April 12, 2015
Hello, writers,
Though are numbers were down,
we celebrated the written word on Tuesday, April 7. Members’ writing ranged from poignant
to hopeful. I’m so thankful all of you chose to spend your Tuesday
evenings with CCWW. It’s hard for me to believe we’re at the end of our fourth
year!
This Tuesday’s session (April
14) will be our final workshop until the fall. We hope you can make it. We
start at 6:15 p.m.
Spoken Word Festival – Tuesday, April 28
On April 28 at 6:00 p.m., the
Callahan Branch Library will host its second annual Spoken Word Festival. Since
April is National Poetry Month, the library is hoping beat the poetic drum here
in the Callahan community.
If you’d like to participate
in the Festival by reading a piece (it doesn’t have to be poetry), please sign
up with Callahan Branch Librarian, Alison M., or call her at 904-879-3434.
This year, the Library is
planning to produce a booklet chock full of local writers’ pieces. Sales of the
booklet will benefit the Friends of the Callahan Library. If you’d like to help
put the booklet together, please let Michele, Lisa or Nancy know. J
Please consider submitting a
piece or two for the booklet. Please watch this space for more details on word
count, font size, formatting, etc.
The event is free and open to
the community.
Picture of the Week
Community Happenings
Family Game Night – at the Callahan Branch Library on Tuesday, April 14
from 4pm until 8pm. Bring your own games or use the Library’s. More here: http://nassaureads.com/events/
Railroad Day Festival – a Callahan-area historical celebration – scheduled
for Saturday, April 18 from 9:00 am until 8:00 pm. More here: http://www.wnhsfl.org/RailroadDayFestival2015.html
Second Annual Spoken Word
Festival – Tuesday, April 28 from
6:00 pm until 8:00 pm at the Callahan Branch Library. Hopefully, you’ve signed
up to read a piece or two. We’ll send out more details on the booklets soon.
Critique overview from April 7 CCWW
We started with warm-ups.
I’ll list them here in case you want to do them at home:
1. The letter in the alley
2. Wrong Bathroom
3. X marks the spot
4. A freewrite about anything
Danielle T., Matt Y., Connie W (read an “open window” piece by her sister, Carol), Cameron S. and Butch K. shared warm-ups.
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Danielle T. began
the critique session by reading an opinion piece on “19 Kids and Counting,” a
reality TV show. Members said she offered a balanced overview of the show as
well as reminding all of us of the power of the words we speak and write. Matt Y. then read a prompt-based (open
window) piece featuring Rebecca and Jared. Members complimented the syntax, the
subtle inclusion of the prompt and the intelligence of his piece. Cameron S. then shared a continuation of
a piece she started some time ago. Members appreciated the realism of the
counseling session as well as the teen dialogue Cameron gave her character,
Alyssa.
Connie W. then
shared a prompt-based (open window) piece featuring scenes through a window.
Members said her piece was soulful, inventive and creative. Danielle T. then read “Goodbye,” Ines R.’s fourth chapter of her WIP. Members
complimented Ines’s inclusion of Spanish mision architecture, her poignant memories of
Alyson and her mother swimming and her diction (“I slept a subterranean sleep, without
story line, characters, and words or colors.”).
Matt Y. then
read Lisa C.’s prompt-based (spelling
bee) poem. Lisa’s message of facing fear as well as her personification (“My
heart does the samba”) worked well, according to members. Lori L. then shared a continuation of her story featuring a
character named Eddie. Members complimented Lori’s method of “unlocking Eddie”
and her powerful descriptions of the boy (“gaping teeth, big eyes, spray of
freckles”). I, Nancy B., then read “My
Happy Cup,” a sonnet about my coffee cup. Members connected to the attitude I
included both before and after morning coffee.
Excellent work, everyone!
Links of Interest
30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month
In addition to participating
in the Spoken Word Festival, please consider adding some of these small
celebrations to your April.
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The Red Line – open to submissions
You might want to check out
this site. “The Red Line” is currently seeking themed submissions for an
upcoming anthology.
More info here: http://overtheredline.com/submissions/
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Spring Essay Contest sponsored by EssayMama
Essay Mama is running an
essay contest. There is no entry fee, but writers must choose from one of eight
topics. There are cash prizes. Deadline is in late May.
More here: http://www.essaymama.com/contests/
Quote of the week:
“You know you’ve read a good
book when you turn the last page and feel as if you’ve lost a friend.”
~Zora
Neale Hurston
Prompts for Tuesday, April 14 (our last session until
the fall)
The first prompt is…caught with your pants down. The second
prompt is…chain mail. You’re free to
write in any genre you like (fiction, drama, non-fiction, poetry, etc.). If
you’d like to bring a WIP (work-in-progress), please do.
Please keep pieces to 1500
words or less and bring copies if you can.
Have a great week!
~Nancy B.
P.S. For those of you interested
in ‘doing poetry’ this summer, please let me know. My thought was we could all
get a copy of Perrine’s “Sound and Sense” and go through it chapter by chapter.
We wouldn’t have to finish the book this summer, but we could do four or five
chapters. Any takers?
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