Category Archives: Taking Courses, Workshops, Conferences

The Nature of Creative Transformation: Three Views on Video

Posted on November 29, 2010 by

Michael Jones, Lauren Artress, and Jen Louden discuss the nature of transformation–and its relationship to art and the artist. Do you think everyone is creative? What do you do allow your creative side to flourish?

Posted in Personal Reflections, Taking Courses, Workshops, Conferences | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? Kind!

Posted on November 27, 2010 by

Poet and master teacher Jack Ridl tells a story about an encounter with a boss that shaped his whole life. Again, from the 2010 Writer’s Retreat at the Fetzer Institute. The Dalai Lama has said, “My religion is kindness.” A … Continue reading →

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Creative Beginnings Video with Michael Jones and Conrad Hilberry: From A Head Nodder

Posted on November 25, 2010 by

For Canadian pianist and writer Michael Jones, one of the participants in the April 2010 writer’s retreat at the Fetzer Institute, music and words brought him joy from an early age. Kalamazoo College professor emeritus Conrad Hilberry developed his artistic … Continue reading →

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Paulus Berensohn: Why We Create

Posted on November 22, 2010 by

Paulus Behrenson was another remarkable participant in last April’s Writer’s Retreat at the Fetzer Institute. He has created within so many art forms, he may have lost track of some of them. He’s not counting, anyway. But he’s an ecologist, … Continue reading →

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Kurtis Lamkin Will Take Your Breath Away on the Healing Power of Art

Posted on November 18, 2010 by

Here we are for our video one-a-day vitamin! This time, however, there’s a bonus. You will want to watch two videos, because these are amazing! I had the privilege of being the interviewer (off camera) when Kurtis told the story … Continue reading →

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The Joy of Creation: Our Writer Video of the Day

Posted on November 18, 2010 by

Here’s your creativity vitamin for today from the Fetzer Institute Writer’s Retreat collection:  Alison Leuterman, Jenifer Louden, Michael Jones, and Dianne Suess discuss making art. I agree with Alison that making things and joy are intimately connected. Take a few … Continue reading →

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A Letter to Mary Karr

Posted on April 19, 2010 by

When Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Beecher Stowe met for the first time, the President allegedly said, “So you’re the little lady who started this great war!” When it comes to 21’st century memoir, one can make the case that Mary Karr … Continue reading →

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Two Memoir Course Syllabi from Poet and Professor Jeff Gundy

Posted on March 23, 2010 by

Melanie Springer Mock contributed our first course syllabus, and now, I am happy to say, we have two more from Professor Jeff Gundy of Bluffton University. Jeff has published numerous books and poems. His latest collecton on Amazon is Spoken … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir Workshops, Taking Courses, Workshops, Conferences, Teaching Memoir Writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Memoir Clusters: A Guest Blog Post

Posted on April 1, 2009 by

Today’s guest blogger is writer and editor Lanie Tankard who is a long-time friend.  My husband Stuart enjoys taking credit for Lanie’s romance and marriage to Jim Tankard, a professor of journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, because … Continue reading →

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Writing Down the Bones: Slow and Dumb

Posted on February 5, 2009 by

I remember reading this breakthrough book soon after it was published in the late 1980’s.  I don’t remember how I bought the book, and I don’t have the old copy on my shelf, so I may have loaned or given … Continue reading →

Posted in Books About Memoir, Memoir Workshops, My Reviews, Personal Reflections, Taking Courses, Workshops, Conferences | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments