Volume IX, Issue 40
September 30,2020
Word of the Week: teacher
Dear ,
This last day of September seemed like the perfect day to reflect on teachers—especially after I stumbled across a poem by Rosie King about one particular teacher that I'd saved onto my computer
back in 2007 because it touched me so.
What a terribly challenging year 2020 has been for everyone. And teachers have really had it rough, along with the parents of their students, and the students themselves. My heart goes out to all of them—from kindergarten through college, Calculus to English—whether they're teaching remotely, hybrid, or in-person. The sign in front of our neighborhood elementary school makes me smile:
We will teach you here or there
We will teach because we care
I hope you have had the gift of at least one truly caring teacher in your life. The right hand page of my high school junior yearbook shows two of mine, Sr. Lisa Mary, who encouraged me to write, and Mr. Wally, whose stellar contemporary poetry class ignited a passion that is still with me today.
Today's prompt offers a chance for you to reminisce about the teachers in your life (or the life of one of your characters, if you're writing fiction these days).
Speaking of teaching, I can't wait to begin my "Shaping Our Lives by Shaping Our Words" class via Zoom this coming Tuesday, October 6. The enthusiastic response from my Chautauqua students in July was so heartwarming, and I've found some wonderful new resources to share since then. Would you like to join me for this class that will bring a renewed appreciation for your life, as well as for words and stories?
Details just below. Let me know if you have any questions.
May you keep on learning (and teaching those around you) always,
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.
WHEN: 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, October 6th, 20th, October 27th, November 3rd, and November 17th
WHERE: Wherever is best for you, online via Zoom.
COST: $165 for 5 classes, including handouts and resources.
REGISTER ANY OF THESE WAYS:
- pay via PayPal (you can use a credit card or PayPal) with this link
- send Venmo payment (@MaureenRyanGriffin)
- pay via Zelle online banking (704-756-4641)
- mail a check, made out to WordPlay, to 6420 A-1 Rea Road, Suite 218, Charlotte, NC 28277 (be sure to email
info@wordplaynow.com to let me know a check is coming so I can hold your
spot)
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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.
Both versions 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. Learn more here.
WHERE: From the comfort of your own home.
WHEN: Any time you want! And once you receive all 23 tools (delivered 23 weekdays in a row in both written and audio form) they’re yours to keep, to use them for years to come.
COST: $45
TO REGISTER: To pay with a check, email info@wordplaynow.com.
To register online, click here.
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TAG, I'M IT!
Both the year-long TAG, I'M IT! AND three-month TAG, I'M IT! journals offer—in no more than five to fifteen minutes—a simple
way to recap and celebrate the very best of each day of your life.
The practice of writing out your “T’s” (things you’re thankful for),
“A’s” (actions you can acknowledge yourself for), and “G’s” (gifts
you’re grateful for) is a transformative one, especially combined
with the final step, I’M IT!, in which you intentionally choose three
do-able, most-important-to-you actions you’ll take the next day.
Thank you to Maureen Ryan Griffin for creating TAG I’M IT.
TAG, I’M IT is my new best friend. It’s a guided writing journal that
helps me sort through the mental travels of my day. And it helps
me zero in on the special moments by reflecting, acknowledging,
and saying thank you for the invisible gifts collected in my daily
journey. “TAG” gives me joy. And it gives me a sense of peace.
It helps me discover the small and large wonders around me.“
TAG” sits on my nightstand – it’s my last conversation of the day.
And I feel satisfied when I turn off the light. When I write in my
TAG, I’M IT journal, I’m giving myself a gift. What a treasure!
~ T. D. Taegel
More WordPlay opportunities coming soon.
Stay posted!
Featured Writing
Miss Shelley, Miss Hattersley, Miss Guilford . . .
by
Rosie King
When I can't remember the name of my third grade teacher,
the only one through ninth grade
that won't spring to mind, I sit
wondering at the mystery of her.
Like a fan blowing cool air in summer, her face
bends down to me, strands of her hair—
it must have been long—or the rayony
swish of her skirt lightly brushing my arm
as my pen writes the letters very precisely, rounding them
in the new cursive, her voice a glissando
tinseled with laughter, her eyes crinkling—
the one who left to get married!—
up there behind her glasses,
the glow of her.
from Sweetwater, Saltwater by Hummingbird Press, 2007
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Rosie King was born in Saginaw, Michigan. A graduate of Wellesley College, she came west in 1966 and did her master's degree at San Francisco State and her doctorate in Literature at UC Santa Cruz where she taught beginning poets and wrote a dissertation on the poetry of H.D. Her poems have appeared in various journals, and four poems from her first book, Sweetwater, Saltwater
(Hummingbird Press, 2007), and three from her second, Time and Peonies (Hummingbird Press, 2017) were read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer's Almanac. When not traveling, she makes her home, with pond, fruit trees, and garden, near the beach in Santa Cruz. Visit her Amazon page/order Sweetwater, Saltwater here.
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 “teacher.”
PROMPT: Make a list of your (or one of your character’s teachers). OR, if you prefer, make a list of a different category of people in your or a character’s life: friends, relatives, boy or girlfriends, classmates, co-workers, etc. Then, write about one
or more of them, in any genre you like.
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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