see the flyer (pdf)

Come join us in South Austin for a two-day workshop designed to inspire you and stir up your creative juices. "Using the Muses" will give participants a chance to learn from the muses of music, poetry, art, and history and use these ideas to write and share with others. "There is no greater gift we can give ourselves than the understanding and healing that comes with writing our lives. Just as an employment resume provides a snapshot of one's work history and skills, life-writing can offer a picture of your soul, a portrait of who you really are." —Kathi Snead Our annual Writing from Life Workshops are based on Writing From Life, by bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert. We hope you'll join us for one of these workshops—an insightful and joyful weekend of writing and sharing the stories of our lives. Adrienne Rich declares, "What women need is the opportunity and the validation to name and describe the truths of our lives." These workshops provide some of those rare and wonderful opportunities. The workshops are open to any woman who is interested in life-writing—regardless of skill level or experience. Workshops typically run from 9am-5pm on Saturday, and from 9am-noon on Sunday. The registration fee for the May 2010 workshop is $100 for dues-paying SCN members & $135 for non-members (which includes a one-year SCN membership). Coffee/tea, morning snacks, and a box lunch on Saturday are included in the fee. Enrollment is limited to 30 so that we can work in small groups and allow all participants time to share. Please register early via our online enrollment form. Each workshop session is 90 minutes long, with at least two opportunities for participants to write and share during that time—these are writing workshops, not lectures or instruction. If you love to write, share, and hear women's stories, this is the workshop for you—regardless of skill level or experience. "Telling a true story about personal experience is not just a matter of being oneself, or even of finding oneself. It is also a matter of choosing oneself." —Harriet Goldhor Lerner Notes for Participants: Please read these NOTES. Workshop Schedule: Saturday, 8:30am-5pm (optional dinner, 5:30-7:30pm) 8:30-9 Coffee & registration 9-9:30 Overview, Ground Rules, Housekeeping 9:30-11 Session I: Calliope 11-12:30 Session II: Euterpe 12:30-1:30 Lunch: provided on-site with the workshop fee. Those with special dietary needs should contact the conference coordinator ahead of time to make special arrangements. 1:30-3 Session III: Mediasyne 3-3:15 Break 3:15-4:45 Session IV: Clio 4:45-5 Check-in and wrap-up for the day: a list of local restaurants and enjoyable shopping experiences will be shared. Those who wish may join at a nearby restaurant (TBA) for refreshments and/or dinner. Sunday, 8:45am-11:30 8:45-9 Coffee and refreshments 9-10:30 Session V: Mother Nature 10:30-11 Bringing the Muses Home: In this final session, participants will share some techniques for tapping into the eloquence and fluidity of the muses after they return home. 11-11:30 Last Thoughts and Evaluations Sessions: See the flyer (pdf) Calliope: Johnett Scogin. The muse of poetry comes to visit and expand our minds and hearts with her work. Participants will practice using poetry to create narrative lifewriting as well as selections from memoir to create poetry. Euterpe: Lisa Shirah-Hiers. The muse of music comes to call and share ways that sound and music helps us tell the story of our lives. A variety of vocal and writing exercises will be used to help us find and lift our voices again. Mediasyne: Penny Leisch. This "found muse" will come to illuminate the important place of history, through spoken-word, photos, and art, as an inspiration for the lifewriter. Clio: Jeanne Henry. This all-too-forgotten muse of history will help illuminate the paths of our own lifestories by examining those of our pioneering ancestors. Mother Nature: Jo Virgil. Literally the "Mother" of all Muses, Mother Nature will guide participants on a journey of the senses and show us how to bring the lessons of nature to our lives and our writing. Registration Information: Date/Time: Saturday, May 15, 8:30am-5pm (5:30-7:30pm: participants are invited to an optional dutch-treat dinner on Saturday evening) Sunday, May 15, 8:45-11:30am Enrollment limited to 30 so that we can work in small groups and allow all participants time to share. Please register early via our online enrollment form. Registration/Payment Deadline: Friday, May 7. We must receive your registration and payment by this date! Fee: $135 for non-members (which includes a one-year SCN membership); $100 for dues-paying Story Circle Network members. The registration fee covers the cost of instruction, Saturday lunch, coffee/tea, & handout materials. SCHOLARSHIP for FOOD! We are offering a full scholarship to this event for someone good at organizing, who will be asked to bring snacks, set up the coffee and snack table, call in lunch orders, and pick the lunches up. The cost of food and beverages will be covered by Story Circle Network. This person will miss part of the session just before lunch and will need to arrive half an hour early to set up and stay after for half an hour to oversee the cleanup. Interested? Please email us at wfl at storycircle dot org. Location: Texas School for the Deaf, 1102 S Congress Ave, Austin TX 78704 (click for map) (We'll be in the the middle/high school library [on the 4th floor of the MS/HS building]. We'll have signs posted to lead you to parking and such when you arrive.) To see a list of hotels in the area, click: View Hotels near Texas School for the Deaf in a larger map Refund/Cancellation Policy: We will refund your registration fee, less a $20 cancellation charge, if you request it up to 15 days before the workshop. After that date, we will refund your fee only if we are able to fill your space from our waiting list. We reserve the right to cancel the workshop; if so, we will refund your full registration fee. You can contact us at Story Circle Network, PO Box 500127, Austin TX 78750-0127 512-454-9833 wfl at storycircle dot org Things to Bring & Things to Leave at Home: See session info below for additional items to bring! Bring journal or a notebook & a writing implement. Leave your laptop at home. (Some people are bothered by the clicking of keys in a quiet writing period.) Bring a sweater or shawl to ward off drafts. We provide coffee & tea. We also provide lunch. If you want morning &/or afternoon snack or other drinks (such as colas), please bring them. Leave your prepared writing at home. We read & share only what we write in the workshop. Leave your perfume at home; some people are allergic to perfumes. Presenters: Jeanne Henry Presentation Title: Our Present is Our Past: Learning From Our Ancestors Muse: Clio, the muse of history After participating in this workshop, participants will be "a-mused" by: Like Clio, the "Proclaimer," you will proclaim your feminine ancestral history and be amazed how this history figures into your everyday life. Penny Leisch Presentation Title: Seeing & Hearing Your Stories Muse: Mediasyne, the found muse of multimedia artists After participating in this workshop, participants will be "a-mused" by: The depth photos and other media add to personal stories. Mediasyne will help you see how easy it is to use your hidden artistic talents too. Visit her website and her blog What to bring: The muse, Mediasyne, invites each participant to bring photos to share and write about. Bring one photo you feel tells a strong story or a series of three photos that show the beginning, middle, and end of an event. Please don't bring photos that can't be handled, passed around, and displayed. Use a duplicate print or make photo copies on plain paper for the workshop. If you use plain paper, please cut out the photos. These don't have to be perfect. Our muse has some fun and funny ideas to help us all stay awake after lunch. Johnett Scogin Presentation Title: A Particular Turn of Phrase: Poetry and Memoir Muse: Calliope, the muse of heroic poetry After participating in this workshop, participants will be "a-mused" by: The easy ways in which poetry and lifewriting inform and inspire each other. All of us are poets, and poetry surrounds us constantly! Calliope will show you some inspiring exercises to entice poetry into your comfort zone. Lisa Shirah-Hiers Presentation Title: Reconnect, (w)Rite and Rejoice Muse: Euterpe, the muse of music, whose name means "rejoicing well." In this workshop we will tap that well as we use a variety of engaging musical experiences to open our voices both metaphorically and actually. After participating in this workshop, participants will be "a-mused" by: All the sounds that surround us every day and how they affect us without our even realizing it. Visit her blog What to bring: The muse, Euterpe, invites each participant to bring any rhythm instruments she might have—rattles, drums, etc. for one of our activities. Jo Virgil Presentation Title: Oak Trees, Rose Petals, and Ripples Muse: Mother Nature, the greatest muse of all: She Who Sits at the Core of our Being and Guides and Inspires Us (when we pay attention to her) After participating in this workshop, participants will be "a-mused" by: The incredibly insightful, poetic, and metaphorically significant messages that surround us in Nature.