Volume VII, Issue 30 July 30,
2018 Word of the Week: hearsay Dear ,
After three flights, 36 and a half hours of travel, and a ridiculously small amount of sleep, I'm back home again.
I learned a lot of history while I was in a Hawai'i, and I believe most of it—about Pearl Harbor and Captain Cook, King Kamehameha and tsunamis, coffee growing
and volcanic eruptions, sugar cane plantations and visiting celebrities—is true.
But whether or not Mark Twain
really planted a monkey pod tree in the tiny Big Island town of Waiohinu in 1866—that may be hearsay.
Twain himself didn't mention it, and a number of people have looked for substantiation with no luck. Still, it
made for a great afternoon, searching down a small spot in a tiny town which Mark Twain definitely visited, standing in the same latitude and longitude where he stood 152 years ago. A master of hyperbole, humor, and truth-stretching, he was not above a bit of hearsay himself.
What is true is that Twain loved Hawai'i in 1866 and that it helped him launch his career.
He always yearned to return. Here are some words of Twain's about Hawai'i that describe the feel of of these islands exquisitely:
For me its balmy airs are
always blowing, its summer seas
flashing in the sun; the pulsing of its surf is in my ear;
I can see its garlanded crags, its leaping cascades,
its plumy palms drowsing by the shore, its remote summits
floating like islands above the cloud-rack; I can feel the spirit
of its woody solitudes, I hear the
plashing of the brooks;
in my nostrils still lives the breath of flowers that perished
twenty years ago.
And that's no hearsay. I experienced this
myself.
Love and
light,
Maureen
Upcoming WordPlay
GIFT OF MEMOIR WRITING PERSONAL AND FAMILY STORIES (Preserving Family History; Writing for and about Your Family; The Art of Memoir)
NOW TAKING REGISTRATIONS FOR FALL 2018! 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., starting in September, 2018. COST: $285 TO
REGISTER: Please email us at info@wordplaynow.com to start the registration process by filling out a short "Clarity Tool" to share your writing dreams and goals and where you are in the process (anywhere you are is a perfect place to begin).
-------------------------------------------------------
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
NOW TAKING REGISTRATIONS FOR FALL 2018! 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.
* 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: Wednesday mornings from 10:00 a.m. – noon, starting in September 2018. (Other class time/day of the week may be available.) COST: $435 TO REGISTER: Please email us at info@wordplaynow.com to start the registration process by filling out a short "Clarity Tool" to share your writing dreams and goals and where you are in the process (anywhere you are is a perfect place to begin).
-------------------------------------------------------
EVERY PICTURE HOLDS A STORY - WEEK 8 Writing Class at Chautauqua
Would you enjoy
using favorite photographs and other visual images as springboards to write fiction, nonfiction, and/or poetry, and/or capture family stories? Then come learn some fun, easy methods to get started. We’ll also look at some ways successful writers have used images to inspire their words. If you like, bring your own pictures and photographs of things you’d enjoy writing about. A variety of images will be provided, too.
COURSE NO: 1710 WHEN: Monday, August 13th – Wednesday, August 15th, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. LOCATION: Turner 105, Chautauqua Institution. 1 Ames Ave, Chautauqua, NY
14722. COST: $85 TO REGISTER: To register online, please click this link to be taken to the Chautauqua Institution website.
-------------------------------------------------------
WRITING OUR WAY TO HAPPINESS - WEEK 9 Writing Class at Chautauqua
Come explore time-tested ways writing can increase your happiness level. This class will jumpstart your pen and provide inspiration and knowledge about the process of creative writing, whether your genre is nonfiction, fiction, or poetry. Ideal for beginners, and those interested in expanding their writing -for personal growth or for publication.
COURSE NO: 1712 WHEN: Monday, August 20th – Thursday, August 23rd, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. LOCATION: Hultquist, 201B, Chautauqua Institution. 1 Ames Ave, Chautauqua, NY 14722. COST: $99 TO REGISTER: To register online, please click this link to be taken to the Chautauqua Institution website.
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 "hearsay." PROMPT: Write, in any genre, about something that is hearsay, from a high school rumor to a tourist lure to . . . anything whatsoever you have experienced or can
imagine.
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.
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! |
|
|
|