Word of the Week: blossom
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Dear ,
April is the month to celebrate, "from blossom to blossom to sweet impossible blossom"
as poet Li-Young Lee puts it, the sheer joy of being alive. First it was the quince, then the forsythia, then the pears, and now, to quote poet A. E. Housman, "Loveliest of trees/the cherry now/Is hung with bloom along the bough..."
There is so much blossoming to celebrate this month, including the fact that Li-Young Lee is reading his poetry for free at CPCC on Thursday, April 18th!
Details here, along with other great free literary events!
I am also celebrating another kind of blossoming -- this month is my twenty-year anniversary of WordPlaying!!!! Woo hoo! And what is a celebration without gifts?!
I started on Monday with a free poetry tool, and today (drum roll, please!) I have a Spring-crazed
Seasonal Writing Retreat
offer -- A ten-year rollback on WordPlay Seasonal Writing Retreat prices. For this week only, you can purchase up to 4 2013 seasonal retreats for $60 each.
Yes, that's right - ten years ago, the fee for a seasonal retreat was $60. (Of course I still have my flier from 2003!) I know you have questions, so here are the answers. Yes, you do need to know when the other seasonal retreats will be held - June 8th, October 26th, and December 21st. (All Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) And where --
South Charlotte.
Yes, something might come up between now and when retreat time comes. So, while your retreat purchases are not refundable, they are transferrable - to another 2013 seasonal retreat as long as space is available, to another person as a gift or a purchase from you, or to another WordPlay-sponsored 2013 class, workshop, or retreat.
Yes, this offer includes this Saturday's Spring Writing Retreat, but there are only a few spots left for that, so you'd best hurry. (I typed "hurray" by mistake and almost left it, ha ha -- I'm hurraying at the thought of offering you, who make WordPlay possible, such unprecedented savings -- over 38%!) Details on redeeming this offer below. And there's a mail-in registration form attached. (But email me at infor@wordplaynow.com
if you want to come this Saturday, so I can let you know if there's still a spot available and get you your details and directions.)
I hope you'll come celebrate, through the written word and some sheer playfulness, your passage through each beautiful season.
Blossom on,
Maureen
Upcoming WordPlay
SPRING WRITING RETREAT
Renew and delight yourself. Seasonal retreats are opportunities to create new pieces of writing and/or new possibilities for our lives. You'll take home new ideas, new drafts, and new possibilities. $97 includes lunch and supplies.
WHERE:
South Charlotte area. Details will be provided upon registration.
WHEN:
Saturday, April 6, 2013,10 am - 5 pm
WHERE: South Charlotte (Details supplied upon registration)
TO REGISTER: Click your choice of retreat(s) to register via PayPal or credit card.:
Spring Writing Retreat, This Saturday, April 6
Summer Writing Retreat, Saturday, June 8
Fall Writing Retreat, Saturday, October 28 Winter Writing Retreat, Saturday, December 21
Or open, print, and mail in the registration form attached to this email . YOUR REGISTRATION MUST BE RECEIVED (OR POSTMARKED) BY MONDAY, APRIL 8TH!!!! NO EXCEPTIONS.
If you would like to pay by check and attend the Spring Retreat this Saturday,please email me at info@wordplaynow.com
so I can send you details and directions.
DELICIOUS MEMORIES
Food not only nurtures and sustains us, it's a rich source of metaphor and memory! We'll explore our connections with food as we write of when, where, what, with whom, how - and even why - we ate! You can use your food writings to create a family cookbook, creative nonfiction, poetry, a food blog, etc. -- or just for your own pleasure. $49/1 session.
WHERE:
Queens Sports Complex, Tyvola Road near Park Road, Charlotte
WHEN: Monday, April 29, 6:30-9:00pm
TO REGISTER:
http://www.queens.edu/Academics-and-Schools/Continuing-Education/Program-Categories/Writing---CE/Writing---Delicious-Memories-with-Maureen-Ryan-Griffin.html
For details about more 2013 offerings, visit www.wordplaynow.com/current.htm.
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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 "blossom."
Choice A: Get lyrical. Read A. E. Housman's "Loveliest of trees" poem and/or Li-Young Lee's "from blossom to blossom" poem, then write your own poem in honor of blossoms.
Choice B: Get metaphorical. Write about the blossoming of a character (perhaps you!) in some aspect of his or her life -- growing into the work that they do, or into a relationship, a talent, etc. Want to be featured in a future Word-zine?
Send in a piece of your writing that you think could inspire other WordPlayers to write. 500-word limit, please.) You can send something inspired by this writing, or anything else of your choosing. Email your words
to WordPlay here and your piece may be chosen for a future Word-zine.
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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 two collections of poetry, 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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