Beginnings

Workshop has been going well. There's so much to say about it, I don't even know where to begin. I suppose I'll start with our first class, which was a little rough for me. Not as many girls showed up as I had expected, so I had to adjust to that and try not to wig out about it in front of my other students. However, for as small as it was (four girls), we did do pretty well. The girls were talking and seemed to be picking up on the basics of poetry pretty well. Also, it helped that a few of them were openly enthusiastic about the work. I came home a little nervous that things weren't working, but hopeful that it would get better. Then my mom got a call from one of the girls' mom (who happens to be her co-worker), who just wanted to tell her that her daughter was really excited about class and wanted to come back, even though she was initially skeptical about poetry. It was really encouraging, and helped me get psyched for our next class, which was this Tuesday.

That class went much much smoother. We even had a student reporter from The Voice (the teen section of the local newspaper) come and interview us, as well as sitting in on class. But it wasn't awkward at all, and she told me she'd like to come back as a student as soon as she can. Also, we had a few more students, which brought our numbers up to eight. That in itself really smoothed things out, because there were more people to keep the discussion going. Also, I adjusted the lesson plan to have more sections (rather than a large chunk of time for discussion). Now we start class with the girls pairing up to critique each other's poems. Then I talk for a little bit about the day's topic (which was using precision and imagery) and we read some poems aloud and talk about them. Then, for the last 10-15 minutes of class, we did a writing exercise using some objects I brought in. I asked the girls to describe them with sensory details, then compare them to other things using metaphors, then link them to a memory or experience. The girls seemed to have fun with the exercise and their pens were going a mile a minute once they got started. I was so happy to see them enjoying themselves.

The girls also turned in self-portrait poems yesterday, which I'd assigned to them at our first class. Today I sat down in Starbucks and read through them closely, making comments and suggestions on them. I was really impressed by a lot of their work. Some of these girls aren't even upperclassmen in high school yet, but their work could get by in a college workshop. They're being creative and using a lot of techniques they haven't even learned yet. Also, most of them are being really honest and opening up about some deep issues. This shows me that they're really committing to the poetic process, because those things come out naturally when you really dig into a poem. And since we're starting out already doing that kind of work, we can dig so much deeper and --I think-- really help them cope with some of those issues. I'm so optimistic about the possibilities here, and I hope you all will be praying that the girls continue to open up and make progress. They're all really special ladies, and I'm so glad I get to be in their worlds for a little while.

And on a broader note, I'm so encouraged lately that what I do really can have a positive impact on people. I've believed for some time now in the processing power of writing, how it can help us dig into all the stuff inside us that we're afraid of and work through it. Now more than ever I feel like I do have some viable skills, maybe not so much on a physical level, but on a heart level. I want to meet people's needs, and I think there are a lot of heart needs that go unnoticed and unresolved. I still have a long way to go to figure it all out, but I feel like I'm making a step in the right direction.

I'm going to leave you all with a painting by Frida Kahlo, who so beautifully portrays the inner life and all it's pain. She didn't sell her paintings for a while, thinking they were so personal that they only meant something to her. Little did she realize just how profoundly they would connect with others. We all think we're alone in pain until we communicate honestly with each other.

Workshopping

As some of you may know, I'm leading a creative writing workshop for teenage girls this summer. I've been nursing this idea for a few months now, and it's all finally going to start tomorrow evening. I'm getting very excited, and also a little nervous that things will go awry. But, all in all, I just feel so blessed that everything has worked out so smoothly. I've had a lot of support from the Springfield community, my family, friends, my church (which is letting me use their beautiful facilities for free!), and many prospective students and their parents. At every difficult juncture, someone or something has come along and made this all work out. 

Now, I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing, even though this wasn't my first plan for the summer. Originally, my family and I were going to travel to South Africa, to work in an orphanage my sister had volunteered at the previous summer. We felt like we knew those kids from all the stories we'd heard about them, and I was so bummed out when I heard we couldn't go. Then I was trying to find a job, and even thought I had secured a nanny position in the Chicago area, but everything kept falling through. I've always prayed for God to "wreck my life" so that he could have his way, but this was just getting crazy. Surely God considered helping African orphans "his way," but I guess not for me this summer. And now that I think about it, I think that may have been an easy out for me. This workshop has pushed me so much to take charge, and I wouldn't have done that in Africa. I'd have been following my sister's way, which is so beautiful for her, but it's just not what I do best. I'm learning a lot about my strengths lately, learning how much I care about the state of people's hearts; about communication and what happens when people stop being isolated in their heartbreak and start being honest with each other; about sadness and not being afraid to deal with complex emotions, especially not afraid to put them on paper. So, needless to say, I have high expectations for what could happen with this workshop. I feel like it's where God wanted me to be all along, and I'm so happy to be here finally doing it. 

As far as workshop logistics, there are about 10 girls scheduled to attend. We'll be meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays for most of July (8 sessions), focusing on a different topic each meeting. Tomorrow we'll be asking "what is poetry?" as well as looking at the rhythmic/musical aspects of poetry and language in general. We'll read a bunch of poems out loud, then turn it over for group discussion. Then the girls will be writing poems about themselves. And of course, this is a time for them to get to know me and each other. And we'll be eating tasty Amish friendship bread. :) 

That's all for now (though there always seem to be more stories to tell). I'll be updating as the workshop continues.

Thanks to you all, for supporting me one way or another. 

Liz