Volume V, Issue 25 June 20, 2016 Dear ,
I hope you had a happy Father’s Day yesterday, especially if you're a father! This week, our featured writer is John Decker, whom I had the great good fortune of meeting when he attended my “Writing Ourselves Whole” workshop at Olmsted Manor Retreat Center back in May. John’s words about his father poured out naturally in response to one of the prompts just as they appear below, and I knew immediately that I wanted to share them with you. "The Gift," as
John titled his piece, is both poignant and powerful, and illustrates the way the simplest of objects, say, a crayon, can contain a wealth of emotion and meaning.
Speaking of crayons, I spent a lot of time of over the past week appreciating color as my husband and I enjoyed a road trip through some
tremendous parks—Yellowstone, Mesa Falls, Craters of the Moon (both in Idaho), and Grand Teton—with our good friends Nora and
Marlin, tour guides extraordinaire. Here we are at Craters of the Moon, which really is an other-worldly landscape.
But all throughout the rock rubble left by volcanic action were bright-colored wildflowers, the most anyone had seen there for twenty years, the ranger told us. She called it a "super-bloom." And this photo of Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone made me want to get out my crayons! And this was on a cool, windy day when steam obscured the bright colors usually seen here. It made me want to buy the largest box of crayons I could find, one big enough to hold burnt sienna, cerulean, forest green...
The truth is, I'm better at writing about colors than actually coloring. How about you? Still, some time with crayons in hand may bring back vivid memories. Why not give it a try this week?
Whether or not you take me up on this, be sure to scroll down to
read John Decker's crayon memory, and the prompt I've created for you.
Love and light and multi-colored joy, Maureen Upcoming WordPlay
DELICIOUS MEMORIES
FREE!
Food not only nurtures and sustains us, it’s a rich source of metaphor and memory! We’ll explore our connections with food as we write of when, where, what, with whom, how—and even why—we ate! You can use your food writings to create a family cookbook, individual essays, stories, or poems, scenes in fiction or memoir, a food blog, etc.—or just for
your own pleasure.
WHERE: Main Library. 310 North Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28202
WHEN: July 19th, 2015, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
* A light dinner will be provided from 5:30 – 6:00 pm for anyone registered
for this program.
COST: Free!
TO REGISTER: To register online, please click here. -------------------------------------------------------------------
WRITING CLASSES AT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION
IN WESTERN NEW
YORK
Our life stories are a precious legacy. Writing them is a gift, not only to ourselves, but to those who love us - they'll be treasured for generations to come. Come learn engaging tools and techniques to retrieve and record your adventures, loves, losses, successes, and more with ease and enjoyment, no matter where you are in the
process.
Course No: | 1700 |
| When: | Monday, June 27 – Thursday, June 30,
12:30 – 2:30 p.m. |
| Location: | Hall of Ed.(Sheldon), rm 201, Chautauqua Institution |
| Cost: | $80, plus $22 for optional textbook (payable to
instructor) |
Reap the benefits writing can provide—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—in this class in which
you'll learn and practice whole brain methods for using writing as a transformative process as well as a creative one. These tools can be used to create essays, poems, memoir, fiction and/or nonfiction. For beginners and seasoned writers.
Course No: | 1705 |
| When: | Tuesday, July 5th – Friday, July 8th, 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. |
| Location: | Turner, 104, Chautauqua Institution |
| Cost: | $80.00 plus $22 for optional textbook (payable to instructor) |
Ever wondered what makes a poem a poem? Or wished your writing had more finesse? This class that explores "poetic ingredients" in the areas of content, sound, and form will increase your expertise—in poetry and prose. Learn how to identify and use these ingredients, as well as how poems you love can inspire and instruct you. All levels
welcome.
Course No: | 1706 |
| When: | Monday, July 11th – Thursday, July 14th, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. |
| Where: | Hultquist, 201A, Chautauqua Institution |
| Cost: | $80.00 plus $22 for optional textbook (payable to instructor) |
Buying Passes Your class registration will admit you to our grounds for the duration of your class. You do not need an additional gate pass unless you
plan to come early or stay late. There is a charge for parking.
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SUMMER WRITING RETREAT
(Writing as Renewal / Creating New Writing / Tools for a Writing Life)
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 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, August 6th, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. TO REGISTER: To pay with a check via mail, email info@wordplaynow.com for instructions. To pay online, please click this link to check out using
PayPal.
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(Expanding Our Creativity; Learning New Tools for Our Writing and Our Lives; Creating New Writing)
Discover your own genius as you learn to apply seven fascinating approaches of Leonardo da Vinci to your writing. These techniques enliven non-fiction, poetry and fiction. Expect fun, inspiration and writing galore in your preferred genre, with opportunities to share your work.
$630 for one week-long session (lodging and meals are additional – options can be found on the Folk School website). WHERE: John Campbell Folk School, 1 Folk School Road, Brasstown, NC 28902
WHEN: Sunday, August 7 – Saturday August 13, 2016.
TO REGISTER: To register, please click this John Campbell Folk School link to register directly from them.
More WordPlay opportunities here. WordPlay Success Story
"Maureen has a knack for creating a safe harbor in her classroom
where trust is a natural outcome."
Meet John Decker
John, the smiling guy on the far right in this picture from our Olmsted Manor retreat, graduated from Gannon University with an engineering degree and spent forty years working at a variety of
manufacturing companies. His aptitude for writing became a useful tool in the creation of technical manuals, product brochures and advertising copy, but his first love was poetry, generally based on the inspiration of Christian spirituality. At the prompting of his family, his interest now is to record a
collection of memories from his earlier life. What John says about WordPlay
A friend asked me to attend a Writing Workshop with him at a peaceful retreat center in the Allegheny Forest. It sounded like a welcomed break. Little did I know I was in for some intense moments, as Maureen is an advocate of just keeping the pencil moving! But the technique works, and
the results are surprising. Some long-buried thoughts came to the surface for me and produced an emotional experience. At the end of the session, my brain was tired but I had been motivated to get serious about writing.
Maureen has a knack for creating a safe harbor in her classroom where trust is a natural outcome. She finds something to encourage and motivate every
participant. I am eager to move ahead now on my projects, including a child’s “Story of Everything” and a memoir for my seven children and ten grandchildren.
Featured Writing
The Gift
by
John Decker
I’m not aware of seeing my father very often in my early years.
Oh, it wasn’t his fault, I understand. Work was hard to find, back in those days in the shadow of the Great Depression. He did what was necessary. He simply didn’t have time to get acquainted with me, a fact that I didn’t evaluate, it just was.
This one incident haunts me now—the day he appeared at home and brought me a crayon he had found on the street somewhere near a school. It was used. It
was broken. And I remember saying, “No thank you; I have that one.”
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 "crayon."
Set a timer for ten minutes and "crack open" the word crayon—just keep your pen moving as you explore whatever thoughts, images, and memories that arise. Notice what emotions surface—whether it's excitement, happiness, or even
regret, as in John's memory of the crayon his dad tried to give him. You may want to spend some time coloring with crayons before you begin writing.
When you're
finished, read over your words and see what you find—perhaps the beginning of a scene, essay, or poem, or maybe a complete piece.
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 three collections of poetry, Ten Thousand Cicadas Can't Be Wrong, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. One of her long-held dreams came true in July of 2015 when Garrison Keillor read one of her poems on The Writer's Almanac. 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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