Women Writing for (a) Change fosters a healthy writing community, where words of individuals from all walks of life are nurtured, developed and celebrated.
Recently, a group of women participated in a group visualization of what Women Writing for (a) Change will look like in five years. Here was my take:
We’re in this building, but it has been redone to have a warmer feel: new carpeting, less creaking, walls painted with warm colors. The bones are set and strong: the roof, the foundation, the uneven feel to the floor.
The open space next door has been reforested – there is a small walking trail and benches for safe sitting. The gray on the outside belies the color of the life inside. There are young women – college and high school aged who come to relax after school. The first floor is like a cross between a library and a student union. It’s a refuge and a respite for people of all ages. The entire first floor is teeming with life and buzzing with the abundance of activities. The second floor is reserved for circles, so I didn’t get a chance to look.
What it took to get there from here was the decentralization of both power and authority. People generated their own ideas and enacted them, people were trusted and empowered to make decisions and to bring forth their vision, within the parameters of the organizations larger vision of inclusion, collaboration and the Great Both/And of the Conscious Feminine.
Facilitators: Dawn Diebold, Writer and Nan Fischer, Professional Coach
Weaving writing exercises with coaching techniques, you will be lead on a journey of greater connection to your truest, deepest self. Participants will gain greater clarity, stronger sense of self, increased confidence, enhanced creativity, and sharper focus toward a new direction.
Through individual writing, small and large group work, and application of the exercises and techniques, participants will be more motivated and energized to take action from a place of greater awareness and personal power.
All learning community courses utilize the WWfaC community practices for strengthening voices, enhancing well-being, and empowering individuals to create positive change.
Who would benefit from this course?
Anyone interested in:
navigating life changes
living more fully and intentionally
seeking connection with self and others
becoming who you know you could be
translating desire into reality
6 Session series meeting every other week on Thursday nights from 7:00-9:30 September 10 & 24, October 8 & 22, November 5 & 19 Cost: $249 Limit: 20 participants
Class meets every two weeks on Tuesday Evenings, 7 – 9:30 pm
September 1, 15, 29; October 13, 27; November 10
For women and men who…
· have a body of writing they want to bring toward completion
· want to concentrate on crafting their writing
· are open to giving & receiving specific feedback
· have a goal of improving or deepening their writing
· are focused on working within the structure of a small-group
· are not seeking new writing prompts, but are open to new writing styles & techniques
· are appreciative of sharing within a diverse, safe writing community
GENRES: novel, short story, memoir, personal essay
REQUIREMENTS:
· Any WWfaC writer with a body of prose writing who is looking toward completion may take this class. Writers should have attended at least one WWfaC quarter or semester.
· Writers are asked to download and complete a registration form (found at the above link)
· Writers should be prepared to bring writing each week of up to 5-10 pages of a working manuscript per session, and provide copies for small-group members.
· TEXT: On Writing, by Stephen King.
Teacher: Kathy Wade, WWfaC teacher and writer
Tuition: $250 ($75 deposit due by August 15, 2009)
An eight-session co-ed class for women and men who want to write in community, get unstuck, have fun, speak their truths, and take part in the shift toward living systems and joy.
You’d almost rather do anything than tackle the empty page, because what you do on the page is you. ~ John Updike
If you’d like to tackle the empty page, talk with others about thoughts and feelings, play seriously with words for the joy and satisfaction of it, this class is for you!
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Time will be divided between in-class writing, sharing in small groups and in the large group, discussion and experimentation with various forms of writing. There will be weekly writing assignments between meetings, and we will create small groups or writing partners for weekly check-ins and meetings.
TUITION: $329
Required text: Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World, by Joanna Macy & Molly Young Brown.
Beth Fritsch, Teacher, Writer and WWfaC community member , will facilitate each every-other-Thursday evening session.
Inspired by the wise words of girls at recent summer camp
Written for the Herald-Times, July 30, 2009
By Kim Evans
It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and outdated attitudes and practices…” –Jimmy Carter, July 15, 2009
I was relieved to read Jimmy Carter’s recent stand against the Southern Baptist church’s subjugation of women. His article entitled “Losing my religion for equality” reminded me of the importance of my emerging resolve to do what I can to nurture the voices of girls and young women.
I was recently blown away by the depth I experienced in the words of girls ages 9-11 during a week of summer camp I helped facilitate, themed “True Nature: Our Wild Dreaming Selves.” We held the camp at the Poplar Grove Schoolhouse on Bloomington’s East side, the new writing home for Women Writing for (a) Change, a project which has been active in Bloomington since 2004. It was through my participation in the women’s classes that the calling sprang forth to bring this work to girls.
I feel the temptation to write this column from merely a historic perspective: how the sound of pencils scratching on paper and the sights of children deep in concentration filled this building, how we ate lunch at picnic tables under the large shady trees in the back yard, followed by spontaneous games that filled the yard with joyful running and laughter, complete with a skinned knee. These scenes transported me back in time to what it must have been like in the early 1900s when this schoohouse held classes for elementary aged children. I enjoyed the full circle sensation, the connection of today’s ultra-modern, high tech life to a more simple time sans computers, televisions and cell phones.
But the experience held a depth that transcends history. These girls carry within them a deep wisdom that cannot be ignored. I was honored to be bathed in their words about sacred places, dancing candlelight, ocean waves, the way flowers know how to make the earth feel better, the intertwining of earth and soul, mother nature, breathing underwater, love as mentor, awakening courage, and the shared love of writing as a means of self-expression and imaginary exploration. Writing in community with these girls strenghtened my own words.
These topics did not need to be coaxed out of these young writers. Once they trusted that they were in a safe space, the worlds flowed freely. On the final day of camp, each writer stood at a podium and shared excerpts from what she had written in front of parents and guests. I was again blown away by their solidness and courage to share. Some of the written comments from the audience included:
These girls were all able to express so much emotion through their writings. You can only leave here knowing there is so much good in our world.
What beauty lies within each of our girls. I was so touched with the depth of their wisdom. It was a gift for them to have a safe place to share their words. It was a gift to all of us to hear their words.
These young women remind us to be open, to see anew, to experience the world with the heart and senses wide open to possibility.
The gift of these young women together, learning, sharing, giving, growing – together. Amazing talents – The future.
I believe the world needs these wise voices – whether they are housed in the body of a girl or boy, woman or man. Let’s not muffle anyone who wishes to speak from her heart. Let’s listen. Let’s celebrate. These voices are ripe with hope and healing, and that is sorely needed in our community, nation, and world.
You know the old saying: "The one thing constant in our lives is CHANGE." The year 2009 has been a time for experimenting at WWfaC. We've learned a lot about what works, and a lot about what doesn't, when it comes to providing the best possible experiences for our writers.
The results of a recent survey, targeted to students who've attended classes in the last few years, told us that you value BOTH a longer semester AND a class structure that is not cost-prohibitive. We've put our heads together here at WWfaC and feel confident we've created a Fall semester that will meet both those criteria.
The new 13-week FALL SEMESTER is up on our website. Classes will begin the week of August 31st, and extend through the week of November 30th. You can choose from four semester classes - Monday pm, Tuesday am, Wednesday pm, or Thursday am. Orientation sessions for new students will also be added.
The Mastery Class is especially designed for writers bringing a prose work closer to completion and needing craft feedback. It begins on Tuesday evening, September 1, and runs for six classes, every other Tuesday.
Please... help us by REGISTERING EARLY to reserve a place in any of these circles. Registration fee is $75 if paid by check, and $85 with a credit card. Students may register online or by mailing a check. For your convenience, we offer a monthly payment plan (with payments due at the 1st of each month except December - weeks one, six and ten.) There is a nominal charge for this plan.
More details are available at our website. Many writers tell us that, even in this challenging economy, they are not willing to give up the creativity and sense of community they experience at WWfaC, describing our classes as "One of the best things I do for myself!"
Stay tuned... as the weeks go on, we have a few other SURPRISES for you. In this changing world, we're doing our best to stay ahead of the curve! We thank you for investing in yourself, and for making sure that this kind of creative center for women and girls will be strong and vital for years to come.
I come for strength, I come for nourishment. In the company of women, I find both. In coming to the circle, I affirm myself again and again. I come to become Goddess. I come to share our sacred words.
I come to share my writing which I’ve written mostly for myself. In sharing, though, sometimes another woman learns something new, something interesting, something reaffirming. I learn something new, something interesting, something reaffirming.
Although these reasons are enough, there are still more. I come to laugh, to relax, to not be alone. I come to learn community, to practice it over and over again. I come to stretch myself, to face challenges that all people’s egos present, including my own. I come to this circle to get out of the house on Tuesday morning. I come to find meaning, to remind myself of important things, to become acquainted with the diversity of the world.
This world of the circle is special, unique, and true. We make these things intentional. We don’t just come and sit in a circle. The circle is cast to weave us into a web of intentionality. Whatever is said in confidentiality, stays here. We can hear it all; we can hold it all. We can share anything, even epiphanies of Diet Coke (thank you, J) or being down and in a funk (thank you, K). All is open for examination, discussion, writing. These epiphanies and funks are part of our lives and, if not lifted up, become shadows lurking behind us. We have found that it’s better to get them out.
Having told the truth about our funks, we feel freer. We laugh in relief; sometimes we cry. It is all good. The circle intensifies whatever is told. The circle can hold it all. We have said it is so, we have proclaimed it. In the circle, we are one. Sometimes when we leave it, we continue the practices in our homes and other communities. We are helping to make the larger circle more peaceful. Our intentions here leave the building with us. Our truthtelling in this little circle catches fire and becomes the story of our lives.
Surrounded by butterflies, nine women celebrated their graduation from the Feminist Leadership Academy (FLA) as the class of 2009, naming themselves “The (r)Evolutionaries.” The ceremony was held on June 12 at The Moye Spiritual Center in Melbourne, KY.
When Mary Pierce Brosmer envisioned the 2009 Feminist Leadership Academy, she created a new model with sessions that would meet for long weekends at the Women Writing for (a) Change center in Silverton, culminating with a week-long session in June. The new model evolved from previous FLA sessions in 2004, 2006 and 2008, both to accommodate women’s work and home schedules, and to address a challenging economy. The class created its own online system to stay in touch between sessions and to share weekly writing assignments.
As part of a multi-disciplinary approach, the class studied the unlikely life cycle of the life of and across generations of Monarch butterflies. After watching a PBS Nova episode about these amazing creatures, the class actually created containers for caterpillars to cocoon and eventually emerge as Painted Lady butterflies.
The leadership training included a rigorous reading list; participation in group processes using the WWfaC community practices; a regular writing practice as a way of learning, healing and manifesting; and a practicum which each participant designed and carried out between March and May.
Some of the practicum projects included: creating, marketing and holding a young women’s class; holding writing circles in a retirement home; adapting the WWfaC process to a circle of creating art; holding writing circles for social workers; contacting former students and enacting a social marketing plan for the Cincinnati school. Many of these projects will be carried on long after graduation and promise to have a long lasting impact on both Women Writing for (a) Change and the larger community.
Graduates include two women from WWfaC’s Bloomington, IN, school: Amy Cornell and Kim Evans. Jodi Dolbeare-Shakin traveled from Morton Grove, IL. The Cincinnati area students included Donna Maile, Katie Hall, Marian Leibold and Beth Fritsch. Northern KY students were Katherine Meyer and Suellen Hugan.
Been trying to fit in some writing time but something always seems to get in the way? Spend 4 hours with us. You'll get writing prompts, the opportunity to share your writing and most of all TIME to get some writing done.
Fee: $35. Mail in your reservation or pay with check or cash at the door.
We surveyed a representative sample of our community recently. As usual, our fabulous community members rose to the occasion and helped us re-chart our course for the rest of the year. Here is a summary of what we learned.
The majority of students prefer:
** a semester that lasts longer than the current ten weeks;
** having the option to pay with a credit card;
** that we explore some new options, like mini-retreats and workshops;
** day and night classes about equally.
So with all of our results in mind, we are excited to offer a MODEL for FALL ’09 CLASSES:
All Fall Semester classes will be 13 weeks in length, and tuition will be $499.
Classes will begin the week of August 30th, and end the week of November 29th. Registration fee is $75 if paid by check, and $85 with a credit card. Monthly payment plan is available (with payment due at the 1st of each month except December.)
Please note: The credit card payment system will be operational on our website within the next few days. Please visit THIS LINK for all of the details.
While you're relaxing at the beach, consider these items.
***** Our blog will be posted every Wednesday. If you are subscribed via email (link on the top right of this page), you will receive a notification every Thursday morning. If you are having trouble navigating the blog or any other of our web outlets, please email me here.
***** Our email newsletter will be delivered to your inbox once per month. One was sent on June 30th. If you are not receiving them, you can see the archive here. If you would like to subscribe, the link is on the right of this page, just above the blogroll.
***** If you would like to stay in touch via facebook, twitter, MySpace or LinkedIn, please see the links on the top of this page.
***** We are finalizing our fall schedule. Stay tuned for the announcement!
***** In the larger community...
>>> See the Lloyd Library Exhibit, Darwin by Post by WWfaC writer Heather Snyder
>>> Hope Springs Institute is hosting “The First Annual Women’s Poetry and Performance Retreat” July 16-19. The cost for the event is $350, which includes room, board, and supplies. All participating women will be published in an anthology.
***** Last but by no means least, have you checked out our podcasts lately? Listen to LOVING MERMAIDS, a beautiful memorial to three members of our community.
Mary Strubbe has been taking pictures since age six, when she received her first camera. Her dad, brother and sister were also photography buffs, often sharing space in their basement darkroom. By the time Mary was a teenager, she was hooked.
Mary explains that, because she was naturally quiet, “I liked the idea of the camera acting as a mask between me and the outside physical world. It gave me unspoken permission to explore mysterious territory.” Since 2000, Mary has been quietly practicing her writing life in WWfaC’s Wednesday night women’s writing class. But with photography, she adds, “I get to shout! “
This summer, Mary has been the Guest Artist for the Young Women’s Writing Camps, thanks to a grant from the Ohio Arts Council. Mary has been helping young girls and teens explore their ideas through photography. “The process of exploration takes more than just focusing the camera and snapping the shutter,” she says. Working with these young writers, Mary has used a combination of elements – objects from the girls’ lives, writing flashed from an overhead projector, and the magic of light and shadow.
Participants in the Young Women’s Camps created still life portraits, focusing on a few key elements to convey who they are through the photo. “They’re not actually IN the photo,” she explains, “but through words and images, you get the picture!” Each girl takes home a print (Mary spent evenings processing at a neighborhood Krogers) which is a unique and original work of art. “The girls love the instant digital feedback from their creativity,” she says, “and they’re quick, enthusiastic learners, playing with angles, shadows and placement. It’s been great fun!” Mary says she tries to get across to participants that their ideas are important, and that creating art has less to do with gift or talent than with trusting one's intuition and creative process. Payoff comes when she sees their confidence and self-esteem increase. “And it’s been a treat for me to be at WWfaC as a faculty instructor, after years of being here as a writer.”
Mary can be reached at: mstrubbe@earthlink.net, or at her Website: www.marystrubbe.com
