Volume VII, Issue 8 February 19, 2018 Word of the Week: recovery Dear ,
You are
probably as heartbroken as I am about what happened last week in South Florida. And, like me, you probably wish that you could do something to stop the senselessness. And you don't know what that is. Or how you can go on in the face of it, when you can't make it better for anyone.
If so, I think that this week's featured WordPlayer, Don Benson, who lost a son in a tragic way himself, will be a bit of
comfort.
This week's zine has been planned for months, and I myself had not read Don's words, except for the featured writing, "Winter Wheat," with its hopeful words about
recovery. Taken in totality, especially against the backdrop of what happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, his words made me cry.
They reminded me that the greatest gift we can give one another, NO MATTER WHAT, is to see, accept, and love each other. I learned this mantra
from some course, perhaps one of the free 21-day meditation experiences Oprah does with Deepak Chopra every so often. It is meant to be used on oneself, looking in the mirror (no easy task, believe me), but I realized very soon that I wanted to carry this out into the world and give it to others as well. Not so very different from what this teacher is doing, right in her classroom, to keep future terrorists from developing.
They also helped me to find a bit of hope—the hope we can see in shoots of "bright green winter wheat"—that despite bleak appearances, perhaps some healing is taking place. Don also exemplifies what thought
leader Brené Brown calls "The Courage to Be Vulnerable." Is it possible that, if we each work at taking that on, our leaders will follow? Maybe that's too much to hope for. But, regardless, it will help us to, as author Fred Chappell puts it, Brighten the Corner Where [We]
Are." When it comes to "working a recovery,"—and, in our broken world, there are so many kinds of recovery that need work—that's better than doing nothing, yes?
Love and light, Maureen
P.S. I've attached the poem of mine that Don refers to when he speaks of "Maureen's Challenge."
Upcoming WordPlay
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT POETRY
* But Were Afraid to Ask
There are at least ten thousand ways to write a poem! In this lively presentation about the art and craft of
poetry based on Maureen’s latest book of poetry, Ten Thousand Cicadas Can’t Be Wrong, participants will learn how content, sound and form work together, and get to try their hand at the process. They’ll also have the opportunity to ask every question they’ve ever had about poetry.
WHEN: Wednesday, April 11th, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. until noon
---------------------------------------------------------------
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.
WHEN: Sunday, May 6th through Saturday, May 12th, 2018
COST: $630
Other
News
SENSORIA: A CELEBRATION OF LITERATURE & THE
ARTS
I hope you can join me and my beloved teacher, mentor and friend Irene for this year's Irene Blair Honeycutt Legacy Award Presentation and Reading ( it's free, as are most Sensoria events, and it's on Monday, April 9th at 7 p.m. (preceded by a reception at 6 p.m.). More important, I hope you come for as many Sensoria events as you can make it to! You'll be glad you did. Full schedule here.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Lanier Library is holding their 10th Annual Sidney Lanier Poetry Competition. They are accepting submissions through March 15, 2018 with prizes awarded April 28, 2018 at the library in Tryon, NC.
Adult and Student categories are available with prizes from $500 (Adult) and $100 (Student).
WordPlay Success Story
"I recall Maureen’s challenge 'Creativity is about being willing to be used, to say "yes." Because our works of art want to come into the world and maybe the world needs them.'"
Meet Don Benson
Don grew up in a West Virginia coal-mining town, the son of an archetypical family physician and a stay at home mom. His earliest memories were of World War II … sugar shortages, windshield gasoline ration
stickers, midnight air raid drills and ominous references to family members on battlefields.
War was not Don’s only driving force. A joyless, guilt driven religion and his mother’s struggles with health issues, prescription drugs, and alcohol also darkened his world … a world he resolved to leave as quickly as he could.
Life became a marathon – Don dashed through college, medical school, specialty training in anesthesiology and critical care medicine, military service, medical practice and graduate school. He developed some of the world’s first Emergency Medical Technician and Paramedic training programs and helped set up several Emergency Medical Services systems.
Along the way, a
young woman took an interest in the man charging through life. She became his companion, his best friend, his helpmate and wife. They raised five wonderful children, four of whom now have their own lives, families, and professions. A malignant disease claimed their youngest son at age 27.
Throughout the way Don found refuge reading grand adventurers of good guys catching bad guys. Don wondered
if he could write the great American novel? Could he create the next Mockingbird? Could he build characters as masterful as Sherlock or as brilliant as Nero Wolf?
The answer was a resounding “No.” He had a life to live, a war to fight (Viet Nam) and a family to raise. Even so, an inexplicable force moved him to write … journals, poems, essays, and personal statements. While those manuscripts
were lost long ago, the thrill of watching stories and messages flow through his fingers onto paper was not lost.
Journaling helped him cope as his youngest son was ravaged by alcoholism and addiction. Despite all efforts the boy’s disease progressed. Don’s feelings of helplessness and failure were indescribable. His wife commanded, “Go to Al-Anon!” He did and it changed his
life.
Al-Anon is a worldwide fellowship of people coming together to learn how to live with their loved ones’ addictions. The organization’s vast literature and member networks helped Don find peace.
As he approached his marathon’s seventh decade, the children were grown and his career was
winding down. He survived prostate cancer and a TIA. The finish line was closer.
He began searching for interests to replace his ancient and honorable profession. His wife discovered the John C. Campbell Folk School. She studied ceramics, fiber arts, and several other subjects. Don chose photography and writing.
He plunged into classes on fiction, memoir, creative non-fiction, novels, poetry, and creative writing, and “How to Write like a Genius”. With Maureen’s encouragement Don wrote about how Al-Anon’s resources helped him find serenity. He’s now had six works published in the Al-Anon literature.
Today, the race is no longer a marathon. It’s a challenging hike. Hand in
hand with his dear wife, he goes on, accepting every step as a precious gift. He gives thanks for every twist and turn, every steep mountain and every hopeful dawn.
Writing helped him heal. He’s learned to savor the writing process much like he savors photography. With both manuscripts and images, he strives to create a work that will make the reader or viewer say …
“Wow!”
So, Don’s message to you, dear reader: “Write on, fearlessly. Revise, revise, and revise. Use the magical delete key. Find mentors you can trust. And Carpe yourself some Diem!”
What Don says about WordPlay Writing was a great hairy monster. Its piercing red eyes and massive pug nose morphed out of early morning darkness. Writing
snickered…
“Get out of bed, you lazy dolt! Go to your desk. Write something! Plumb your depths. Take me to a place of adventure, a place of peace, a place of love. Take me where I couldn’t go without you.
I pulled the blankets tight and answered
…
“My bed is warm, my wife is close, the sky is dark and the anguish of finding a brilliant idea and the perfect word is beyond daunting. It’s unthinkable.
Then, in the distance, spirits of my teachers whisper…
“Forget inspiration. Trust the process. Let it flow. Your unconscious is eager to help. The worst you can create is nothing but you have that now.”
I recalled a dull gray classroom. Slumped in my chair, the real me, the one buried deep inside screamed, “I can’t do this! Why did I ever think I
could write something worthwhile?”
Maureen called, “Don! Look at me.”
I glanced up, then back down at the scratches on my much-abused notebook.
“No!” Maureen barked. “Don! Look at
me!”
I screwed up courage and stared into her warm gray-blue eyes.
“Don, you can do this … you can!” … And I did … four publications in twelve months!
Now when my bed is warm, my wife is close, the sky is dark and Writing gloats, I recall Maureen’s challenge “Creativity is about being willing to be used, to say ‘yes’. Because our works of art want to come into the world and maybe the world needs them.”
I throw off the blankets, climb into soft comfies, brew coffee and open my notebook. I sprawl. I
sprint. I gather. I leapfrog. I dance fingers over keys. I revise and edit and print and watch a miracle flow onto my printer tray. Featured Writing Winter Wheat
by Don Benson As my wife and I drove home through the Northeast Ohio countryside after spending Christmas with our son and his family, a striking island of clear weather suddenly replaced the thick gray fog rolling over us from Lake Erie. Without warning, the dreary winter
canopy gave way to bright sunshine and a few proud, pure white clouds puffed up in a crisp blue sky.
The temperature struggled to just above freezing and portions of the dirty white snow cover melted exposing irregular patches of bright green winter wheat. The clear sky, beautiful sunshine, and tufts of tender winter wheat
jutting up from rich, black soil offered a sudden glimpse of hope. Winter won't last forever. Spring is coming.
We come to our Program in a winter of our lives. Our mood is dark with fear, anger, resentment, anxiety, hopelessness, and defeat. We keep coming back. We listen and read and study and meditate and pray. After a while,
in a soft, timid voice, we speak.
Like winter wheat growing under the blanket of snow, we begin growing under our own blanket of misery. Almost without our awareness, we learn about our loved one's disease and about our own inability to contain, control or cure it. We learn to accept the things we cannot change and to change the
things we can. We begin emerging from our own blanket of misery into our own bright warm springtime.
Sure, springtime brings its own storms, sometimes fierce, even devastating, but with our Program we're better prepared ... to turn our loved ones and
ourselves over to the God of our understanding, to do our part ... and to move on.
To me, the amazing aspect of this process is not so much that growth occurs, [although that is its own miracle] but that so much occurs without our being aware of
it.
Like winter wheat growing beneath the snow, working our program helps us grow under our own blanket of winter.
Keep coming back. It takes time. Spring will
come. 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 "recovery." PROMPT: This week, try what I call a "Leapfrog." Read all of Don Benson's words above, from his bio straight through the end of his piece on winter wheat. Then set a timer for ten minutes, and just write whatever is there for you. Keep your pen moving, and leapfrog off of any words and ideas that hit any kind of chord with you.
It's fun to play with prompts in community
with fellow writers, and to be able to share the results when you're done. You can find out about WordPlay classes, workshops, and retreats here. 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. You can listen to it here. 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! |
|
|
|
