Volume V, Issue 48 November 28, 2016 Word of the Week: coincidence Dear ,
Years ago, I encountered the term synchronicity in a book by Julia Cameron called The Artist's Way. It was the first time anyone had ever suggested to me that the Source of love and life, however we may understand it, would actually delight in our creativity and the actualization of our dreams. I loved this idea, and began gathering evidence. I've filled more than one
journal with examples of synchronicity from my own life alone.
But many do. I thought of synchronicity/coincidence again recently when I came across a quote by none other than Albert Einstein: "Coincidence is God's way of staying
among us." And again when I first read this week's featured writing, "Infant Daughter," by WordPlayer Jordan Johnson Kuhn (you'll see why when you read it). And yet again when I saw this rainbow on my way back from my morning walk on the beach to the Sunset Inn on the last day of my Coastal Writing Retreat earlier this
month.
You see, another WordPlayer of mine who attended a previous Coastal Retreat with Jordan had just lost her mother, and texted me to ask if I would "send a prayer out into the waves and sky" for her, her mom, and her family.
Think what you will, but I think this rainbow was a "yes" meant just for her. I tucked a copy of Jordan's new book of poetry in with her condolence card. She'll see beyond the coincidence, I'm sure.
To borrow from Oprah, another thing I know for sure is that coincidences are great fodder for our writing. You'll have a chance to play with
this in the prompt below.
Wishing you love and light as we head into December, Upcoming WordPlay
WINTER WRITING RETREAT (Writing as Renewal/Creating New Writing/
Tools for a Writing
Life)
Renew and delight yourself. The Winter Writing Retreat is an opportunity to create new pieces of writing and/or 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, December 17th, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
TO REGISTER: To pay with a check via mail, email info@wordplaynow.com for instructions. Click here to pay online, using PayPal.
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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 and methods. Each week, writing prompts will generate material for new writing or further a piece in process, whatever your preferred genre. Through examples of accomplished writers, you’ll learn techniques to aid you
right where you are in the process.
WHEN: Tuesday evenings 7:00 to 9 p.m. and Wednesday mornings, 10:00 to noon, starting in January, 2017.
TO REGISTER: If you’re interested in attending, please email us at info@wordplaynow.com for more information.
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GIFT OF MEMOIR
(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.
WHEN: Thursday mornings, 10:00 to noon, starting in January, 2017.
REGISTER: If you’re interested in attending, please email us at info@wordplaynow.com to be put on the waiting
list.
More WordPlay opportunities here. WordPlay Success Story
"Through [Maureen's] encouragement and expertise,
I have found my voice again and have found the joy in writing
that I had neglected for too long."
Meet Jordan Johnson Kuhn Jordan Johnson Kuhn is a freelance writer and editor based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Her writing is heavily influenced by her love for
all things Southern and by her focus on family. Jordan’s first published work, A Hard Love, is a collection of poems and is currently available on Amazon.com.
Stop by if you like to check out her website-in-progress, jordanjohnsonkuhn.com. While it’s on the ground floor right now, Jordan is always available via e-mail!
What Jordan says about WordPlay
I have been writing in some capacity almost all of my life. Writing poetry, in particular, has always allowed me to express myself in a way that just feels right; it feels simultaneously both cathartic and empowering. I love the genre so much, and I have always appreciated the freedom afforded by writing in verse.
As I am the mother of a wonderful, active (very active!) four-year-old, I’ve struggled with finding the time to write in the last few years. Scrolling through my Facebook feed one day, I saw an advertisement for one of Maureen Ryan Griffin’s writing retreats that was held very close to the town in North Carolina where I spent much of my childhood. It just felt “right,” so I
signed up, and that was the start of my relationship with Maureen.
Maureen has helped me prioritize my writing time; through her encouragement and expertise, I have found my voice again and have found the joy in writing that I had neglected for too long. Last year, I set a goal to publish my first book of poetry,
and I am so pleased to have seen that goal through to fruition. I published A Hard Love, a collection of poems about my grandparents and their farm in South Georgia, in November of 2016.
Featured
Writing
Infant Daughter by
Jordan Johnson Kuhn
I didn’t know she existed— and she only existed for maybe a few hours, maybe less; they never spoke of her— I didn’t know she existed until I grew old enough
to read the gravestones. They never gave her a name.
I imagine her running through the fields, hands outstretched,
brushing the corn, hiding among the stalks. Maybe she wore a pink dress, maybe it had a smear of red clay on the hem. Maybe the skirt twirled.
I never realized the significance of not naming her— the pain she must have caused when she
arrived, and then didn’t— how they wouldn’t have wanted to name that pain, give it a title. To make her real.
And many moons later, My daddy wanted a daughter, to give his mother a girl. And many moons later, my son was born. On the birth day— and death day—of Infant
Girl.
But he stayed. And he took his grandmother’s maiden name. He took the name that might have
gone to another. And he stayed.
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 "coincidence."
PROMPT: Brainstorming is always a good way to find a writing topic. Spend some time mulling about the coincidences in your own life (or the life of one of your characters) that have had an impact. One of mine was meeting a man
in a Harris-Teeter back in 1982 who caught my eye because he was carrying a Time magazine. That stranger became my husband two years later.
You may find that making a list helps the brainstorming process. When you land upon a coincidence that brings a spurt of energy, capture the scene in poetry, like
Jordan Johnson Kuhn did in her poem above, or prose, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, like Paul Tough.
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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