Volume IX, Issue 31
July 29, 2020
Dear ,
I've been jumping backwards through my photographs. Somewhere, I am sure I have one of this week's featured writer, Celina Marann Santana, from 20-some years ago, when I first met her in my writing classes, and then got to know her even better through The Artist's Way. When she was helping me put together my very first WordPlay website, which I'd forgotten all about until I tried to remember how and when we first met. Celina brings passion, possibility, compassion, and creativity to
everything she does, and I've adored her since the moment I met her. I looked for a "way-back" photo of us to no avail.
But I do have a photo from the magical time, back in 2017, when she called me out of nowhere to see if, by chance, I was at the AWP writers' conference in Washington, D.C., at the very moment that my daughter was dropping me off at the conference center where it was being held. What a reunion that was! This photo of us was snapped by her husband, whom I was so happy to get to meet, after our lunch together.
I'm sure you can tell how joyous it was for us to see each other, unexpectedly, after living in different countries for quite a few years.
So much happened for us both over the last twenty-some years since we first me. And for all of us, right? So much has happened in just the past three years. And I don't need to say a word about what 2020 has held so far.
How joyous it was to hear from Celina with the great news that she'd accomplished a goal we talked about together way back when—publishing in Brevity magazine. Of course, my first thought was
that I wanted to share her words in the Word-zine. I think you will love both her writing prompt and her wise thoughts on how we can make change powerful and meaningful.
Celina's words have echoed through the camping trip Richard and I took to the Blue Ridge Parkway this past weekend with our son Dan and his wife of seven months, Allison. This was our first time vacationing with them (a change!) and we had a wonderful time making new memories, like taking this beautiful hike together.
I couldn't help but to jump back to twenty years ago, when Dan was eleven. By then, we'd been taking family camping trips for years.
Now, Dan and Allison, Richard, and I are making new memories, along with their puppy, Charlie, a change they "adopted" back in April when the coronavirus altered their lifestyle rather drastically. Allison pushed for this change in their lives (she lost her long-loved dog, Layla, back in November) and Dan couldn't be happier she talked him into it. He'd forgotten, he told me, how much he'd loved having a dog when he was a kid.
I hope that Celina's "Jumping Backwards: A Writing Prompt" inspires you to take on change in any way that makes a real difference to you. And that this week's prompt will set you to writing something you'll be delighted to have written.
Love and light,
Maureen
P.S. Funny, I just realized that my class "Shaping Our Lives by Shaping Our Words," which starts this Monday, is about "jumping backwards" to jump forward into change, too! Details just below.
WordPlay
Opportunities
Shaping Our Lives by Shaping Our Words:
Through the Pandemic and Beyond
What benefits can writing provide—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually? We know now that the words we use and the stories we tell shape our daily experiences. Learn to shape words that bring out the best in you—and others. In this class incorporating Dr. James Pennebaker’s ground-breaking work, you’ll practice holistic, whole brain writing approaches that broaden your perspectives and deepen your
compassion. And, if you’re interested, you’ll create new poetry, creative nonfiction, and/or fiction.
WHERE: Online via Zoom (Offered by Chautauqua Institution)
WHEN: Monday, August 3rd – Friday, August 7th, 2020 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
COST: $115
FOR MORE INFORMATION, AND/OR
TO REGISTER: Visit https://learn.chq.org/courses/shaping-our-lives-by-shaping-our-words-through-the-pandemic-and-beyond and click “Enroll Now.”
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How Do I Say
Goodbye? and Praying You Goodbye
These two books are for anyone who is grieving the loss of a loved one—whether the loss is
impending, recent, or in the past.
The contemplative exercises within are a guide through the “many waters” of grief (from Madeleine L'Engle's A Two-Part Invention), including "treasuring" and "keeping" as well as regret and sadness.
What is grief, after all, but a sign of the depth of our love? On the far shore is always gratefulness, for, as the French proverb says, “Gratitude is the heart’s memory.” Those who enjoy writing will likely also find poems, essays, and/or stories emerging as they make their way through these
pages.
I created the process shared in these two books in June of 2002, shortly after my mother died, as a way to mindfully mourn this loss—and celebrate her life. I shared it with a beloved friend, the Reverend Rebecca Taylor, when she lost her father, and she encouraged me to make it available to others. Here it is, in two versions, both of which offer quotes, reflections, prompts, and space to write about your loved one, as well as beautiful photographs by Wendy H. Gill that enhance each part of the process. Either
version makes a thoughtful condolence gift for a friend or family member.
How Do I Say Goodbye? is for those of any faith, with quotes from many different sources to accompany the process. It can be purchased on Amazon here.
Praying You Goodbye is specifically for Christians, with accompanying quotes from Scripture chosen by Reverend Rebecca Taylor. It can be purchased on Amazon here.
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POETRY ROCKS!
Would you like your writing — prose and/or poetry — to be more graceful, powerful, beautiful? Do you sometimes find poetry confusing or intimidating and wish you could “crack the code”? Or do you enjoy writing and reading poems, but want a more thorough understanding of what makes a
poem good? Then this poetry extravaganza is for you.
Expect a good time exploring what makes a poem a poem, gaining the knowledge you need to confidently create and revise poetry, and strengthening your writing skills in all genres.
It would be a joy and an honor to share what rocks about poetry with you.
HERE’S WHAT YOU GET:
- 23 poetry creation tools, delivered one per day (Monday through Friday) to your inbox — in honor of National Poetry month. Use them as you get them, use them when you can, use them over and over to create poems. Each tool zeroes in on one aspect
of poetry and provides an innovative method to approach writing a poem. Many of them are great for creating prose, too. The tools include:
* a purpose, so you’re clear what you will learn
* background information when helpful
* “how-to” directions to create a poem
* an example that illustrates the poetry tool in action
* a short reflection to solidify the concepts covered
* “Hone Your Craft” suggestions for further exploration
* a short reflection to solidify the concepts covered
- A PDF document of each tool that you can print or save on your computer
- An audio recording of each tool, so you can learn by listening and/or reading
- Instruction on the role of audience, reading like a writer, and the process of revision, including a handy Revision Checkpoint Chart — this information can be applied to strengthen your prose as well as
poetry
- Additional poetry resources
- An e-book that contains the information and resources covered, as well as your 23 poetry creation tools for ongoing use
WHERE: From the comfort of your own home, via the web.
WHEN: Any time you want! And once you receive all 23 tools, they’re yours to keep, which means that you can keep using them for years to come.
COST: $45
TO REGISTER: To pay with a check via mail, email info@wordplaynow.com for instructions. To register for Poetry Rocks online, click here.
More WordPlay opportunities coming soon.
Stay posted!
Featured Writer
Meet Celina Marann Santana
Celina Marann Santana writes brief nonfiction, loves writing from prompts, and is at work on a novel. She spends her
days writing, consulting, philosophizing, loving, travelling, reading, exercising, learning, and recreating. She likes to sing and dance and do all sorts of things, like starting up a PechaKucha Night because she enjoys informal gatherings where folks share their passions in a concise, engaging format. She founded Your Dreamery to encourage others to discover their best selves through creativity and exploration.
Learn more at https://yourdreamery.com/.
What Celina says about WordPlay
When writing with Maureen, stories will emerge you didn’t know were inside of you. Your fellow workshop participants will take risks that surprise you and shed their personalities to become authentic story tellers. You simply must experience it to realize the power of Maureen Ryan Griffin’s writing courses. She provides insightful, though-provoking prompts that encourage a variety of writing styles and
types. The creative, supportive atmosphere she creates seeps in and takes hold so that her writers reach new depths and produce a different caliber of writing. She describes herself as a “midwife of dreams” and she realizes this role in many capacities. I am grateful for working with her, writing with her, and just knowing her!
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Featured Writing
Jumping Backwards: A Writing Prompt
by
Celina Marann Santana
I have been inventing quarantine games. For the purposes of this blog, let’s say I use them as writing rewards or prompts rather than procrastination from the writing itself!
One invented game is to investigate what I was doing on this day one year ago. Give it a go. Jump back through your calendar, do an email sort. As fair warning, it can be humorous, sad, curious, frustrating. Recently, I skipped forward to the summer months to see the types of adventures I’ll potentially miss this year.
I landed on June 23. Now there are many things I could have been doing on the many June 23rds of my past, at midnight. On the ones I happened to be in Puerto Rico, it was jumping backwards into the sea, seven or twelve times (depending on who I asked) in order to cleanse my sins, start anew, and get magic powers.
Noche de San Juan is celebrated every June 23 in Puerto Rico, Spain, and many other countries around the world. The original Noche de Feugo (Night of Fire) was a pagan tradition to celebrate the summer solstice but was co-opted by the Catholic Church to commemorate the birthday of Saint John the Baptist.
I managed to secure fragments of the history of the festivities while wandering the beach, weaving around bonfires, hammocks, drummers, loungers, drinkers, and dreamers. There were those who had no idea why they had gathered in the dark (beyond a good party of course) and for those who knew something of this night’s origins, there were debates as to its
traditions. Further research revealed some of the most common:
- Go backward into to the sea, while watching the moon, for special powers or luck.
- At the exact moment when the sun illuminates the dawn of the 24th, the waters of springs and streams are endowed with special powers to cure and provide protection. Bathe in the dew for protection throughout the year.
- Sit under a fig tree with a guitar in your hands and you’ll learn to play it right away.
- Look through the window of your home after midnight and you will see the love of your life walk by.
- To rid yourself of things you would rather forget, throw representations of them (clothes, objects or memories written on paper) into the fire and watch them burn.
For me, the night represented change and looking back on it made me realize something new about change. Helen Keller said, “A bend in the road is not the end of the road…unless . . .
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 “change.”
PROMPT:
Try Celina's prompt, either for yourself or one of your characters:
"Investigate what you were doing on this day (or any particular day of your choice) one year ago. Give it a go. Jump back through your calendar, do an email sort." (Or, for
a character, imagine.) What has changed? What has stayed the same?
If you haven't read the rest of Celina's essay, do that before continuing. What is something you (or your character) can hold onto? What is something you (or your character) can let go? What is something new for you (or your character) to find?
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!
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