Volume VIII, Issue 22
June 3, 2019
Dear ,
I'm home from the John C. Campbell Folk School, remembering my time in this lovely spot, and the talented students in my "Write Like a Genius" class with a smile.
This photo by a the JCFS photographer captures us discussing how to incorporate these principles from Michael J. Gelb's How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day: "Corporalità" (the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness and poise) and "Sensazione" (the continued refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience) into our writing AND our writing practice. We kept Curiosità" (an insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning) in the mix by asking, How can I nurture the balance of body, heart, mind, and spirit?
We kept our minds (and hands!) agile by moving back and forth between Gelb's book and my Spinning Words into Gold, which explores, through the lens of
writing, this same question, and many others. One of my favorite questions to ask of writers is "What is our primary writing instrument?" There are many possible answers (note that I am refraining from the labels "right" and "wrong"!), but I believe the truest answers is "our body." As exemplified in the movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, if we have the use of at least a part of our body (in this case, our eyes) we can get our ideas that flow through our minds, hearts, and bodies
out of us and into the world.
Our bodies are the vehicles we use to experience life, as well as to store these experiences. (If you've ever encountered a scent that evokes a memory of a person or place, you know what I mean!)
Our word of the week is inspired, not only by these two books, but also by the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and full-body experiences of the John Campbell Folk School (like my favorite, the Tuesday night contra dancing shown here).
I hope you enjoy both this week's writing (from Spinning Words into Gold) and this week's
prompt (from How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci)! I had to share one final photo, a selfie, of a sweet experience just before I got in my car. I went for a long walk to drink in all the sights, smells, and sounds of the folk school, and then I sat on one of my beloved wooden swings for one last time, and a local pooch I pet quite a bit this past week jumped up beside me for a goodbye
snuggle. Pure joy!
Wishing you joy as well,
Maureen
Upcoming WordPlay
POETRY ROCKS!
(Learning the Ins and Outs of Poetry; Strengthening Your Writing Skills; Adding a New Layer of Literacy Beauty to Your Life)
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.
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CLASSES AT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION
WRITING OUR WAY TO HAPPINESS
(Week 2)
Come explore research-tested ways writing can increase your happiness level. You’ll learn how to use writing as a tool to increase your sense of well-being, as well as jumpstart your pen and provide inspiration and knowledge about the process of creative writing, whether you want to write memoir, fiction,
nonfiction, or poetry. For writers of all levels, including beginners, who are interested in expanding their writing practice—for personal fulfillment or for publication.
WHERE: Chautauqua Institution. 1 Ames Ave, Chautauqua, NY 14722. Alumni Hall Poetry Room
WHEN: Monday, July 1st – Friday, July 5th, 2019. 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
COST: TBA
TO REGISTER: Register directly through the Chautauqua Institution website here
TELLING YOUR LIFE STORIES WITH GRACE
(Week 7)
Our life stories are a precious legacy, imbued with grace we can often see only in hindsight. Capturing these stories “gracefully” in words is a gift, not only to ourselves, but to those who love us – they’ll be treasured for generations to come. Come learn engaging tools and techniques to retrieve and record
your adventures, loves, losses, successes, mistakes, and more with ease and, yes, grace, no matter where you are in the process.
WHERE: Chautauqua Institution. 1 Ames Ave, Chautauqua, NY 14722. Hultquist 201B
WHEN: Monday, August 5th – Thursday, August 8th, 2019. 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
COST: TBA
TO REGISTER: Register directly through the Chautauqua Institution website here
DELICIOUS MEMORIES
(Week 9)
Food not only nurtures and sustains us, it’s also a rich source for writing. We’ll explore our culinary connections as we write of when, where, what, with whom, how — and even why — we ate. We’ll also learn from the work of accomplished writers. You can use the tools you’ll learn to create a family cookbook,
individual essays, stories, or poems, scenes in fiction or memoir, a food blog—or just for your own pleasure.
WHERE: Chautauqua Institution. 1 Ames Ave, Chautauqua, NY 14722. Hultquist 201A
WHEN: Monday, August 19th – Thursday, August 22nd, 2019. 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
COST: TBA
TO REGISTER: Register directly through the Chautauqua Institution website
here
More WordPlay opportunities here.
Write with Your Whole Body
[One of secrets of powerful writing] is to write with your whole body so that you will reach readers through their bodies. Think of the water pump scene near the end of the movie The Miracle Worker in which Annie Sullivan (played by Anne
Bancroft) is trying yet again to reach Helen Keller (played by Patty Duke), a girl rendered blind and deaf by illness at eighteen months of age. Annie Sullivan spells letters into Helen Keller’s hand as the water flows. W-a-t-e-r. Sullivan is about to be discharged; she has failed to teach Helen in the time allotted her. W-a-t-e-r. W-a-t-e-r. It happens to be a word Helen learned before her illness. The scene is as riveting as an electric shock. Helen freezes, drops the pitcher she is filling.
“Waa-waa,” she groans, a guttural sound from a lost place deep inside. She is frantic, wild with this newfound knowledge that her world can be named and shared. W-a-t-e-r. Language enters our bodies through our bodies, cascading into our eyes and ears and noses and mouths, over our skin. That is the greatest secret of good writing. It’s how we give ourselves and our readers the gifts of tears, surprise, laughter, and more. It’s how we show, don’t tell. Like Edgar Degas, I began writing
using ideas, not words, with my brain, not my senses. And when Irene Honeycutt, in my first class with her, showed me the importance of writing straight from my body, it was at least a bit like that water pump moment of Helen Keller’s. There was a whole world that had been escaping my notice, like the sound of a single oak leaf skittering across a sidewalk and the shining drops of rain at the end of each pine needle after a storm. “. . . now the ears of my ears awake and / now the eyes of my
eyes are opened,” as e. e. cummings puts it.
What we need to do in order to give our readers experiences that “are truer than if they really happened,” as Hemingway puts it, is to stock our writing with images so they can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch our words. Here, to this end, are five exercises illustrated by five pieces of writing—one for each of the five senses.
Learn more about Spinning Words into Gold (or order a copy) 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 "body."
PROMPT: Try out this suggestion from How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day by Michael J. Gelb:
Make "Smells" a Theme for a Day
"Record what you smell and how it affects you through the course of a day. Seek out unusual or intense aromas. Linger in the cheese department of your favorite gourmet store. Drive
to the country and walk through a barnyard. Inhale the aroma of all the herbs and spices in your kitchen. How does smell affect your moods? Your memory? Aim to find and record specific examples of aromas affecting your emotion or recall."
In addition, in the same manner, also try devoting a day each to the sense of sight, hearing, taste, and touch. After your five days of reveling in "Corporalità" and "Senszione," create a poem, scene, story, essay, etc. that incorporates at least one of your sensual experiences.
I delighted in the rhododendron blossoms that popped open for my last morning at the Folk School!
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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