Volume II, Issue 36 October 16, 2013 |
Dear
,
I know, compost isn't sexy. Or even particularly attractive. But it sure does make things grow! And did you ever notice how close the word compost is to the word compose?
I did, after WordPlayer Jane Pfefferkorn sent me the great news that one of her poems won honorable mention in the Chautauqua Poetry Prize competition, and then wrote to say that the writing classes she took with me not only
gave her enough confidence to try poetry, but also that she has notebooks full of "compost" from my classes that she continues to turn to. In other words, she uses them to compose.
Of course, being me, once I heard that I had to enter compost compose into a search engine and see what turned up. And one of the links in my search was to an article in the Los Angeles Times from June 2003 called "Compose your own compost."
Well, I never thought about it this way before, but that is what we writers do, isn't it? We take the organic matter of our own lives, like Jane did with memories of her dad, stir in fresh green perspective and imagination, and let our words grow from this rich mix.
I myself have boxes and boxes of notebooks filled with compost. I can open any one of them at random and find something to begin building a poem or essay from. And even if I never looked inside one of them again, the very process of having filled those pages grew me into a person who can generate words at any moment I sit down to write, whether I feel inspired or not. My composing, and composting, have left me comfortable with the process. As Natalie Goldberg, whose book Writing Down the Bones was invaluable to me when I first began writing seriously puts it:
"We have to look at our own inertia, insecurities, self-hate, fear that, in truth, we have nothing valuable to say. When your writing blooms out of the back of this garbage compost, it is very stable. You are not running from anything. You can have a sense of artistic security. If you are not afraid of the voices inside you, you will not fear the critics outside you." This is what I wish for you -- that you'll take on composing your own compost, for the sheer fun and pleasure of watching your words grow, whether or not you try your hand at prizes or publication. And if you'd like support and company, the WordPlay Fall Writing Retreat and Coastal Writing Retreats are right around the corner!
Details below, along with Jane's composed-from-compost poem and your writing prompt for the week. Here's to your green writing thumb, Maureen Upcoming WordPlay THE 2013 FALL WRITING RETREAT (Writing - and More - as Renewal / Creating New Writing)
Renew and delight yourself. Seasonal retreats are opportunities 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. FALL WRITING RETREAT:
Saturday, October 26, 2013,10 am - 5 pm
TO REGISTER: Click here to download a printable registration form to mail in.
Or click here
to register online. THE COASTAL WRITING RETREAT: Connect with Your Creativity at the Sunset Inn
Renew yourself, whether you are a practicing writer, closet writer, or as-yet-to-pick-up-the-pen writer.The techniques and prompts we'll use will spur your imagination, and can be used to create nonfiction, fiction, and/or poetry -- the choice is yours. There will be ample free time to savor your private room with king-sized bed, private bath and balcony, the large porches with rocking chairs and swings, and the coastal setting. The Sunset Inn is a five-minute walk from Sunset Beach and is next to a peaceful marsh where herons and cranes live. You'll have your choice of rooms, each with its own distinctive style and color scheme. You'll return home refreshed, with new ideas and energy for your writing. $438 includes writing sessions, two nights' lodging, two breakfasts and Saturday lunch (hotel tax and Saturday dinner at a local restaurant not included).
WHERE: The Sunset Inn, 9 North Shore Dr., Sunset Beach, NC 28468
WHEN: Friday, November 1 - Sunday, November 3, 2013*
OR Friday, November 8 - Sunday, November 10, 2013*
(*Two separate retreats.Please note that Friday, November 8- Sunday, November 10 will be a PROJECT BOOK Retreat with additional focus on the process of bringing a book into being.)
TO REGISTER: Contact the Sunset Inn at 888.575.1001 or 910.575.1000 (if you would like to handpick your room, view your choices here first, then call). Because the Inn is holding rooms for you, our participants, they are blocked off as unavailable online. Register soon by phone -- this is a popular event and there are only 8 spaces available each weekend. The Inn will hold your reservation with a credit card.
See http://wordplaynow.com/current.htm for more details and more WordPlay opportunities. WordPlay Success Story
"I have notebooks full of 'compost' from Maureen's classes that I continue to turn and add to."
Meet Jane Pfefferkorn
In my professional life I worked for twenty-six years in arts programs for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System. It was generally recognized that I could write clearly and concisely, which meant that grant applications often landed on my desk with instructions to "Get this funded." While my funding record was good on the local, state and national levels, it never occurred to me to write my own stuff. Unaware that what I wrote would be self-revelatory, I didn't think I had anything to say that would interest anyone else!
After I retired, my husband and I began spending time every summer at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York. What began as a long weekend grew into taking up residence for the full nine-week season. The second summer we were there, I began a casual conversation with Maureen Ryan Griffin as we walked our bikes away from an Open Mic session at the Literary Arts Center. I was in awe when she told me that she had won the Chautauqua Poetry Award the summer before and surprised that she was the teacher of the class I had registered for because the description sounded like the push I needed to record the family stories that I wanted to preserve for our grandchildren.
That first class with Maureen convinced me that I could produce something worthy. Subsequent classes at Chautauqua as well as a sojourn at Sunset Beach with Maureen ensconced me firmly in the world of memoir, moved me into fiction and finally gave me enough confidence to try poetry. I have notebooks full of "compost" from Maureen's classes that I continue to turn and add to. I wish I lived closer to Charlotte so that I could be a regular participant in her offerings. "Burn" developed from an assignment to write about fathers. I have several more pieces that grew from that class. They aren't ripe, but several are coming to harvest. I envision a suite of poems about my dad.
I haven't been concerned about publication. I entered the Chautauqua Poetry Contest at my husband's insistence and at the eleventh hour. I was very surprised that it got the judge's attention. While publication may be the next step, it's not why I write. Maureen encouraged me to record the world in my own unique way. She gave me a mission -- "Tell it like it is. Call it as I see it."
Featured Writing (Honorable Mention in the Chautauqua Poetry Contest, 2013
)
Burn
by
Jane Pfefferkorn
My father never hugged nor kissed.
I burned myself on his cigar to get his attention. "For God sake, Mama, this kid is crazy! She burned herself on purpose.
Get the Ungentine!" During Gentlemen's Choice at the skating rink, pointing to me, Dad called to a young man, "Take her, she's here." Mortified, I unlaced my skates
and raced home to my room. I thought he meant to give me away.
~ Jane Pfefferkorn
WordPlay Now! Writing Prompt
This is WordPlay -- so why not revel in the power and potential of one good word after another? This week, it's "compost." Check out this photograph of Jane Pfefferkorn and her dad from years back. What do you see when you look at it? What memories of your own surface? Mixing in your own fresh green perspective and imagination, w
hat story (factual or fictional) or poem could you spin? Set a timer for ten minutes (I like this online one that applauds when the time's up: http://www.online-stopwatch.com/eggtimer-countdown/full-screen/?ns=../../s/3.mp3) and write away. See what shows up on the page. (More below.) |
Then pick a photo from your own childhood, or any other visual image that you find interesting, and write for another ten minutes. Don't forget to set your timer: http://www.online-stopwatch.com/eggtimer-countdown/full-screen/?ns=../../s/3.mp3. This keeps you honest. Parameters are a good thing, whether your "compost" is in a notebook or in a compost bin!
Now, read over what you've written. Type up whatever parts of it you think show any kind of promise. What ideas do you have for expanding/improving what you started with? What do you think? Is there a beautiful composition in the making? |
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! |
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