Volume IX, Issue 09
February 26, 2020
Word of the Week: win/lose
Dear ,
Today's words are inspired by someone you met in last week's zine: Coleman Barks, who is well-known for his beautiful translations of work by the 13th century Persian poet and Sufi master Rumi.
As I was looking for a Rumi poem I knew I'd saved to my computer, I came across one of Barks's own poems that I'd forgotten I had, called simply "Glad," that explores winning and losing in the most charming, witty, wise, and, well, glad, way I've ever seen. I'm excited to share it with you below in both written and auditory
form.
It's hard to avoid thinking about winning and losing in our culture, don't you think? Especially these days. And how well does it serve us, this dichotomy? I
personally enjoy the playing of games more than the winning or losing of them, and the creation of "games" that everyone can win. No wonder I was such a big fan of the New Games Movement back in the 1970s, which favored cooperation over competition and participation over spectating.
How about you? What's been at stake in wins and losses you've experienced? What could you write about winning and/or losing? Scroll on down to the prompt to explore this rich theme, and don't miss Coleman Barks's "Glad"—or the community learning opportunities for writers—on the way there.
Love and light,
Maureen
Community Learning Opportunities
The High Road Festival
of Poetry and Short Fiction
The High Road Festival of Poetry and Short Fiction
Saturday, March 28, 2020, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Embassy Suites
460 N Cherry St
Winston-Salem, NC
Spend a day of learning, writing, and sharing with some of today's top writers of poetry and short fiction. Design your own day of seminars, master
classes, and one-on-one critique sessions. Faculty includes former NC Poet Laureate Cathy Smith Bowers, David Jauss, Jacinta V. White, Anders Carlson-Wee, and many others. Information at www.HighRoadFestival.com or call 336-770-5353
(presented by Press 53).
Writing for Your Life Conference
If you write, or read, books that matter – books with substance and soul – then this is the place for
you.
Writing for Your Life welcomes you to Christ Episcopal Church at 1412 Providence Rd. in Charlotte, NC. The conference is open to all who
are interested in spiritual writing, as well as those interested in reading spiritual books . Speakers include Barbara Brown Taylor, other popular Christian authors, and representatives from the Christian publishing industry. The main conference will take place on March 24-25, 2020, with an optional post-conference
seminar: The Business of Being a Spiritual Writer (separate registration required) on March 26.
In addition to Barbara Brown Taylor, our speakers include: authors Leighton Ford, Margot Starbuck, J. Dana Trent, Patrice Gopo, and Kathy Izard, and literary
agents Kathryn Helmers and Jevon Bolden. You can learn more about each speaker through the links below. Also participating in the conference will be Park Road Books, CharlotteLit, AK Classics, WordPlay, and authors Kate Rademacher, Niki Hardy, and Erin Hall.
Registration Now
Open! Click on the link below to pay for your registration (credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, or PayPal Credit are accepted; all payments are processed through PayPal). After you pay, an email confirmation will be sent to the name and email address you enter into PayPal (or the one associated with your PayPal account) within 5 days. If you need to change the name or email address please let us know.
CLICK HERE to pay for your registration.
Sensoria Arts Festival
From March 27th - April 5th, Central Piedmont Community College is treating all of us to a wonderful array of cultural opportunities. Learn more and see the full schedule at https://sensoria.cpcc.edu/about/.
Don't Miss Joy Harjo, Current Poet Laureate of the United States and 2020 Irene Blair Honeycutt Distinguished Lecturer (Literature! There are two opportunities, both
free:
Thu. April 02 at 11AM
Thu. April 02 at 8PM
Write Yourself! Workshop
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.
WHERE: Plaza Midwood Library. 1623 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205
WHEN: Saturday, March 21st from 10:30 a.m. until noon
COST: Free!
TO REGISTER: To register, visit the Plaza Midwood Library registration page here.
More WordPlay opportunities coming soon. Stay posted!
Featured Writing
Glad
by
Coleman Barks
In the glory of the gloaming-green soccer
In the glory of the gloaming-green soccer
field her team, the Gladiators, is losing
ten to zip. She never loses interest in
the roughhouse one-on-one that comes
every half a minute. She sticks her leg
in danger and comes out the other side running.
Later a clump of opponents on the street is chant-
ing, WE WON, WE WON, WE . . . She stands up
on the convertible seat . . .
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 “win” and/or "lose."
PROMPT:
Make a Sprawl (directions below, from Spinning Words into Gold), using for your centering topic either win, lose, or win/lose, to explore this powerful pair of opposites that shape our human
experience in dramatic ways.
You may want to explore the words themselves and see what emerges, or pick a particular win or loss and Sprawl with that, to gather ideas and material for a writing.
When you’re ready, create a piece of writing based on a win or a loss, or about winning and/or losing.
How to Sprawl
• Put the word, subject, or idea you want to write about in the middle 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.
You can also use the Sprawl to explore or discover writing subjects.
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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