Volume IX, Issue 02
January 8, 2020
Dear ,
This week's word is inspired by Chapter 20 of my new favorite book, Walking on the Ceiling by Ayşegül Savaş, who lives in Paris and teaches at the Sorbonne. This book appeals to the poet in me, as well as the story-lover, written as it is in 72 short chapters, each a part of a mosaic that readers have the pleasure of piecing together
into a complete story. For, as Savaş says, “It is a privilege to have a story, to know your own narrative as surely as you know your name.”
These words of praise by Katie Kitamura on the back cover of Walking on the Ceiling sum up Savaş's gorgeously written story beautifully: “an
elegant meditation on grief, identity, memory, and homecoming.”
And why Chapter 20? Perhaps because I am now writing about my relationship with my own mother, I'm fascinated by the way, in this chapter, the main
character, Nunu, describes how her mother, “when we were at the fishmonger or buying flowers . . . would list the names of everything she saw” as a way of “simply honoring the sights with their proper titles”—an effusiveness that is in sharp juxtaposition to her mother's long silences.
How clearly, I wondered as I read, was Nunu able to see her mother, stuck inside her own perspective and her own narrative, as we all are?
I am also delighted at this deliberate honoring of the things in one's world by naming them. It reminds me of a quote I love by the poet and memoirist Mark Doty: “What are we purchasing, when we pay attention, but ourselves? Surely one thing character is is a style of seeing.”
In How She Fed Us, I share the “naming” my mother did in the formation of her weekly menus, and also the “naming” of her father's I found in an old notebook of his I found in Mother's things. Grandpa was the tree warden for Garfield Heights, Ohio at the time.
Specific fish, flowers, trees. By name. What names color the worlds you write about? How will you weave them into your stories, essays, poems? Don't miss Ayşegül Savaş's example in the excerpt below.
Love and light,
Maureen
WordPlay Offerings
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: YOUR WRITING
(Fulfilling Writing Dreams & Goals; Creating New Writing; Revising & Polishing Your Writing)
BEGINS NEXT WEEK!
This class is designed to fulfill your writing dreams and projects. You’ll set goals and support structures and watch your writing flow! You’ll also get feedback on your work (any genre) and learn revision tools and methods. Each week, writing prompts will
generate material for new writing or further a piece in process, whatever your preferred genre. Through examples of accomplished writers, you’ll learn techniques to aid you right where you are in the process.
WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead Street, Charlotte, 28204. Click here for map.
WHEN: Wednesday mornings from 10:00 a.m. – noon.
2 SPOTS AVAILABLE
OR
Thursday evenings from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
1 SPOT AVAILABLE
COST: $435
TO REGISTER: Please email me at info@wordplaynow.com to start the registration process by filling out a short Clarity Tool to share your writing dreams and goals and where you are in the process. (Anywhere you are is a perfect place to begin.) Then we'll have a conversation to answer any questions and to ensure that this class is a great fit for you.
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THE GIFT OF MEMOIR:
WRITING PERSONAL AND FAMILY STORIES
BEGINS NEXT WEEK!
This series of Gift of Memoir workshops will 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, as well as get feedback and guidance on stories you are writing.
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: Thursdays, January 16th, February 20th, March 19th,
and/or April 16th from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
2 SPOTS AVAILABLE
COST: $184 for 4 classes if you pay in full by January 16th
$50 per 2 classes or 3 classes if you pay in full by January 16th
$55/class if you pay for them individually as you come
TO REGISTER: email info@wordplaynow.com for instructions.
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How Do I Say Goodbye?
and
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 holiday season, for all its overt merriment, is often a time we struggle the most with grief.)
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? contains quotes from a wide variety of 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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TAG, I'M IT!
"TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS" SALE
EXTENDED ONE MORE WEEK!
If you're looking for more gratitude and mindfulness IN 2020, I have a deal for you from now until January 15th!) My year-length TAG, I'M IT!, which sells for $17, is on sale for $15.30, and my three-month TAG, I'M IT!, which sells for $9.99, is on sale for $7.99.
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 TAG, I'M IT! journal grounds you in two important habits: keeping your focus on appreciating and celebrating the good in your life and intentionally accomplishing what matters most to you. You’ll also create a record of your most meaningful, happiest events and experiences.
Start your journal—or restart, if needed—whenever you like. (Though a new year is a perfect time!)
Learn more at http://www.wordplaynow.com/the-tag-im-it-daily-journal-and-practice/
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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 Writing
an excerpt from
Walking on the Ceiling
by
Ayşegül Savaş
20.
When we were at the fishmonger or buying flowers, my mother would list the names of everything she saw. She was not trying to teach me, but simply honoring the sights with their proper titles. Mullet, sardine, sea bass, she said. Tulip, hyacinth, anemone. Some flowers had their colloquial names, like a type of clover that was called lady buttons in Aldere, where she had grown up.
In these moments, it seemed impossible that my mother's mood would darken. The world would be crisp with color, its every line easy to identify. It seemed that my mother knew the name of everything in the world, unlike the days when she was silent and the hours blurred from one to the other. We lived in a sort of cloud then.
But whenever my mother made her lists, the cloud lifted and I gained points in the game.
Sometimes, she would say one of her strange words and I wondered whether she did not live in two places at the same time. The word that comes to me now is kukuleta, which, the first time I heard it, sounded like a birdsong. I was sick in bed and my mother was showing me pictures from her childhood in Aldere. She pointed at herself wearing a hooded cape, among a group of men coming back from hunting.
Look at me with my kukuleta, she said, and she laughed, though it seemed that this was a private laughter, meant for herself. These were the moments when I could see the glittering remains of a person I had never known.
Learn more about Ayşegül Savaş and her Walking on the Ceiling at www.aysegulsavas.com/walking-on-the-ceiling.
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 “name.”
PROMPT: This week, choose a specific place that is the setting of a scene, poem, story, essay, etc. that you would like to write, or are working on. Set a timer for 10 minutes and name every specific thing you can think of that you would see if you were there, as Nunu's mother does in the excerpt above.
It's fun to play with prompts in community with fellow writers, and to be able to share the results when you're done. You can find out about WordPlay classes, workshops, and retreats here.
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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