFE 

(Poetry Knowledge, Tools and Techniques) 

Do you ever wonder what makes a poem a poem? Or wish you had a better way to put your thoughts and feelings into words? Then this poetry workshop is for you. Expect opportunities to put words onto paper in new ways, encounters with poems that run the gamut from serious to seriously playful, and tools to help you find the poetry in your own life.This workshop is offered FREE!

WHERE: Morrison Regional Library, 7015 Morrison Boulevard, 
Charlotte, NC 28211
WHEN: Wednesday, June 4th, 2014 from 6 - 7:30 pm
TO REGISTER: Register online here

THE GIFT OF MEMOIR: WRITING PERSONAL AND FAMILY STORIES

(Preserving Family History; Writing for and about Your Family; The Art of Memoir)

Our life stories are a precious legacy. Putting them in writing is a gift to all who know and love us-they can be treasured and enjoyed for generations to come. It is also a gift to ourselves. As best-selling author Rachel Naomi Remen says in her book Kitchen Table Wisdom, facts bring us to knowledge, but stories bring us to wisdom. If you are interested in writing family and/or personal life stories-those significant tales of adventure, transition, love, loss, and triumph, as well as lovely everyday moments from times past or the present, come learn specific tools and techniques to retrieve and record them.

To suit your busy schedule, the summer sessions of The Gift of Memoir may be taken individually or as a series. $97 for 3 sessions; $35 each for individual sessions

WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead St., Charlotte, 28204. Click here for map.

WHEN: Thursday mornings. June 5; July 24; August 14. 10 am to noon.

TO REGISTER: Click here to register online.  Or click here for a printable, mail-in form.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

(Fulfilling Writing Dreams & Goals; Creating New Writing; Revising & Polishing Your Writing)

This class is designed to fulfill your writing dreams and projects. You'll set goals and support structures and watch your writing flow! You'll also get feedback on your work (any genre) and learn revision tools. Jumpstart your pen and receive the knowledge and inspiration you need to write, whatever your preferred genre. Each week, writing prompts will generate material for new writing or further a piece in process. Through examples of accomplished writers, you'll learn techniques to aid you right where you are in the process. $229 for 7 classes.

WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead Street, 28204

TO REGISTER: Click here to register online. Or click here for a printable, mail-in form.

Note: If you're interested in an Under Construction class that meets on Wednesday mornings in South Charlotte, please email Maureen here or call 704-494-9961. There are just a few spots left!

SUMMER WRITING RETREAT

(Writing - and More - as Renewal; Creating New Writing)

Renew and delight yourself. The Summer Writing Retreat is an opportunity to create new pieces of writing and/or new possibilities for our lives. Enjoy various seasonal prompts; they have not failed to elicit beautiful material that can be shaped into essays, poems, stories, or articles. After a communal lunch, you'll have private time which can be used to collage, work with a piece of writing from the morning, or play with a number of other writing prompts and methods. You'll take home new ideas, new drafts, and new possibilities. $97 includes lunch and supplies.

WHERE: South Charlotte area. Details will be provided upon registration.
WHEN: Saturday, July 19, 2014, 10 am - 5 pm

TO REGISTER ONLINE, CLICK HERE. Or click here for a printable, mail-in form.

WordPlay Success Story

"I often lightheartedly refer to Maureen as 'Sensei' because of her love of and skill at teaching the craft."

Meet Edward Middleton

I've always loved to write. And poetry has always been my favorite medium. Maureen taught the first real poetry course that I ever took. She did not have us abandon our individual "style," which is the thing that we  poets are often most protective of. Rather, she invited and guided us into thinking beyond style. After some basics on construction and rhythm she had us reach back into memory to a time that impacted us more emotionally than anything else. She encouraged us to stay with those feelings and not to shun or run from them. And when they were at their sharpest... write. And so we did.

The poem that I wrote for that class; "My Father's Funeral," was taken from the time in my life that elicited the most trauma and change for me. It's unmatched even today after I've been through a war and active addiction to drugs and alcohol (24 years in sobriety now). Each time I read it I'm back at that gravesite with my family. But now in a way where I'm thankful that I can describe how I feel on my terms, in my words. My dad was a veteran of the Korean War. I'm a veteran of the Viet Nam war. And I'm proud to have served honorably in the same Navy as he.

As to what writing means to me personally: Whatever direction the ideas of the moment take me, it's first an exercise of the soul. It's where I meet my honesty. And it's rarely if ever threatening or foreboding, but much like my childhood beagle pooch, Bingo, always welcomes me with unconditional love. Since sometimes I write, and write, and write, because the words keep coming, and coming, and coming. And I can't stop until everything, at least for the moment, has been laid bare before me on that previously blank page. But yet it's love. Love of the written word that's first a gift of God to my consciousness, and all He says to me is, "Share it."

And so I try. Having written, I try to find a venue where as many other souls as possible will say, "Yes! I get it. I feel it too." That's writing to me-each piece I write is a natural progression on this journey to who I am as an artist. And as an artist I'm not only the sum of my gift, but also what I've been taught. For this reason I often lightheartedly refer to Maureen as "Sensei" because of her love of and skill at teaching the craft.

My first book, Fast Food and Other Social Dilemmas, is written both from my insights as a vocational counselor (my position with the VA before retiring 3 years ago) and a personal perspective. It even has some of my poetry incorporated. It's principally social commentary on the breakdown of the black family and how that shows up in the workforce, especially the fast food industry. But it also provides helpful information for readers about other basic social dilemmas many people face.

Find out more about Edward's book/order it here.  

  My Father's Funeral

by

Edward Middleton

I remember being seated next to my mother
her squeezing my hand until it hurts
as they lowered him slowly

Her other hand lay atop a folded flag on her lap
that all before had been draped across his box
that cold box

I remember tears falling from beneath a black veil
and a young woman sniffling to remain strong
in the face of her loss

I remember music about sweet by and byes
and my brother's short black pants
my sister's bewildered look 

I remember black --
and my father sinking slowly
from out of our sight.

 
                                   ~ Edward N. Middleton
                                   Copyright 2004                                                                                                                                                                        

MAUREEN RYAN GRIFFIN, an award-winning poetry and nonfiction writer, is the author of Spinning Words into Gold, a Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing, a grief workbook entitled I Will Never Forget You, and two collections of poetry, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. She believes, as author Julia Cameron says, "We are meant to midwife dreams for one another."

Maureen also believes that serious "word work" requires serious WordPlay, as play is how we humans best learn -- and perform. What she loves best is witnessing all the other dreams that come true for her clients along the way. Language, when used with intentionality and focus, is, after all, serious fuel for joy. Here's to yours!