Volume VII, Issue 4 January 22, 2018 Dear ,
Did you
get snow where you were? And did you enjoy it?
Having grown up in Erie, Pennsylvania, where the phrases "wind chill factor" and "lake effect weather" get bandied about nearly daily in winter, and snow, grimy from plowed road slush, consistently overstays its welcome, I relish sparkling white snow that melts away nicely in a few short days. (My version of "Camelot," if you know the song from that musical.)
Last week's snow was also a photo
opp, and a reason to be glad I haven't gotten around to taking down my Christmas tree yet! Here's the image, ready for next year's Christmas card (though I wish the camera had captured the colors of the lights better, given this week's word).
Garden of the Lost and Abandoned is about a woman named Gladys Kalibbala who lives in Kampala, Uganda, where over 5,000 homeless children wander the streets. As Amazon.com describes, Gladys,
"part journalist, part detective, part Good Samaritan—does not hesitate to dive into difficult or even dangerous situations to aid a child. Author of a newspaper column called 'Lost and Abandoned,' she is a resource that police and others turn to when they stumble across a stranded kid with a hidden history."
It's
a beautiful story. And in addition to writing the book, Jessica Yu has created a fabulous website (you could use it for ideas for a website marketing your book, hint, hint...), with gorgeous photos and more. You can view it here.
To view Yu's book trailer, from
which I created this screenshot, go here. (Or click the "trailer" link on her website.)
I picked this particular image from the slideshow because of its bright colors. And now, please, please, read the lovely excerpt below, this week's featured writing, and then you'll understand why
today's subject line is "What colors do you see?" And then keep scrolling to do this week's prompt.
And if you haven't yet jumped into the WordPlay 30 Day "One True
Sentence Challenge," it's not too late. You'll find the rules after the prompt.
I'll be listing the names of all who complete the "One True Sentence" game on my website and in the zine, along with links to any books, blogs, websites, etc. you'd like shared. And you'll get a small "mystery
prize" too, that honors your accomplishment.
Love and light,
Maureen
Upcoming WordPlay
GIFT OF MEMOIR (Preserving Family History; Writing for and about Your
Family; The Art of Memoir)
BEGINS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST! ONE
SPOT LEFT!
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.
* For the benefit of
participants, an audio recording of the class will be made each week so that participants are able to listen to classes they miss and/or review material covered at any convenient time and place. These recordings are available throughout the class session, along with all handouts, in a shared Dropbox folder.
WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead Street, Charlotte, 28204. Click here for map. WHEN: Thursday mornings, 10:00 a.m. – noon. February 1 and 22 March 8 and 22 April 5 and 19 May 3 and 17
COST: $275 ---------------------------------------------------------------
THE FINE ART OF COOKING UP A POEM: A Poetry (and Prose) Craft Workshop
Ever wished your writing had more finesse? Or wondered what goes into the making of a fine poem? 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 reading work by writers you love can inspire and instruct you. All levels welcome.
WHEN: Tuesday, March 6th, from 7:00 until 8:30 p.m.
Jessica Yu grew up in California. A fifth-generation Chinese American, she was blessed with parents who were fine with their kids going into the arts.
As a filmmaker, Yu is known for both her scripted
and nonfiction work, which includes the Academy Award-winning short BREATHING LESSONS. Her films span a wide range of genres and styles, from documentaries like LAST CALL AT THE OASIS, a look at the global water crisis, to IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL, a portrait of outsider artist Henry Darger. She has also directed various shows, including “American Crime," “13 Reasons Why” and “The West Wing," and Maria Bamford’s Netflix comedy special, "Old Baby." Her work has garnered various awards,
including an Emmy and a Writers Guild of America nomination.
Garden of the Lost and Abandoned is her first book. Gladys had first
met Mary and George Kakuru five years before. The couple already had five young children when, at thirty-three, Mary gave birth to the quadruplets. The family was penniless, the four babies sickly, their mother ill and unable to produce sufficient milk. When Gladys took on their case, her readers responded generously, with donations of hospital fees, transportation, clothes, milk, and food.
But
Gladys could not stop there. It worried her to send those babies back home. The family of eleven was crammed into an old thatched hut where swarms of flies buzzed in the urine stench. When it rained, the ragged roof provided no more shelter than the fronds of a palm tree. After Mary's youngest girl got pneumonia, Gladys discovered that the blanket she had given them was being used by the whole family as a kind of damp tent. It simply would not do.
"Nobody in my family has ever lived in an iron-sheet roofed house," Mary had declared for one of Gladys's follow-up articles. "I believed the quadruplets were a blessing from God and had a feeling they could even be a turning point for my family! Thanks be to God, for he listened to my prayers."
While Gladys basked in the glow of the
Kakurus' delight, not everyone admired her efforts. "What is there to boast of, building a house for those quadruplets?" one of Gladys's friends had sniffed, seeing pictures of Mary's new home. "You yourself are still living in a rented place."
Gladys and her friend were baffled by each other's behavior. It was like discovering that one could perceive colors and the other could
not.
"Why has Gladys wasted all this effort to help a stranger with too many children?" thought Gladys's friend.
Why can't my friend see the happiness in providing a house for a needy family? thought Gladys. Perhaps it was simply how one was created, Gladys surmised. One saw the colors or
one did not.
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 "colors." PROMPT: Write about two people, one who "saw the colors" and one who did not. In other words, two people who have very different viewpoints about a situation and just cannot understand
how/why the other person can't see his/her point of view.
This can be fact or fiction, and you may include dialogue, or not. But do capture the "colors" that each sees (both points of view).
And while you're at it, you can plop one of your
sentences into Day 1 of the WordPlay 30 Day "One True Sentence" Challenge at www.facebook.com/WordPlayNow/ and you'll be on your way!
WORDPLAY'S 30 DAY "ONE TRUE SENTENCE" CHALLENGE: Here's what to do: - Start on any day of January you like, or even
February 1.
- Write one sentence (More about that in this week's prompt below), then go to www.facebook.com/WordPlayNow/
- Scroll down to the post "DAY
IF THE "ONE TRUE SENTENCE" THIRTY DAY CHALLENGE, where I posted my first day's sentence.
- Click "Comment" and post your own sentence.
- Repeat daily for Days
2 - 30. Each day's sentence must be written that day—no fair stockpiling sentences.
- If you miss a day, post again on the last day you shared a sentence, then keep right on going. (For example, if you miss posting on Day 5, post again on Day 4, and then
continue on to 5 the next day.
(Though you are very welcome to start back at Day 1, if you want the full glory of writing 30 days in a row.) - You can start over as many times as you need to. No shame, no blame. We all "fall off the wagon" sometimes. What you're practicing is jumping back on the wagon. You still get
where you're going!
- Have fun! Your sentences can all be part of one story, essay, poem, etc. that you're working on, but they can also be separate and unrelated. The game here is to write and share one sentence a day for the joy of it—and the discipline. See what opens up for you as you are "true" to your desire to write.
Writing one true sentence may make you want to write more, but you don't have to. You may find it helpful to write some not-so-true, or not-so-inspiring sentences to get the running start you need
to get to your own true sentence, but you don't have to.
Try writing at least one sentence a day for 30 days, and see what it feels like to gain momentum, to engage at least a bit in your writing in such a steady way.
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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