Volume X, Issue 18
October 1, 2021
Dear ,
Hello from the other side of a chasm that feels as wide as the Grand Canyon—the time between my last Word-zine at the end of April, and this one on the first day of October.
I apologize that I have been absent so much longer than I said I would be. And am ever so grateful to my faithful readers who wrote to ask if they had fallen off the mailing list. No, I'm truly sorry, but my systems have been working just fine. It's me who's been broken. My spirits
have been sagging from a long chain of losses and some big challenges.
These may have been difficult months for you as well. Maybe, like me, many of your family members and friends have experienced serious illness and deep loss, some through Covid. Perhaps the sadness and senselessness of so much that's happening in our world right now has gotten the better of you.
I hope that you are holding up in these hard times, and wish you peace and comfort. Today, as I read my daily meditation from Mark Nepo's The Book of Awakening, this question leapt off the page: "How do we live in such a way that the wonder of feeling outfuels the pain of breaking?" Indeed. How do we?
One way is to pick up our pens again, if only to say that we hurt. We make ourselves slow down and notice the beauty and love and grace around us, and we write it down, so we don't forget that this good is happening, too.
In fact, it's the grace of words that brought me back here, after all these months of inertia, all the times I've told myself that I need to write you, to at least tell you why I'm not writing you. Before I share this little story though, in order for it to make sense, I'd better share a few
words from my last zine before my sabbatical (the word of the week was "break"):
"Break" is such a useful word, with multiple meanings and endless nuances, from "break a leg" to "heartbreak" to "Spring break" to "break the bank" to "give me a break" . . . I could go on and on. And will, at least a bit. . . .
When, on our Southwest travel trailer adventure, my husband Richard fell at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada and broke his right elbow and wrist, these words came back to haunt me. Such irony!
But that was months and months ago. My "grace of words" experience happened just this past weekend, when Richard and I were staying at one of our all-time favorite places, The Sunset Inn, Sunset Beach, North Carolina. As we headed
back from our sunrise walk, I spotted a new Little Free Library. How nice! I can never resist checking out what's inside, and was immediately drawn to Jodi Picoult's Handle with Care. Perfect for my afternoon in a beach chair by the ocean.
I'd had a bad dream the night before, and though the details had faded, it was one of those in which terrible things are happening and everyone is upset because you have neglected to do what you should have done. I had told Richard that morning that I really needed to write a zine, but just
couldn't figure out what to say after my long absence.
So imagine how I felt when I opened up Handle with Care to the first page and found these
words:
from Jodi Picoult's Handle with Care
As serious and as, well, broken as these words are, I couldn't help but to laugh. Because, God knows, it would be so easy to NOT write you. But the synchronicity of finding a whole page on what breaks was just too much of a sign (and an entry point) for me to ignore.
So here I am, with a hopeful prompt below about brokenness from Judy Brown's marvelous The Art and Spirit of Leadership, because you, like me, probably
could use some hope. [Below that is a photo of me behind the wheel in Fort Collins, Colorado, courtesy of my truly wonderful big brother Mike. Due to Richard's broken elbow and wrist, I learned that, despite never having done so before, I CAN pull a trailer all the way from Nevada to North Carolina—yes, even through the
Rockies (baptism by fire) and over the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, despite my fear of long bridges.]
Just a few more things:
First, in case you missed the last Word-zine, you'll find it below. I think it's a pretty good read, and I love the prompt. (If you've already done it, try using the word "hope" for your "Sprawl.")
Second, because I am still dealing with some challenges and a very full schedule, while I'll still be sending out a weekly zine, new issues will be occasional and most will be chosen from the archives. Oldies, but goodies!
Lastly, there are details below about tomorrow afternoon's free writing workshop, as well as an online class beginning in mid-October. I'd love to have you.
This blessing from my last Word-zine bears repeating: May you be happy. May you be well. May you be safe. May you be peaceful and at ease. And may you write your heart out, in whatever way best nourishes your soul.
Love and light,
Maureen
FREE ONLINE WRITING WORKSHOP
THIS SATURDAY October 2nd!
WRITE YOURSELF
I'm leading a FREE online writing workshop called Write Yourself! this Saturday, October 2nd from 2:00 – 3:30pm. Sponsored by Reynolda Manor Branch Library in Winston-Salem, NC, it’s for anyone who’d like a jumpstart to start writing, or begin again—we’ll use a medley of prompts and tools to generate new work. Think playful and profound, think freedom to express whatever arises, to share or simply listen. I’m so looking forward to it and hope you can come!
To register, email Staci at falkowsz@forsyth.cc.
Feel free to pass this invitation along to anyone you think would enjoy it.
--------------------------------------------------------
THE SEVEN ENERGIES OF WRITING:
WRITING WITH HEART, MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT
A Holistic, Whole Brain Approach, with Tools and Strategies to Enhance Creativity, Productivity, Ease, and Enjoyment
Yes, writing can be easier! If you’ve ever had a hard time getting started writing, finishing what you’ve begun, or gotten stuck in the middle (AKA writer’s block), learning how to engage with your own unique mind, heart, body, and spirit in the most helpful “energy of writing” for you and your work at each stage of your process—and on any given day—will be a game-changer. In this class, we’ll explore—and practice—the ins, outs, and
benefits of all seven energies of writing, through the lenses of body, heart, mind, and spirit. You’ll learn and practice invaluable tools and strategies you’ll use again and again to write with maximum ease and effectiveness. Yes, you can be more productive, creative, and fulfilled, no matter what kind of writing you do or how experienced you are.
WHERE: The comfort of your own home, via Zoom
WHEN: Wednesday evenings, 7 - 9 p.m. on October 13 and 20, November 3 and 17, and December 1, 8, and 15.
COST for seven classes, recordings, and materials: $220
They were speaking
of their hopelessness
when he,
sitting behind me,
dropped the glass of water
and it shattered.
It was an
accident.
The conversation about
what to do if it was all hopeless
carried on,
while she and I, and he,
picked up the shards of glass,
in silence,
carefully,
aware that others
would come that way barefoot
on their way to meditation
in the morning.
It took some time
to make sure
we had found
each tiny bit of broken glass.
They were still asking
what to do when there's no hope
when we picked up
the final shard.
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 “broken."
PROMPT:
Write about "picking up the pieces" (literally or figuratively) after something has broken, either in your life or someone else's, real or fictional.
Volume X, Issue 17
April 28, 2021
Dear ,
Here we are, together again, this time right near the end of National Poetry month, and do I have an extravaganza of featured poems for you, all containing the word "break." (Hence my very apt subject line. 😊) "Break" is such a useful word, with multiple meanings and endless nuances, from "break a leg" to "heartbreak" to "Spring break" to "break the bank" to "give me a break" . . . I could go on and on. And will, at least a bit.
Attribution: Alpha Stock Images - http://alphastockimages.com/
Original Author: Nick Youngson - link to - http://www.nyphotographic.com/
Original Image: https://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/tablet-dictionary/b/break.html
But first, I want to tell you that right at the beginning of my taking a break from the Word-zine for a few months. This is my 463rd zine, which I have written each week since December 23, 2011, with only a few misses in all that time.
Why now? Well, my husband, Richard, and I are heading out west with our camper for a while, on a trip we began dreaming about back when we were dating, some 39 years ago. We're visiting numerous National Parks, keeping our eyes open for unexpected opportunities to learn something new, and crossing two more states off my "still to visit" list: New
Mexico and Oklahoma. (After this, I only have four to go!) I'll be taking lots of photos and even more notes for poems and essays on this adventure I'm thinking of as our own version of John Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie (albeit without a dog) and Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (albeit without the
motorcycles).
I will probably be sharing some highlights with you along the way, and look forward to being back with you when we're back home. (Meanwhile, one of our lucky breaks is that our daughter, son-in-law, and their three kids are between houses for a few months as they wait for their new home to be available, and are happy to hold down the fort for us. This is a
lucky break for them, too, of course. How I love these kinds of win-win situations.)
Meanwhile, our friends at Charlotte Lit has some wonderful stuff going on, so do check them out, starting with this gathering of faculty members reading a poem of their own in honor of National Poetry Month. See www.charl ottelit.org/national-poetry-month/
I do hope you love the gathering of poems shared below, each sharing a different incarnation of the word "break," starting with metaphor. Some are funny, some are touching, some are hopeful. In case you're wondering, my process was to put the word "break" in the search box for my Poetry folder, in which I've been saving poems I love for at least twice as
long as I've been writing the Word-zine. I then chose my favorites from the 113 options that popped up. What fun it was to revisit poems I haven't seen in a good long while—like a visit with a dear, old friend.
I ended up with a dozen I couldn't bear NOT to share with you, each with its own charms. And, since it's still National Poetry Month, it's only fitting to say that one of the most important "breaks" for a poet is a "line break." You can learn a lot about breaking your lines in useful, interesting, and effective places by paying attention to the choices the poets
featured here have made.
Well, as Ray Bradbury wrote to me, "Onward!" Until we meet again, May you be happy. May you be
well. May you be safe. May you be peaceful and at ease. And may you write your heart out, in whatever way best nourishes your soul.
Love and light,
Maureen
April is National Poetry Month!
Celebrate with
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, 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 here for instructions. To register for Poetry Rocks! online, click here.
Featured
Writings
Here Are "the Breaks" I've Handpicked for You!
(Click the links to read the full poems
and learn more about the poets)
When he told me he expected me to pay for dinner,
I was like give me a break.
I was not the exact equivalent of give me a break.
I was just similar to give me a break.
As I said, I was like give me a break. . . .
--------------------------------------------------------
. . . Love doesn't like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.
Is love good all the time? No! No!
Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love. . . .
--------------------------------------------------------
Windows is shutting down, and grammar are
On their last leg. So what am we to do?
[ . . . ]
But there it am, and whom can say its wrong?
Those are the break. Windows is shutting down.
--------------------------------------------------------
Something new in the air today, perhaps the struggle of the bud
to become a leaf. Nearly two weeks late it invaded the air but
then what is two weeks to life herself? On a cool night there is
a break from the struggle of becoming. . . .
--------------------------------------------------------
. . . The moon will sing to them:
open, loosen, let the pale
shoots break out. . . .
--------------------------------------------------------
. . . we break open the watermelon and spit out
black seeds, bits of night glistening on the grass.
--------------------------------------------------------
From "At Least" by Raymond Carver
. . . I want to see the waves break
on this rocky beach, not just hear them
break as I did all night in my sleep. . . .
--------------------------------------------------------
From "Going Deaf" by Miller Williams
. . . She lets the syllables settle, hoping they form
some sort of shape that she might recognize.
When they don’t, she smiles with everyone else,
and then whoever was talking turns to her
and says, “Break wooden coffee, don’t you know?”
She pulls all she can focus into the face
to know if she ought to nod or shake her head. . . .
--------------------------------------------------------
. . . the future lies
Just beyond the white borders
Of this snapshot; soon that wind
Will get the better of her
And her marriage. Soon the future
I live in will break
Through those borders and make
A photograph of her—but
For now . . .
--------------------------------------------------------
. . . Only one heart. Not a good
plan. God should know we
need at least a dozen,
a baker’s dozen of hearts.
They break like Easter eggs
hidden in the grass,
stepped on and smashed. . . .
--------------------------------------------------------
. . . They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun. . . .
--------------------------------------------------------
I lie here in a riot of sunlight
watching the day break and the clouds flying.
Everything is going to be all right.
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 “break."
PROMPT:
It's time for another "Sprawl" to see where the word "break" will lead you in your writing.
How to Sprawl
• Put the word "break" in the center of a blank sheet of paper.
• Moving out from that center, free associate words and phrases for ten
minutes, letting one lead to another. When one strand of your Sprawl runs out, come on back to the center and go out in a different direction. You may want to circle your center word, or all your words. You may want to connect your words and phrases with lines. Experiment.
• Look over your Sprawl. Pick the most evocative idea, and Sprint until you have explored it as fully as you can.
• Craft your Sprint into a piece of writing.
Vary this process to suit yourself and your words. I tend to Sprawl when I know what I want to write about. I often start to see the finished piece taking shape in my mind as I jot down words and phrases, so I’m prone to move right into a draft, with my Sprawl propped alongside to refer to every few paragraphs. If ideas for what will go into an essay, poem, or story, are coming fast and furious, a Sprawl is just the ticket. It's also a great way to find a subject, as in this exercise of
beginning with a single word.
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!
|
|
|
|
