Navigate / search

3 Favorite Frames of the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers.

Before April arrives in her muddy boots I must savor a few more moments of Out of the Mouths of Babes An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others on March 1. As I write, I am listening to a recording of the event and the sounds I love the most, above Michelle, Janet, Jenny, Nichole and Alana’s reading voices are the sounds of the audience- laughing, gasping, groaning in recognition of the truths revealed in the beautiful writing we heard that night. The audience warmly embraced all the readers, singer Stephanie Campbell and special guest Susan Engel.

I appreciate every single person who attended March 1. Thank you.

I rented Dewey Historical Hall for our evening in the heart of Sheffield, MA. I love the feeling of a town meeting, all the wood and plaster walls. Like the church basement kitchens I grew up in, the coffee mugs were so clean and neatly organized on easy-to-slide-out-of-cupboards trays. It was a joy to produce this event at Dewey Hall and I felt the common ground of our missions. Dewey Hall ‘s mission is to “promote intelligence and cheerfulness for all” and mine is “to see and celebrate the sacred in daily living, to create venues for the stories of women to be heard and celebrated, particularly the stories of mothers”. We are a good match, Dewey Hall and Laundry Line Divine.

Thank you Dewey Historical Hall. What a lovely place.

Lastly, I loved how people bought copies of the anthology and read it right there in the hall. We sold the book at intermission and by the end of the evening two people won signed copies. Just like the satisfaction gained from grins of pleasure from the people who enjoy a meal I have made, watching readers dive in to the anthology held the same feeling for me. You get to dive in to the stories of a wide variety of women with different takes on a creative life. Tears and laughter abound. I have so enjoyed hearing responses from readers like Barbara Aycock of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina who said:

I love your book & would love to purchase 5 or more copies for women I know & love. There is a wonderful & powerful voice heard in each of the writings & I found myself underlining, writing notes in the margins, & turning back page corners as I read. It is a wonderful gift, & I am deeply grateful.

Thank you readers and thank you Barbara!

As I leave you this evening, I must tell you a few things.

1. The Out of the Mouths of Babes blog series will continue with full and lusty posts from Anthology authors and new writers to LLD. Today we have a gorgeous post from Stacey Mattraw, of Portland, Oregon and Cortona, Italy. Stacey will be visiting me here in the Berkshires in early April and I cannot wait to make some art with her. Here is her post.

2. The Powder Keg Sessions writing workshops for mothers and others will continue on in April through June. If you aren’t in the Berkshires but would like to dip your quills and write, consider joining me at the International Women’s Writing Guild
Big Apple conference on April 13-14 in New York City. Here is where you can learn more about Powder Keg and see some of our doodles and writing.

I hope your holiday Holy Day weekend is filled with time to read, to cook, to walk, to look across the table at your life mates and offer a few moments of gratitude for their good company.

Here is joy from my heart to yours,

S

P.S. Several people have asked to read the piece I read on March 1 titled My Oshitashi Boy about life in the kitchen with my son…who is just now learning about which colleges he is being accepted in to. I will include it in the blog series next week. xo S

Stars at Penland School of Craft

Ohhh where have you been Suzi Baum, Suzi Baum?

I have been posting remotely this week.
Very remotely.
Remote, like from a small dirt road up a very long hill off a small highway through the Blue Ridge Mountains sixteen hours from my desk in the Berkshires, if you count the slight misreading of the map that took us to Cape May for sunset. Cape May was not really on our way.
At all.

But we, Karen and I, got here, which is Penland School of Craft for a week long discussion and workshop about art and activism. We are practicing Zen Buddhist meditation and making pinch pots with our teacher, Paulus Berenshon.

And today, we spent making more pots and talking about people and organizations that embody social justice with high magic, who take their work seriously enough to be willing to make a difference in the lives of other people. John Hartman and Lisa Blackburn founded The Empty Bowl project. John is a potter and Lisa a book artist and together they answered the question “How can I make a difference in the world with my work?” by founding The Empty Bowl project that provides a template for communities across the globe to respond to hunger. John said today that the power of this project (and of any project) is in bringing the community together.

We made bowls for the next firing of Empty Bowls.
I have never made a bowl before today.
Now, I have made seven.
Here they are with a few of Betty’s, who spoke about Rethink to our group. If you want to read more about how Betty is making a difference in the lives of school children in New Orleans with Rethink, look here.

I am having the time of my life, despite having this pesky cold.
I am making books and thinking about my anthology and the work of
Out of the Mouths of Babes and dreaming about the next steps for this project that celebrates the stories of mothering and creativity. Many seeds are being planted in this week of the New Moon.

How about you? What organizations or action do you support or sustain with your passion? If you aren’t sure where to turn, please look at The Empty Bowl project, or Rethink or the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance.

This week I am thinking hard about Lisa Anne Auerbach’s belief that

If nothing changes, it changes nothing.

I hope An Anthology of Babes: 36 Women Give Motherhood a Voice can make a change, in the lives of women in Berkshire County and beyond. All sales of this book benefit
VIM Berkshires and the Community Health Programs both that supply free and low-cost health care to women.

There are two really important events this weekend at the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers aimed at making a difference in the lives of women. Friday night,
WAM Theatre and Sisters of Peace present Half the Sky at the Mahaiwe Theater and then Saturday, our featured OUT blogger Serene Mastriani and Radio2Women present Interviews with Powerful Women on the campus of Simon’s Rock.

Until then, I will be pinching pots and sewing books under the starry North Carolina night.

Xo S

PS Read Serene’s blog here. More on all of that tomorrow. G’night.

Days of Gratitude for Out of the Mouths of Babes

Can you blame me for taking a break from posting this week?
I am just barely digesting the riot of light that we stirred up last Friday evening.
The authors of Out of the Mouths of Babes: An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others and An Anthology of Babes: 36 Women Give Motherhood a Voice captured the audience
at Dewey Historic Hall in Sheffield with their open hearted, brave readings.

I will be posting photos here all week and you, my dear reader, can capture a
bit of the glow of this event and just how it landed in all of our lives.
I appreciate all your good wishes and your own creativity which inspires me always.

I had the great good fortune of my friend, poet, artist and delight, Sou McMillan traveling from
Wooster with her husband to be with us on Friday night. Not only did Sou contribute to both the blog series and book, but she cast her editorial eyes on pieces of the book as I wrote it.

“I get by with a little help from my friends”. Thank you Sou. Here is a post at her blog.

This friendship includes art making and book writing and fun having.

The Berkshire Festival of Women Writers has a steady line-up of events this month. I will be at Kripalu on Thursday to hear Julia Cameron speak. The anthology is on sale in the Kripalu Gift Shop or here on LLD at this sales page.

Happy March 5!
xo S

What happens if you compassionately open your heart?

Jimmy Lawrence, the photographer of this amazing shot, is one of the intrepid writers in my Powder Keg Sessions writing workshops. As you can see, intrepid is just the way he rolls! After the stimulation of the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers last March, Jimmy has absolutely taken off with his writing.

Here is one of the sweetest bits of writing advice I have seen all week.

Exercise the muscles that compassionately open the heart.
In your writing and your life.

Dinty W. Moore
The Mindful Writer

I often take advice like this and apply it to all places in my life.

Exercise the muscles that compassionately open the heart.
In your writing and

1. In my parenting (every single moment)
2. As a neighbor
3. With myself
4. With a friend in need
5. With my husband
6. With my chores
7. In difficult moments with the people bumping around my kitchen
8. With work I find challenging
9. With fussy people at 7 a.m.
10. When outcomes are not exactly as I’d hoped.

When my heart is open, my responses are softer.
I listen better.
Something about opening my heart also opens my listening.

No wonder this is such good advice for writers.

How about you?
What happens if you exercise those muscles that compassionately open your heart?

Tons of love,
S

PS Here is a fascinating interview with one of my current favorite authors, Cheryl Strayed.