Dear Writing Friends,
I hope you’ve had a wonderful, languid, restorative summer.
It’s been months since I’ve sent out a communication, and in the time in-between I have filled my well deliciously with retreats, poetry writing, performances, and a Zen meditation retreat on the West Coast. Back in June, I was honoured to be asked to do a TED Talk for the TEDx Stouffville event. If you’re interested, you can see it here: Writing our way out of trouble. In it I talk about my work teaching creative writing to criminalized women and what we can all learn from research into the health benefits of writing.
With the sense of fall coming on now, I’m ready to pick up the pieces of my teacher’s life, and this is a brief email to let you know what’s going on in the next few months.
Because I’m a writer, I tend to be wordy, so I’ll just give you the links, so you don’t have to wade through a lot of verbiage; you can just click on whatever might interest you.
Rhymes at the ROM: We’ve made an arrangement with the fabulous Royal Ontario Museum to let us do a one day writing workshop on September 21 – come write with the dinosaurs and the pharaohs! And in the process, excavate some of your own hidden material…
AWA facilitators’ training in Chicago: September 11 to 15 (I’m co-leading with Maureen Jones, Executive Director of Amherst Writers) If you’ve ever thought of becoming an AWA workshop leader, this is the closest training to Canada being offered this year.
Courses I’m teaching this fall at Blue Heron Studio:
Intimacy and Solitude – exploring relationship issues through writing
Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone.
– Paul Tillich
Your Meaningful Life in Memoir – explore (and perhaps challenge) the guiding mythology of your life
Write and Create Your Own Children’s Book – Write and illustrate (even if you think you have no artistic ability!) a single book for that special child in your life. A gift that really will last a lifetime.
Pen in Hand, Ink on Page – Need time to write? This course offers a regular weekly commitment to your writing and focus on the craft.
Writers’ Sanctuary Dates for Fall 2013 Most dates for fall still have a space or two left in them at the moment, but they do fill up quickly.
Inkslingers Poetry Nights in Toronto – A free night of community once a month to craft your poetry and your presentation skills.
Winter/Spring 2014: International Writing Retreats – Costa Rica and Italy – we’ve added Italy to our workshop roster for 2014 – la dolce vita! For those of you who have experienced the combination of Esana’s yoga with our writing in community – you know just how dolce this vita can be!
I’m thrilled that Pat Schneider is coming back to Ontario to lead another 5 day retreat this year. The retreat filled within a few days, but she is also doing a launch of her new book How the Light Gets In while she’s here. Pat Schneider’s Ontario launch. The event will take place the evening of October 25th.
Fall always feels like a time of renewal for me, after the muggy heat of the summer. The crisp air and vivid colours make me feel like a kid again – hopeful for the school year ahead.
My very best wishes to you for this fall season. May you find renewal in your writing, and I hope to see you at an event in the coming months.
My warmest regards,
Sue Reynolds