Volume IX, Issue 20
May 13, 2020
Dear ,
Are you a dog lover? Then this is the issue for you!
Elizabeth and go way back. I can tell you just how far back, because when I sent her an email asking if I could feature her here, she wrote back, along with her yes, "I'm not sure I would be writing at all if I had not
taken The Artist's Way with you in 1996."
And when I asked if that was a class I offered through CPCC, she said, "Yes, the class was through CPCC, at Myers Park High School. If I remember correctly, we were in a chemistry classroom, and this was the only time in my life that anything in a chemistry classroom made sense to me."
This made me smile, as so much about Elizabeth so often does. Here's a photo of the two of us (on right) with our fellow book club members Karen and Wendy at Elizabeth's farm, which I refer to as "The Peaceable Kingdom." (You can read more about it below in
Elizabeth's bio.) How we all love it there! This is where I had the chance to get to know Phoebe, who was a lot like our family's rescue dog Lucy in many ways. You'll get to meet Lucy below, too, as well as read Elizabeth's gorgeous essay about
Phoebe, so I'm going to stop writing now and let you get yourself "below" to check all this out.
Thank you for being on the other end of this message that I'm sending you with love and light,
Maureen
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? is for those of any faith, with quotes from many different 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!
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 practice of writing out your “T’s” (things you’re thankful for), “A’s” (actions you can acknowledge yourself for), and “G’s” (gifts you’re grateful for) is a transformative one, especially combined with the final step, I’M IT!, in which you intentionally choose three do-able, most-important-to-you actions you’ll take the next day.
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!)
An introduction with tips and ideas will help you make this practice your own. Soon, you’ll notice that you’re living your days with more joy, presence, purpose, and intention.
The Year-Long TAG, I'M IT! can be purchased on Amazon here.
The Three-Month TAG, I'M IT! can be purchased on Amazon here.
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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.
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, which is right around the corner. 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 internet.
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 sign-up online for Poetry Rocks, click here.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS SAY ABOUT POETRY ROCKS
" . . . for letting me hear your voice in my head, for the gift of reading poetry every day and asking “how does she/he do this?”, for filling my tool box with a lifetime of just-the-right-tool (my husband says you can do any job if you have the right tool), and for being a
writer whose work bubbles over with words that remind me of this great gift of humanness — thank you!
~ Linda Whitesitt
. . . a master class in creativity, writing and understanding poetry. It is exceptionally rewarding, educational, and enjoyable. It is a celebration of life. . . . each lesson includes a “what to do” section that directs the student to create a poem. . .
. The Tools can be used again and again, long after the course has been completed, to create new poems. . . . Maureen takes a playful approach to writing and teaching that makes this course particularly enjoyable.
~ Bud Thomas
Featured Writer
Meet Elizabeth Richardson
The first word Elizabeth Richardson uttered was “dog.” Her life-long love of dogs is evident in her years of living with rescue dogs and volunteering at shelters.
For decades Elizabeth lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was a lawyer, a commentator on public radio and a contributor to the Faith and Values section of The Charlotte Observer. Her nonfiction has appeared in Outside, Carolina Country, and a number of anthologies, most recently Gone Dogs: Tales of Dogs We’ve Loved.
When Elizabeth retired, she traded her lawyer office for a barn. She and her husband now live on a little farm in eastern Cabarrus County. Their family of rescue dogs and cats has expanded to include goats, donkeys, chickens and a rabbit. Elizabeth is writing a memoir about pursuing her childhood dream of caring for a barn filled with animals. E.B.
White wrote that Charlotte’s Web “celebrates life, the seasons, the goodness of the barn, the beauty of the world, the glory of everything.” Elizabeth hopes to do the same.
Featured Writing
a piece from
Gone Dogs: Tales of Dogs We've Loved
by
Elizabeth Richardson
from the book
Gone Dogs
edited by
Jim Mitchem and Laurie Smithwick
Gone Dogs: Tales of Dogs We’ve Loved is a collection of 50 stories
by 50 authors from around the world. Ranging from poignant to
hilarious, all the stories celebrate dogs we have loved and lost.
Photos of our beloved dogs grace every entry. If you have ever
loved a dog, Gone Dogs will resonate with you. Gone Dogs is
available in hardcover and softcover from www.gonedogs.com.
Phoebe, Daughter of Heaven and Earth
(slightly abridged)
The first time I saw Phoebe she was lying on a cot in her kennel at the county shelter where I volunteered. Other dogs were jumping and barking, but Phoebe was quiet and calm. I knelt to look through the wire mesh.
Phoebe gazed at me with dark brown eyes, her eyebrows white above one eye and gray above the other. Her fur was mottled with random splotches and patches of gray and black, with a generous peppering of white. Blue merle is the name for her coat, but in Phoebe’s dim kennel, I saw no hint of blue.
My husband, Michael, and I started the adoption process, but we could not bring Phoebe home until she was spayed. It was time to pick a name. I hurried home to consult my primary source for dog names, The Oxford Classical Dictionary. A name jumped off the page.
PHOEBE, a Titaness, daughter of Heaven and Earth; her name, ‘the bright one,’ is not infrequently used for the Moon. . . .
The first two weeks at home, Phoebe proved what I tell everyone who adopts a dog from a shelter. You cannot be sure of what dogs are like by how they act at the shelter.
I never heard Phoebe bark until she came home. At three o’clock in the morning she started barking. For two solid weeks she barked and paced most of the day and part of the night. Phoebe did not do bad-dogs things like chew on shoes, and she was immediately pals with Artie, our Labrador retriever. In most ways she was perfect. Yet, I cried every day for the first two weeks Phoebe
lived with us, because she never stopped her worry-like barks.
The more she barked and paced, the more agitated I became. The turning point came when I flopped down on a couch, exasperated. Phoebe came and plopped down too, not beside me, on me. At that moment I realized I was part of Phoebe’s problem. My agitation fed hers.
On the couch we both sighed our way into this realization, and into a pattern. I sat. Phoebe nestled in my lap.
I could almost hear her say, “Please sit with me. Stay.”
“Yes, Phoebe, I will stay with you until your last moment on earth. Will you help me be still?”
Morning and evening Phoebe nudged me to remind me it was time for quiet, time to sit or lie down together. Often Phoebe lay near my legs and draped her tail over my ankles. Her tail was her glory. It looked like a huge quill pen, stuffed beyond measure with feathers, long soft hair flowing to the call of gravity.
Our closest, quietest times were just before sunrise and again before sunset, the liminal time when heaven and earth meet in the blue hour. We loved the evening blue hour, when the sun pulls his direct light beneath the horizon, allowing blue to charge the air. And in the morning, when the moon is sinking to her half-day’s rest, the bright one giving way to blue.
Phoebe was at ease in these transitional times. She never seemed completely of this world, perhaps because the world had instilled fears in her. When Phoebe came to live with us, beneath her neck the fur was thin and the skin irritated. Our veterinarian concluded that she had a yeast infection, likely from a damp rope tied around her neck. She was scared of loud noises and terrified of
thunderstorms. My heart broke when I imagined Phoebe tied to a dog house or a tree and left to weather storms. No wonder she loved to rest next to me, safe. Inside.
Sometimes our morning quiet time ended while the world was still steeped in darkness. When I headed to the barn around sunrise, Phoebe would lie on her dog bed on the screened porch and watch me. When I finished in the barn, I sat near her when the sun was about to top the trees, near the end of the blue hour. Phoebe’s coat of black and white and gray was transfigured blue. Phoebe, the bright
one.
Years passed, and Phoebe and I kept our promises. For almost fourteen years Phoebe reminded me to be still. I stayed with her until the last moment of her life.
In her final weeks, Phoebe increasingly showed signs of pain. She looked miserable. The last morning, she collapsed on the floor and looked at me as if to say, “I can’t do this anymore.”
I told her, “Honey, you don’t have to do this anymore.”
That afternoon we took our last ride. Before we left, I clipped a few tufts of Phoebe’s fur, a keepsake. Under the dim lights of our veterinarian’s treatment room, Phoebe’s fur was black and white and gray. As Phoebe drew her last quiet breath, I stroked her fur and remembered our blue hours.
Twenty days after Phoebe died, I sat in church near the end of an evening service, listening to the piano postlude. I gazed at a stained-glass window rich in blue. The air outside radiated the glass, casting it ultramarine. Heaven and earth intersected, and for a moment I dwelt in the in-between place. I felt something soft and flowing around my ankles, the sensation of Phoebe’s magnificent
tail. Phoebe was present, the bright one, daughter of Heaven and Earth.
~ from Gone Dogs: Tales of Dogs We’ve Loved
Available in hardcover and softcover from www.gonedogs.com and Amazon.
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 “dog.”
PROMPT: Write about a dog you, or one of your characters, has known and loved.
This is our dear dog Lucy, who became a "Gone Dog" on May 25, 2014.
Here's what I wrote about her on Facebook the next day.
(Note that Elizabeth was a part of her life, and her passing)
Our dear Lucy picked her own perfect time to leave us -- the day before Memorial Day. I will miss her so much, but am so grateful that she passed away peacefully on her own terms, and that she had such a good, long life with us after her early years of being abandoned as a puppy, and then attacked so severely by two large dogs that she
needed over one hundred stitches. When we got her from a South Carolina Rescue group in the summer of 2003 at the age of 3 and a half, her fur was still growing back. And I'm so grateful for my "Soul Sister" book club friends Kathy Currlin, Elizabeth Richardson, and Wendy H. Gill for the grace of their presence and their support in giving Lucy a beautiful ending to a life well lived. She will live on in many hearts!
Love and gratitude to all of you who loved her!
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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