(Continued from Home Page) A few years later, while I was in graduate school earning an MFA in creative writing and working with authors on their book tours, I volunteered to lead a creative writing class at a shelter for the unhoused. I wondered if those who were living in the margins (like I had been when I was in Malawi) could also access a voice within them that was unique and urgent in a necessary way.  I discovered that many of the people who came--such as one man who had dyslexia and had not completed elementary school--could access a flow state where they wrote exquisite and breathtaking prose.  And they experienced the same sense of "oh, here I am," that I found in writing.  Also, when we came together with the shared intention to pour ourselves onto the page, we accessed a heightened state of creativity.  One that none of us could reach on our own.

 

Since then, for over 20 years, I've led writing workshops for those who need an opportunity to hear and discover themselves with words on the page.  I'm particularly interested in supporting people who are called to the craft at a deep, primal level.  I honor the courage required to answer this call.