Volume VI, Issue 38 September 18, 2017 Dear ,
I had a great visit this past weekend with my friend Cathy Purdue, who is the daughter of a dear
friend, Betty Seizinger, who passed away some 13 years ago.
Being with Cathy (and also her husband Dave, also a good friend AND a loyal zine reader) is a treat because of the delightful person she (and he) is, but also because I see so much of her mother in her, and because
we get to share our memories of this person we still love so much.
Cathy reminded me that I read Betty's poem "Occam's Razor" at her memorial service, and gave me permission to share it with you here as this week's featured writing. It's a stunning poem, in all senses of the word, and it's an honor to feature
a work that is about honoring the lives of others.
I'm so grateful to spend time with my friend Betty across the years since I lost her presence here on earth, and to be reminded that
words, both written and spoken, can keep alive what we honor.
What do you honor, and how will you choose to keep it alive? Grab your pen (and/or your laptop) and get writing!
Love and light,
Maureen Upcoming WordPlay
FALL WRITING RETREAT
This Saturday
2 spots left!
Renew and delight yourself. The Fall 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, September 23rd, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m.
* We’ve also scheduled our Winter Writing Retreat for Saturday, December 16th and if you’re interested in registering
for both, we’ll bundle them at a 10% discount. Your cost for the two retreats would be $175. If you’d like to register for both retreats just click this link to be taken to PayPal. -----------------------------------------------
COASTAL WRITING RETREATS Connect with Your Creativity at the Sunset Inn
(Writing—and more—as Renewal and Inspiration)
Due to response, this retreat will be offered on two different weekends: November 10th – 12th and November 17th – 19th.
Pick the dates that work best for you.
Renew yourself and reconnect with your own creativity, whether you are a practicing writer, closet writer, or as-yet-to-pick-up-the-pen writer! The techniques and prompts we’ll use will spur your imagination, and can be used to create nonfiction, fiction, and/or poetry—the choice is yours.
$418 + room tax for the weekend beginning either Friday, November 10th through Sunday November 12th or Friday, November 17th through Sunday, November 19th. The Coastal Writing Retreat includes writing sessions, two nights’ lodging, two breakfasts and Saturday lunch (hotel tax and Saturday dinner at a local restaurant not included).
Want to extend your retreat? If you’d like to stay another day to write, or to just
enjoy the beach, the Inn is offering Coastal Writing Retreat participants the opportunity to stay Sunday night at half price.
(Extra writing retreat sessions are a possibility too. Email info@wordplaynow.com if you’re interested.)
WHERE: The Sunset Inn, 9 North Shore Dr., Sunset Beach, NC 28468
WHEN: Friday, November 10th – Sunday, November 12th, 2017
~ and also ~ Friday, November 17th – Sunday, November 19th, 2017
TO REGISTER: Contact the Sunset Inn at 888.575.1001 or 910.575.1000 (if you would like to handpick your room, view your choices
here first, then call). Because the Inn is holding rooms for you, our participants, they are blocked off as unavailable online.
*Also, please let the Inn know when you call if you are interested in staying Sunday night, November 12th or 19th, at half price. The Inn will hold your reservation with
a credit card.
More WordPlay opportunities here. Featured
Writer
Meet Betty Seizinger
Betty, a teacher at West Charlotte High School and a debate coach whose team won a National Championship, served as President of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg League of Women Voters from 1993-1997. Her activities for
the community were manifold and wide ranging, resulting in many civic and state awards and recognitions.
During Betty's tenure as President, the League joined many organizations to work on behalf of education, diversity, healthcare, affirmative action, and affordable housing. Betty's ability to do so
much came
from her heart, she enjoyed being involved and had the ability to motivate others with the drive of her personality.
Other accomplishments during Betty's Presidency included partnerships with churches and organizations in the African-
American community, visiting churches and meeting with community leaders, working to improve race relations, working to repeal the excessive state tax on food and
creation of the Civics 101 course to promote understanding of government. (Civics 101 is still alive today! It was featured in The Charlotte Observer earlier this year.
Her recognitions and awards are numerous and include the Doctor of Humane Letters degree conferred
by Queens University in 1999 'for wide ranging services to the Community,' the Order of the Long Leaf Pine awarded by North Carolina Governor Hunt in 1997 for 'Her integrity, learning and zeal,' and the 1997 North Carolina Equity Carpathian Award. She was the 1997 co-winner of the Woman's Equality Day Award presented by the Women's Commission of
Charlotte-Mecklenburg. May 28, 1997 was proclaimed 'Betty Seizinger Day' by the Honorable Patrick McCrory, Mayor, City of Charlotte, and the
Honorable Parks Helms, former Chairman, Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners, in recognition of, 'her tireless efforts to promote democracy in our community.'
Betty was a well-respected and beloved member of the poetry community of Charlotte, delighting many through her participation in, among other organizations, the Live Poets Society and Creating Art on the Spot. She was known for her deft,
perceptive critiques, and contributed much to the success of local poets. Her work appeared in several journals, including Southern Poetry Review, Wellspring, and Main Street Rag, and she authored a collection entitled Water in My Hand.
(Thanks to Betty's husband, Reinhold Seizinger, for these
honoring words that were a part of her obituary.)
Featured Writing
Occam's Razor by Betty Seizinger
Museum staff at Auschwitz disagree about what should be done with hair shaved from the heads of
Jews after they were sent to the ovens.
The hair The hair What should be done With the hair
Cover with glass Protect from the dust Save for fresh eyes Honor the life
Honor the
death Disperse what is left Share it with dust In peace let it rest
Make us wise In our doubt Leaven our fear Guide us in trust To honor the hair
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
"honor."
PROMPT: Write a piece of poetry or prose, fictional or non, that honors someone or something. 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. 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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