Volume IIII, Issue 31 August 3, 2015 |
Word of the Week: conversate |
Dear ,
This morning
I had a lovely time conversating with two kids in my neighborhood about this gorgeous moth whose life happened to end right on the pavement in front of their house. (If you know what kind of moth it is, let us know!)
"What is it?" the young girl asked, and her little brother, "Can it hurt you?" The little
boy, who looked to about four, then asked, "How come it has four eyes?" An easy mistake for a young boy to make, yes?
I hope our conversation taught them a few things. In my book, there's nothing like learning something new. I try to do it every day. And recently, my new thing was discovering that "conversate" is now an official word. (This after, I confess, a friend of mine and I chuckled later over the salesperson who greeted us with, "Oh, are y'all ready to check out? I thought you were just conversating.")
Even though we were amused, and remembered how funny we thought it was when, years ago, we heard someone say they were "flustrated," I still
looked "conversate" up. And good thing I did, because I was wrong to laugh. Who am I to argue with The Oxford English Dictionary? Or my go-to reference for all things grammatical, Grammar Girl, who shares a great article, written by Neal Whitman, from which I learned that it, along with “informate,” “observate,” and “imaginate,” are
"back-formed variants." (Don't you love this stuff?!
Turns out that it is the opposite of "suffixation"—you may not know this word, but you do know about adding a suffix to a
word, say, making the noun “syndication” by adding the suffix “-ion” to the word “syndicate.” As Whitman says, "So you’d think the noun 'donation' was created by putting a suffix on the verb 'donate,' right? Surprise! It wasn’t. The noun 'donation' entered the language first, in the 15th century, and only later, in the 19th century, was the verb 'donate' formed by removing the suffix." Ta da! Back formation, like making "conversate" out of "conversation." Like, to quote Whitman, "Both “syndicate” and “donate” [which are]100% acceptable, standard English
words." (See http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/is-conversate-a-word if
you'd like to read the entire article.)
I not only love conversating, I love listening to others doing it! Scroll down to read a poem of mine created from just that, and a prompt so you can try your hand it.
Love and light,
Maureen
Upcoming WordPlay WRITE YOURSELF This Saturday!
Reap writing’s benefits—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Give
yourself the gift of exploring how creative writing (journaling, memoir, poetry, fiction) can enrich your life, and what your writing can provide for others. Participants will learn and practice a number of fun, easy tools and methods to help your words flow, whatever your particular interest. Whether you have published widely, sometimes write in a journal, or haven’t written anything since your senior year of high school, you will enjoy this lively, informative
workshop.
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JOHN CAMPBELL FOLK SCHOOL Waiting list only
(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.
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 1-800.FOLK.SCH (365-5724). Or register online here. $594 for one week-long session, plus lodging and meals. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Wednesday morning and
Tuesday evening classes available
(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.
WEDNESDAY MORNING: WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead Street, 28204
WHEN: Wednesday mornings from 10:00 a.m. to
noon: September 2, 9, 16 and 30, October 7, 14, 21 and 28, November 18, December 2, 9 and 16
TUESDAY EVENING
WHERE: South Charlotte area. Details will be provided upon registration. WHEN: Offered Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. September 1, 8, 15 and 29, October 6, 13, 20 and 27,
November 3 and 17, December 1 and 8
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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.
WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead Street, Charlotte, 28204. Click here for map.
WHEN: Thursday mornings, 10:00 a.m. – noon:
September 3 and 17, October 1 and 15, November 5 and 19, December 3
COST: $229 for 7 sessions.
TO REGISTER: Space for this class is limited. Please email us directly at info@wordplaynow.com.
More WordPlay opportunities here.
As I walk by, a woman is raking autumn leaves into piles with a grim
vengeance— so much to do by sunset.
Mom? A girl calls from inside the house.
Mom!
Her mother’s answer is to rake even harder, and which mother among us could not forgive the tightness in her lips?
MO-OM!
Here it comes, the snapped whip of the mother’s What?
Is it n-e-i-g-h?
The rake pauses as she puzzles. Nigh? Like the evening drawing close? Nay.
For the horse! You can hear the
cantering in the girl’s voice.
The woman smiles in spite of herself. Yes, she calls, n-e-i-g-h.
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 "conversate." PROMPT:
As you move through your days, claim your writer's right to eavesdrop. You can go hang out somewhere where people gather to talk—like a coffee shop—but people conversate wherever they gather, even in grocery store lines. Capture lines of conversation that catch your ear, and then weave them into a story, scene, poem, or essay. You can use one line of
dialogue or an entire conversation.
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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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