Welcome!
Schedule:
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12:00-1:15 p.m. EST
Week 1, Nov. 8, Opening Ceremony: What's the Journey? Week 2, Nov 15, Call & Response: What's the Call? Week 3, Nov. 22, Call & Response: What's the Response? Week 4, Dec. 6, Closing Ceremony: What's Next? |
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Material:
Week 4: Closing Ceremony
Here's the poem I shared at the end of the session. Continue to allow the space for inspiration and guidance from your spirit guides and ancestors!
Week 3: Now that you've opened to the call, how do you write based on what we hear? How do you transcribe the spiritual inklings? How do you build your relationships with that of the spirit and write from its voice?
Read:
“Laura Ann Clement,” by Jacinta V. White
“Ancestors are Calling” by T. J. Anderson, III
"Declaration," by Tracy K. Smith
Write*:
choose one
1) Take what you know about an ancestor and fill in the blanks of what you don’t know to create a narrative. If you have a photo of the person, ask what it is they want to say, and what it is that needs to be healed. Check the documents you’ve just obtained last week to gain insight. Combine what you know with what you imagine/feel/hear (from the ancestor). My poem, "Laura Ann Clement," was based off of inspiration from her death certificate.
2) Play with space and enjambments with new work or a previous piece, even if it’s not poetry. Look back at “Ars Poetica” and "Ancestors are Calling" as examples.
3) Continuing on the theme of lines and space, and similar to Tracy K. Smith’s poem, “Declaration,” write your own erasure poem. You can use a copy of a historical document, a medical record, a newspaper article, etc. You might be interested in seeing the process of Smith’s, “Declaration,” here.
Do:
1) Go back over what you’ve written the past two weeks and see what you want to edit or continue to work on over the next two weeks.
2) Choose 2 pieces of writing (around 5 mins total) you would like to read in our final session, Dec. 1.
3) Begin to think of what practices/habits/tips you want to build on from our time together. How can you move this forward? What learnings/exercises/experiences do you want to incorporate as you move forward? What are you next steps? Come prepared to share your thoughts .
Be:
1) Embody the “call and response” with dance and movement.
2) Continue to spend time at your altar.
3) Rest.
Bonus:
1) Read this short article, “A Prayer to the Muse,” by writer Steven Pressfield. Consider writing your own prayer to the Muse.
2) Want to discover more about erasures? Watch this brief video of Tracy K. Smith speaking about the erasure style, and here is an article on blackout poetry, which is a form of erasure.
3. Here, you can find out more about found poetry (similar to erasures) and concrete poetry, which is making poetry into shapes.
“Laura Ann Clement,” by Jacinta V. White
“Ancestors are Calling” by T. J. Anderson, III
"Declaration," by Tracy K. Smith
Write*:
choose one
1) Take what you know about an ancestor and fill in the blanks of what you don’t know to create a narrative. If you have a photo of the person, ask what it is they want to say, and what it is that needs to be healed. Check the documents you’ve just obtained last week to gain insight. Combine what you know with what you imagine/feel/hear (from the ancestor). My poem, "Laura Ann Clement," was based off of inspiration from her death certificate.
2) Play with space and enjambments with new work or a previous piece, even if it’s not poetry. Look back at “Ars Poetica” and "Ancestors are Calling" as examples.
3) Continuing on the theme of lines and space, and similar to Tracy K. Smith’s poem, “Declaration,” write your own erasure poem. You can use a copy of a historical document, a medical record, a newspaper article, etc. You might be interested in seeing the process of Smith’s, “Declaration,” here.
Do:
1) Go back over what you’ve written the past two weeks and see what you want to edit or continue to work on over the next two weeks.
2) Choose 2 pieces of writing (around 5 mins total) you would like to read in our final session, Dec. 1.
3) Begin to think of what practices/habits/tips you want to build on from our time together. How can you move this forward? What learnings/exercises/experiences do you want to incorporate as you move forward? What are you next steps? Come prepared to share your thoughts .
Be:
1) Embody the “call and response” with dance and movement.
2) Continue to spend time at your altar.
3) Rest.
Bonus:
1) Read this short article, “A Prayer to the Muse,” by writer Steven Pressfield. Consider writing your own prayer to the Muse.
2) Want to discover more about erasures? Watch this brief video of Tracy K. Smith speaking about the erasure style, and here is an article on blackout poetry, which is a form of erasure.
3. Here, you can find out more about found poetry (similar to erasures) and concrete poetry, which is making poetry into shapes.
Week 2: Picking up from the previous week, we will look at how to open and listen and who (or what) is doing the calling. How to prepare yourself to be a vessel and a scribe for that which lies beneath the noise.
Read:
“Being” by Tanaya Winder
"Now," by Jacinta V. White
"pantoum: landing, 1976," by Evie Shockley
Write*:
choose any prompt
1) Continue working on anything from today’s session (maybe from the questions exercise) or last week’s.
2) Based on “Being,” what rituals do you currently keep or would you like to keep that connect you to yourself, your ancestors and/or your spirit guides? OR describe your relationship with your ancestors and/or spirit guides.
3) Based on “Now,” write a poem or prose that starts off saying what you aren’t doing and ends with where you are now or what you are doing now. Play with the idea of time and place in conjunction with connecting with yourself, ancestors, or spirit guides. Let the writing jump or be a gumbo – a mixture of emotions and thoughts.
4) For those who want to stretch themselves poetically, write a pantoum (read more about the form here). Form gives way to ease often, though forms can be challenging to write. The repetitiveness of a pantoum is helpful when we are practicing listening and opening to what's to come.
Do:
1) Change the water or flowers on your altar from last week, if there are any and you haven't already.
2) Begin “morning pages.” This is taken from Julia Cameron’s work where you free-write at least three 8.5 x 11 pages first thing every morning. I typically write about my hopes and dreams – what I envision for my life. Choose whatever prompt you would like but also consider how the writing can enhance your current journey and questions.
3) If you don't have pictures of an ancestor, see if you might be able to find one or something in the physical that represents one of them or them collectively. If you do have pictures, make a step towards securing something you don't have, maybe records or a story another relative can tell you.
Be:
1) Consider increasing your meditation time from 5 to 10 mins.
2) Spend time listening to nature. Take a walk, open a door or a window, look at a tree, walk barefoot in the grass or on sand, play in leaves. Allow your body to relax to the rhythm of nature.
3) Rest!
Bonus: Listen to this podcast on "stillness," recorded at the 2022 Byron Writers Festival. Trigger warning: There is a mention of suicide.
* These prompts are options. Writing can be in the form of journaling, poetry, essay/blog, portion of a novel. Whatever feels right for you.
“Being” by Tanaya Winder
"Now," by Jacinta V. White
"pantoum: landing, 1976," by Evie Shockley
Write*:
choose any prompt
1) Continue working on anything from today’s session (maybe from the questions exercise) or last week’s.
2) Based on “Being,” what rituals do you currently keep or would you like to keep that connect you to yourself, your ancestors and/or your spirit guides? OR describe your relationship with your ancestors and/or spirit guides.
3) Based on “Now,” write a poem or prose that starts off saying what you aren’t doing and ends with where you are now or what you are doing now. Play with the idea of time and place in conjunction with connecting with yourself, ancestors, or spirit guides. Let the writing jump or be a gumbo – a mixture of emotions and thoughts.
4) For those who want to stretch themselves poetically, write a pantoum (read more about the form here). Form gives way to ease often, though forms can be challenging to write. The repetitiveness of a pantoum is helpful when we are practicing listening and opening to what's to come.
Do:
1) Change the water or flowers on your altar from last week, if there are any and you haven't already.
2) Begin “morning pages.” This is taken from Julia Cameron’s work where you free-write at least three 8.5 x 11 pages first thing every morning. I typically write about my hopes and dreams – what I envision for my life. Choose whatever prompt you would like but also consider how the writing can enhance your current journey and questions.
3) If you don't have pictures of an ancestor, see if you might be able to find one or something in the physical that represents one of them or them collectively. If you do have pictures, make a step towards securing something you don't have, maybe records or a story another relative can tell you.
Be:
1) Consider increasing your meditation time from 5 to 10 mins.
2) Spend time listening to nature. Take a walk, open a door or a window, look at a tree, walk barefoot in the grass or on sand, play in leaves. Allow your body to relax to the rhythm of nature.
3) Rest!
Bonus: Listen to this podcast on "stillness," recorded at the 2022 Byron Writers Festival. Trigger warning: There is a mention of suicide.
* These prompts are options. Writing can be in the form of journaling, poetry, essay/blog, portion of a novel. Whatever feels right for you.
Week 1: Today, we had held our opening ceremony. As you reflect on our time together and prepare for next week...
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See my altar by playing the video:
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