WEEKEND WORKSHOP

We are having a writing workshop all weekend at our house by Louise Dunlap who is author of the book in the banner above. Louise is a longtime respected teacher of writing for social change and does workshops all over the world these days after a successful career that took her to MIT and UC Berkeley among others.

Things began last night with Louise speaking to a packed crowd at a local progressive book store in nearby Brunswick. (I didn't attend last night's event, instead walking across town on a cold night to watch a local high school basketball game. One of my ways to escape.) Then today we had a very diverse group of 20 people at the house for a full day of writing skills training. The workshop will conclude at noon on Sunday.

Many of the people who came today we had not met before so it was an interesting opportunity for us to get to know some new people in the region that have different agendas than our usual circles. By the end of the day though we were finding that they were learning about our efforts to convert military production to sustainable technologies. One woman was the wife of a retired weapons maker, another a professor at a Maine college, another a woman who ran a popular local restaurant for years but had to give it up due to ill health. New connections and new friends.

The primary thing I learned in the workshop is to pour out the words and let them take you where they may. Don't think so much in that first go at it. Sort of like painting or drawing I suppose.

At the same time my main computer seems to have shut down and our wireless connection at the house has gone dead. So I am writing from a local coffee shop down the icy hill from our house. I've made an early appointment with our computer repair guru for early Monday morning. Computers - we love and hate them.