Volume VIII, Issue 35
September 4, 2019
Dear ,
Can you name that tune? As in, the song the words of this week's subject line are pulled from, along with the artist who wrote and performed it.
Hint: The song has the same name as the album it appears on, which turned gold on December 9, 1971, mere days after its release.
Hint: You may well be one of the 25 million people who bought this singer/songwriter's second album.
If you didn't guess, the song and album are called, simply, "Music," and I sang it to myself over and over on
my long drive home last Monday, belting out the line, "Ah, summer is over . . ."
During my time in western New York and Pennsylvania, it became increasingly clear to me that "music" was going to have to be the word of the week, because my soul was so stirred, and so filled, and so delighted by all the music I was privileged to hear.
It started when I was visiting my dear friend, the Reverend Rebecca Taylor of First Presbyterian Church in Warren, PA. Rebecca loves to sing as much as I do, and she gifted me with a singing party on my first night with her. Lucky lady, she is one of a bevy of women who get together regularly for the sheer joy of singing.
And sang we did, everything from "This Land Is Your Land" to "Those Were the Days" to "Puff, the Magic Dragon" to "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" (yes, pretty obscure, all right) to Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."
Then, I got to come along for a "Threshold Singing" for a parishioner in Hospice care. With Rebecca's friend Fran on keyboard, we four singers serenaded Margaret with hymns, and then Christmas carols. If you could have seen the joy on her face! She reminded me so much of my mother that when we got to "Silent Night," tears
were streaming down my face. But in a good way. A healing way.
After that, I had a lovely visit with my sister, who sang to our mother with me on her last day, as I played my guitar: Music from 60s and 70s Folk Masses, Girl Scout camp songs, and more.
And my, oh my, when I got back to Chautauqua, Wynton Marsalis was there! I had no idea just how good a musician he is. We were treated to his extraordinary "The Jungle" and arresting "The Ever Fonky Lowdown" and also a night of the music of Duke
Ellington. Before those came the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra's stirring and stellar performance of Richard Strauss's "Four Last Songs" and "Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30," which you will recognize the opening of! But also, a lone saxophonist's playful "Pink Panther," a brass quartet's rousing rendition of John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (which you might recognize as "Be Kind to
Your Web-footed Friends." And what are the odds that a small cadre of fans would host a Pete Seeger sing-along and that I'd end up singing "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" twice within the span of a week and a half after not hearing it at all for some 40-plus years? Plus the great treat, for me at least, of barbershop quartet on an August Sunday afternoon.
Not to mention the thrice daily ringing out of the thirteen bells of the Miller Bell Tower down by the lake, played by chimemaster Carolyn Benton, who takes requests and was kind enough to let me play the last note of my dad's favorite hymn, "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy."
More tears, though not as many as there were when, at the previous Sunday's Sacred Song Service, beloved Chautauqua organist, choir director, and coordinator of worship and sacred music, Jared Jacobsen, led us, as part of a service he named "In Christ There Is No East or West," in singing "Silent Night," in both English and the original German.
While I haven't been counting, I believe I've spent at least a few hours on the grounds of Chautauqua for more than twenty summers, and Jared Jacobsen has been a part of all of them, through his organ concerts, the worship services he's planned, and even, a few times, as my choir director, because he welcomed
anyone who came to at least two rehearsals to come and sing on Sundays.
So maybe you can imagine how it felt to see the words "Community Mourns Passing of Jared Jacobsen" in
an email subject line not even two days after my return home last week.
No. No. No. No. No. No. I couldn't stop saying it, though it didn't, of course, change anything, especially not the fatal collision on Route 84 in Geneva, Ohio.
And yet. Some wonderful person had the thought to record Jared Jacobsen playing his signature song, Handel's "Largo," on August 7, 2019, just twenty days before his passing, and it's on YouTube for any of us who loved him to hear over and over and over, as we need to.
When I planned this zine, I had no idea that Carole King's "My friend, there's no end to the music" would hold as much grief, as much comfort, as they would celebration. But music is a large enough container, and a large enough gift, to hold it all. I've decided to let King's song "Music" be the writing of the week, so when you scroll down, you'll find a link to both King's recording of
the song and to its lyrics. And, of course, a prompt. Because writing helps in times like these—whatever kind of times you find yourself in.
Love and light,
Upcoming WordPlay
THE GIFT OF MEMOIR:
WRITING PERSONAL AND FAMILY STORIES
New! Coming soon!
Just for you, a Gift of Memoir workshop to help you get your most meaningful life stories written. If you are interested in writing family and/or personal life stories—those significant tales of adventure, transition, love, loss, and triumph, as well as lovely everyday moments from times past or the present—come learn specific tools and techniques to retrieve and record
them.
You will learn and practice the fundamental tools and steps needed to both capture individual events that have been important to you, reflecting on the impact and meaning as well as what happened, and the process of collecting events together into a full-length memoir or book of essays—whether this is for personal reflection, to share with family and friends, or to publish to reach a
larger audience.
After this workshop, you’ll have a chance to join one or more monthly classes, also held on a Thursday morning, to share one of your life stories with the class to receive feedback and guidance in moving forward.
Our stories are a precious legacy. Putting them in writing is a gift to all who know and love us—they can be treasured and enjoyed for generations to come. It is also a gift to ourselves.
WHERE: The WordPlay studio, Ballantyne area. Directions will be sent upon registration.
WHEN: Thursday, September 19th, from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
COST: $46
TO REGISTER: To pay with a check via mail, email info@wordplaynow.com for instructions. To register online with a debit or credit card, please click this link to pay via
PayPal.
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Give yourself the gift of exploring how creative writing (journaling, memoir, poetry, fiction) can enrich your life, and what your writing can provide for others. You'll learn a number of fun, easy approaches to the writing process. Ideal for beginners and anyone interested in renewing and expanding their writing and their relationship to self, others, and the world.
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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!
Music
Listen to Carole King's song "Music" here.
Read the lyrics to "Music" 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 "music."
PROMPT: What role has music played in your life, or in the life of one of your characters? What songs accompany special memories? Pick one or more and write about it/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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