Volume XI, Issue 33 August 17, 2022 Word of the Week: courage Dear , What times we are living in. Here are photos of my good friend Dr. Shahid Aziz and me at last Thursday's Author's Hour reading at Chautauqua Institution. (If you'd like to watch a video of the event, click here.) A warm, compassionate, light-filled, peaceful gathering. And, less than 24 hours later, at our amphitheater, which is a five-minute walk from here down garden- and tree-lined streets, an assailant leapt onstage to attack author Salman Rushdie with a knife. (I'm not going to put a link, as you have likely already heard about this, and, if you haven't, news is readily available.) I would have been there, if I hadn't been on the phone with doctors' offices and the pharmacy, managing the multiple moving parts of Richard's health care. I arrived about seven minutes after the lecture began, when the amp had just been evacuated. We are all still in shock, and all carrying on, grateful that Rushdie is alive and on a long road to recovery. One of my first responses was to pray for Chautauqua's president, Michael E. Hill, as I knew the weight of all communication and response fell on him. I'm going to let his message from the Chautauqua Facebook page serve as the writing for the week. But first, I will just say that
I'm thankful that the predetermined theme of this week at Chautauqua is "New Profiles in Courage," which, as Michael Hill stated this past Monday morning on our lecture stage, "seems prescient." (As Chautauqua’s Facebook page states, "weekly themes are a reflection of what’s happening in the world, with internationally known speakers and presenters bringing a resonant perspective to the podium.") I'm also thankful to be leading a writing class this week on "Writing Our Own Profiles in Courage," because exploring courage right now is helpful and hopeful. The heroes of my students' stories, some personal and some public, are uplifting and inspiring, expanding our perspectives of what courage can look like. Love and light, Maureen MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT MICHAEL E. HILL ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 13TH By now you have likely heard we suffered a terrible tragedy at Chautauqua yesterday. What we experienced is unlike anything
in our 150-year history. It was an act of violence, an act of hatred and a violation of one of the things we have always cherished most: the safety and tranquility of our grounds and our ability to convene the most important conversations, even if those conversations are difficult. Chautauqua
is a community of people of all faiths and none. Our collective family is holding Salman Rushdie and Henry Reese, as well their families, close in prayer and close to our hearts. We have been in touch with their loved ones, and I was grateful to spend a very brief amount of time with Mr. Reese yesterday evening. But yesterday was also an attack on an ideal we cherish: that freedom of speech and freedom of expression are hallmarks to our society and to our democracy, they are the very underpinnings of who we are and what we believe, what we cherish most. We are
called to take on fear and the worst of all human traits – hate. And let’s be clear: what many of us witnessed was a violent expression of hate that shook us to our core. We saw it with our own eyes and in our faces. But we also
saw something else that I don’t want us to forget. We saw some of the best of humanity in the response of all those who ran toward danger to halt it. I watched a member of our staff hurl themselves at the attacker. I saw Chautauquans rush the stage to help secure the perpetrator, making it possible for police to remove him. I saw Chautauquans who are doctors and nurses rush to provide selfless care while the ambulance arrived. I saw what our Chaplain of the week, Terri Hord Owens, called us to possess: a generous, radical love for each other and this community. So where do we go from here? How do we think about the days that follow? When hatred shows its ugliness… The response must be love, of course, but also action. We must return to our podiums and pulpits. We must continue to convene the critical conversations that can
help build empathy; obviously, this is more important now than ever. There will be time in the days and weeks ahead to reflect on all we’ve experienced, and we have already been working on how to adapt to yesterday's horror to ensure
our conversations continue. We will soon share operational details about how we will proceed through the remainder of the 2022 Summer Assembly. At this time, we are called to double down on our prayers for Mr. Rushdie and Mr. Reese and all those who love them. We are called to stand witness that this
Chautauqua has but one choice: to ensure that the voices that have the power to change our world continue to have a home in which to be heard. That is ours to do. We can take
the experience of hatred and reflect on what it means. Or we can come together even more strongly as a community who takes what happened yesterday and commits to not allowing that hatred be any part of our own hearts. I know this
community and I know that you will make a choice for hope and goodness.  :Sean Smith/The Chautauquan Daily
Upcoming WordPlay
COASTAL WRITING RETREAT
Renew yourself and reconnect with your own creativity, whether you are a practicing writer, closet writer, or as-yet-to-pick-up-the-pen writer! The techniques and prompts we’ll use will spur your imagination, and
can be used to create nonfiction, fiction, and/or poetry—the choice is yours.
The Coastal Writing Retreat includes writing sessions at a spacious, private location one mile from the Inn, two nights’ lodging, two breakfasts and Saturday lunch.
Want to extend your retreat? If you’d like to stay another day to write, or to just enjoy the beach, the Inn is offering Coastal Writing Retreat participants the opportunity to stay Sunday night at
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WHERE: The Sunset Inn, 9 North Shore Dr., Sunset Beach, NC 2846
WHEN: Friday, November 11th – Sunday, November 13th,
2022
COST: $528 (hotel tax and Saturday dinner at a local restaurant not included)
TO REGISTER: Contact the Sunset Inn at 888.575.1001 or
910.575.1000 (if you would like to handpick your room, view your choices here first, then call). Because the Inn is holding rooms for you, our participants, they are blocked off as unavailable online. Register soon by phone –
this is a popular event and space is limited.
*Also, please let the Inn know when you call if you are interested in staying Sunday night at half price. The Inn will hold your reservation with a credit card.
More WordPlay opportunities 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 "courage." PROMPT: Write a "profile in courage" of your own,
telling the story of a courageous act of any kind by someone you know or know about. Before you begin, jot down a brief "who, what, when, where, why, and how" of this story. Then dive right in and get it down. Lastly, share this tale of courage with at least one other person, and ask them to do the same. 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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