workshops
1. Maiden, Mother, Crone: Writing Ourselves to Wisdom
"There was a time when you were full of laughter...."
"Mother love was the first of all loves...."
"The wisdom of the Crone is that mysterious quality called 'intuition'."
In our early history, women experienced three recognized passages in their lives. As "maidens" they were pure and carefree; as "mothers" they were nurturing caretakers; and as "crones" they were honored for their spirituality and wisdom. Many women are choosing to reclaim the stages of their lives, and the idea of Croning. In this workshop, we will explore our own journey to adulthood and "women's ways of knowing."
II. Writing Our Lives: Essays, Journals, Letters and More About Who We Are, Why We're Special
In this workshop we will explore our lives through observation, imagination, and what Henry James called "the process of vision." Through exercises and listening to the words of others, we will sharpen our own creative expression and exchange ideas and opinions about the forces that shape us.
III. Satiric Souls: Writing From The Self with Wit, Wisdom and Humor!
Join other writers who want to write about their lives in a variety of forms honestly and with reflection, but without falling down the dark hole of humorless self- absorption! Writing exercises will draw upon our unique experiences, memory, feelings, intuition...and sense of humor! We will also read some hysterically funny writers' work.
IV. The Private Lives of Jane Doe: Writing From the Spiritual, Creative and Political Self
Women often lead divided lives. They have productive, reproductive, and community roles, and they must often respond to expectations in all three. But in that private sphere where we really reside, what do we know and feel and think? Through brief facilitated exercises, and in the spirit of support, we will explore our own reality and how the world reacts to it.
V. From Barriers to Beginnings: Encouraging Your Muse
Feeling blocked? Come meet your muse and unlock your creative self! On this writing journey, we will explore different ways to write your way to Self. We'll share ideas, images, language, and experience and come out crafting stories and poems -- and that's a promise!
VI. The Writer in All of Us: From Memory to Magic
What do you recall from childhood? What traditions are important to you and why? Who was important in your life? The laughter and sorrow of our remembered lives is rich with surprise. Discover the gifts you offer in this workshop of celebration.
Women and Memoir
"What would happen if just one woman told the truth about her life?" Women like Tillie Olsen, Carolyn Heilbrun and Joanna Russ knew the answer to that question: As Muriel Rukeyser said, "the world would split apart." Many great women writers took the risk of telling their stories and the truth of their lives and it changed the world of literature. This workshop will explore memoir as a genre and will guide participants as they record and tell their stories.
Hustle & Chutzpah: How to Publish Our Book Without Asking Permission
Thinking about self-publishing? Join the growing number of entrepreneurial writers who are getting their work out there independently. This workshop, conducted by a successfully self-published author, covers the nuts and bolts and focuses on mindset, motivation, and other less tangible but important aspects of the pleasures and pitfalls of self-publication.
The following is a sample of available reading and discussion groups. These groups typically run weekly for 4 to 6 weeks. Topics and timing can be tailored to meet specific group interests.
- From Chekov to Carver: Classic short stories
- Cross-cultural Pleasures: Short stories by writers from other countries
- Americans Abroad: Travel writing by and for those with wanderlust
- Women's Memoirs
- 20th Century Women Writers