Volume IIII, Issue 11
March 16, 2015
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Word of the Week: outgrow
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Dear ,
I promise, after this, no more family photos for a while! But it just so happens that my son's birthday falls exactly one week after my dad's, and that date is TODAY. Dan is 26 now, and he still gives me as much joy as he did when he was just a baby -- how could I not smile, taking in that grin? So happy birthday to my once baby boy....
Dan has, of course, outgrown many, many
things since this photo was taken back in 1989, but he's never outgrown his love of reading. And one of the people I have to thank for that is the incredibly
talented children's writer Lois Lowry. You are likely to be familiar with her two Newbery Medal winners, Number the Stars in 1990 and The Giver in 1994. But she has written a number of other wonderful books for children, including two series featuring members of the Krupnik family, Anastasia (adored by my daughter Amanda) and Sam (who delighted Dan). Dan and I read the Sam books out loud together and they made us both laugh out
loud. Some years later, I came across another book by Lois Lowry that I use frequently in my writing classes -- see below for more about
that. But before I get to that, I have to give a shout out to my favorite Episcopal priest, Rev. Pat Conley, and her whole parish of St. Ann's in Woodstock,
Illinois. I met Pat in one of my writing classes at Chautauqua Institution in 2011, and we have become fast friends over these past years. I had the extreme pleasure
of spending this past weekend leading a writing retreat called "Writing Ourselves Whole: The Healing Power of Words" at Saint Ann's for the parish and surrounding community. It was one of the most moving facilitating experiences I've ever had -- and that is saying a lot! We had some marvelous conversations about who we are growing into, which is, after all, the flip side of outgrowing, yes? Not only were the attendees inspiring human beings, but I also got to hear Pat preach -- she brought me to tears. (I wonder if I will ever outgrow being "a cryer"?)
Illinois even put out its finest spring weather for my visit -- loving spring is something I am very sure I will never outgrow!
Now I'm home again, just in time to enjoy the Bradford Pear trees that always bloom in honor of Dan's birthday :) and busy planning the WordPlay Spring Writing Retreat, which takes place on Saturday, March 28th, in Charlotte. I'd love it if you could come. Details about that below too.
Happy outgrowing -- and growing into!
Long may you blossom,
Maureen Upcoming
WordPlay
SPRING WRITING RETREAT (Writing as Renewal / Creating New Writing / Tools for a Writing Life) Renew and delight yourself. The Spring 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, March 28th, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
TO REGISTER: To register securely online with your credit card, click here. To pay with a check via mail, email info@wordplaynow.com for instructions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------SPINNING WORDS INTO
GOLD(Fulfilling Writing Dreams and Goals; Creating New Writing; Revising and Polishing Your Writing) Does writing fulfill you? Do you wish you were writing more? Jumpstart your writing life and learn to keep your words flowing. Learn specific techniques and exercises to create nonfiction, poetry and/or fiction. Whether you would like to keep a journal for your own personal growth, spin stories for your loved ones, or further a career as a professional writer, experience the satisfaction of
developing a writing practice that works for you—come spin words into gold. 
In the community room after our reading
$594 for one week-long session, plus lodging and meals. WHERE: John Campbell Folk School, 1 Folk School Road, Brasstown, NC 28902
WHEN: Sunday, August 23rd through Saturday, August 29th, 2015
TO REGISTER: Call the John
Campbell Folks School at 800.FOLK.SCH (800-365-5724). More WordPlay opportunities here.
As I said earlier, children's author Lois Lowry has enhanced the lives of me and my children tremendously -- and so many others! She is one of my
literary "sheros." You can read about her here.
Lois has written
more than forty books, and of all of these, my favorite is her autobiography, Looking Back: A Book of Memories. While it's classified as a children's book, I can't imagine ever outgrowing my love for it. It was written, to answer the question constantly asked by kids: "How do you get your ideas?" The book is comprised of excerpts from her books, followed by a
photo and a "snapshot" moment that, years later, inspired the chosen excerpt.
Here's number 17:
Big Gifts
"You know," my father had said to me as the salesman
wrapped the shirt, "buying this shirt is probably a
very
practical thing to do. You will never ever outgrow this shirt."
~ "Crow Call," Redbook, 1975
I was nine years old. It was a man's woolen hunting
shirt. I had seen it in a store window, its rainbow colors so appealing that I went again and again to stand looking through the large windowpane.
The war had recently
ended, and my father, home on leave before he had to return to occupied Japan, probably saw the purchase as a way of endearing himself to a daughter who was a virtual stranger to him. If so, it worked. I remember still the overwhelming surge of love I felt for my father when he took me by the hand, entered Kronenburg's Men's Store,
and watched smiling while I tried the shirt on. Even the smallest size hung below my knees.
I wore it for years. I loved that shirt. I loved my father for buying it
for me. I loved the entire world for being the kind of world where such a shirt, and such a father, existed.
from Lois Lowry’s Looking Back: A Book of Memories
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 "outgrow." PROMPT:
Write about what you (or anyone else, real or fictional) have outgrown, are growing into -- and will never outgrow.
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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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