for original writing of self and others
One of the pleasures of the Story Circles Network “Land Full of Stories” Conference I just came home from was meeting Cindy Bellinger. I attended her workshop on journaling, bought her new book on journaling, and enjoyed having her participate in my workshop “Always Coming Home.” Her website describes Cindy as “a Western girl through…
BUS RUN by Janet Grace Riehl (from Sightlines: A Poet’s Diary) My drumbeat feet round the corner of our private road that rushes down towards the river. A bulldozer a decade past shaved off the sharp bend in the road to reduce the odds that downhill cars crashed into uphill cars. We trudged up this…
GULLY by Janet Grace Riehl (from Sightlines: A Poet’s Diary) I raise my head from the ground where my eyes were glued to avoid tripping over my feet. A cleft joins the two curves of the hill, a dimple that marks its face like Cary Grant’s. Matted grass cushions my steps pattering over yesterday’s mud….
Here are some of the early lesssons I learned growing up on the land of Evergreen Heights…about sex, alcohol, and protecting your territory from intruders.–JGR GATED COMMUNITY (from Sightlines: A Poet’s Diary) Three gates protected our hilltop kingdom. One at the bottom, just past the No Trespassing sign. One at the top, just short of…
Following a major stroke in 2001 up until the last few weeks before my mother’s death in 2006, we were able to care for my mother at home. Many families would not have made this choice or had the resources to carry out this choice. My father, supported by a strong family team, was my…
I’ll be going to San Marcos, Texas next week to participate in the LAND FULL OF STORIES conference presented by the STORY CIRCLES network. The theme for the conference is PLACE and that’s what pulled me to respond to a call of papers. I’m honored to be chosen to present a break-out session there. My…
At the Spring 2007 Integrating Spirit and Caregiving Conference I just attended the “I Remember” exercise was the centerpiece of my Give Sorrow Words workshop. Participants grouped at tables around newsprint created a life story for a woman who has dementia. Each table wrote from a different perspective/role/voice. ·The woman herself (the patient) ·Her husband…
My morning breakout session has a long title: “Accessing Transpersonal Dimensions of Healing Through Writing and Poetry.” Whew! I’m out of breath just saying it. It’s short and sweet, only an hour and 15 minutes including questions. What are the doors that poetry can open at the end of life? –dying hospice patients can write…
Last year I met Eamon Grennan’s poetry through the Lannan Literary videos, a marvelous resource that deserves a post of its own. Eamon Grennan quickly became one of my favorite poets. Former U. S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins says of Grennan: Few poets are as generous as Eamon Grennan in the sheer volume of delight…
Poets. Org has a wonderful list of 30 things to do to celebrate poetry month (April, right?). 31) But, here’s one they haven’t thought of. My father, Erwin A. Thompson, encloses a poem along with his bill to the Great Central Lumber Company. The women down there enjoy this so much that when once he…